New To Me 84 H18 Magnum

Just picked up a 1984 H18 Magnum. It has the wing seats and came with a Cat Trax in great condition. This past weekend my wife and I cleaned the black mildew, green algae and most of the chalky gel coat oxidation off with a power washer (power washing is new to her and she also removed most of a couple feet of hull striping…).

The boat seems structurally in OK shape (hull/beam connections nice and stiff when we took it off the trailer) but all the running rigging, tramp, wing tramps and all other lines and so on are UV rotted - done. Its missing a port hatch and the other is cracked - will replace complete units, and maybe add one aft of each d'board slot for access to these critical areas and to tend the flaking plastic bags of foam I read about here. There is an unpainted glass patch, about 8" diameter, on the hull just under the forward side roller that keeps it on the trailer, and the wing seat beam mounts on that side - one missing and one pulled out - may indicate there was some trailer trauma on that side…

Anyway, I'm looking forward to getting it fixed up and in sailing condition for use here in the Hampton Roads area of VA.

Can anyone advise me about the wing seat crossbeam mounts - kind of a SS slug with a stud and a plate? I found the parts list for H18 & H18SX, but not for H18 Mag. The SX seats are longer? Do the same mounting parts work for the Magnum? Here’s the listing for the SX mounting parts:

MOUNTING BARKIT 65071001; INCLUDES: WASHER 8080891, STUD 8031821, NUT 8050341

ANCHOR PLATE 68190001

There are four mounting points, fore and aft on each side. Do I use a 'mounting barkit' and an anchor plate on each of the four mnounts? How do these go together?

Can anyone recommend a reasonably-priced source to order the slugs and bolt assemblies that mount the wings to the beams? Also, what type of pins or bolts are used to hold the wings down?

Hi Guy,

Welcome to the H18 Fleet .... the H18 is the best all round beach cat ever built !!!!

Ok that said we'll get started .....

1) go to www.HCspace.org and register on the H18 site

2) since you have a 1984 production boat verify you have reinforcing brackets at the bolt points on the front crossbar .... they are exactly the same as the reinforcing brackets at the sidestays. They were a retrofit to the boat after 1984. At the same time make sure you have no cracks under the gunwale/lip at the front crossbar ... this was a problem w/ 1984-86 production boats hence the retofitted brackets.

3) The Magnum Wing mounts are the same as the SX wing mounts

4) Bad News- New Magnum wing covers are no longer availible from Hobie .... you will need to source them elsewhere. I would recommend "Sunrise Yacht Products" located near St Peterburg/Tampa Florida (they are listed on "CatSailor.com in their store).

5) if you wish to race in Hobie One-Design you MUST buy your new tramp from the Hobie Factory .... the white vinyl tramp is cheapest, but they do offer mesh tramps also that are slightly more expensive.

6) For new sheetlines, bungie etc I would recomend APS (Annapolis Performance Sailing @ wwwapsltd.com or 800-729-9767)

7) Take the DAMN rollers off the trailer and throw them as far away as you can!!!!! Install "bunks" made of 2X6's" or 2X8's" stacked two high approximently 14" lg. Bolt them to the trailor crossbars and cover with carpet .... pressure treated wood lasts the longest. If you trailer any amount the rollers damage the hulls!!!!!

Do you have "beach wheels"???? w/ cradles??? they work alot better w/ cradles

9) Check your rudder systems ... for SS rudder pins (you are sailing in saltwater) and for the plastic "Nyliners" .... these are important as the $10 rudder pin wears away the +$150 rudder casting.

10) You can just purchse the stock "Hull Port Covers" ... if the rings are not slit/cracked thats what I would do.

There is more but .... over the last year or so I have posted here on the HobieCat Forum all sorts of little tricks to make the boat easier to maintain and sail .... I would recommend going and reading them ... and any posted by "Must5429" or "Must429" .... thats MR STEPHEN COOLEY .... I've been sailing/racing a H18 since 84-85" .... Stephen since 81'(?) and is ranked 2nd in the country!!!! He is one of the "Masters" of the class and posts regularly here.

I'm located just north of you in Pa/Md and operate out of Rock Hall Yacht Club on Marylands Eastern shore. We have several events that we attend in the Annapolis area that Div11 H18 sailors support. The Div11 H18 sailors are friendly and very experienced group of H18 sailors who will gladly help you "get up to speed". You should try an attend some of the events as that the fastest way to improve your catamaran sailing skills.
(If you have too many questions you may have to supply some cold beer)

In my profile here and on www.catsailor.com there is my E-Mail address listed ... you may contact me w/ questions.

Got to run

_________________
HarryMurphey
H-18 mag/ #9458
Fleet 54 Div 11

Thanks very much, Harry! And I'd be glad to supply beer already to several folks on this forum for the amount of benefit I've gained.

The boat I got was advertised as a Hobie 17 and the price was $400. After looking at it, putting the cash down, and making an initial list of what I would need to get the trailer and boat road-worthy, I went home and, out of sheer excitement, started looking online to see about parts availability and so on. The seller had not yet located the paperwork. Right away I noticed the 17 has centerboards and the 18 has daggers, which only brought a smile to my face as the boat I bought has daggers and I had heard of the mighty, the legendary Hobie 18 twenty years ago when I had an old, patched, loose-as-a-goose H16. H18s were closer to five or six grand back then, even used, and I could only dream of such things (most of my 'hobby' money and time was tied up in a 33' trimaran project).

When crawling around under the boat to fix a flat on the trailer, check the bearings and clean off the accumulated leaves and pine needles from the various trailer surfaces, I was lucky enough to notice that the top strap of one of the U-bolt assemblies that holds the axle to the frame was completely rusted through - even though it appeared somewhat OK at first glance it crumbled away with a little prodding. It absolutely would have turned into a disaster the first bump I hit on the road home… The nearest Northern Tool store had the correct size U-bolts in stock but no top straps to fit so I got out the metal chop saw, the drill press and some 1/4 x 1.5" bar stock from my scrap pile and made a couple straps to fit. The rest of the trailer seems just fine - might want a little sandblasting and cold galvanizing… Even the winch eventually started clicking along smoothly after a little ATF was squirted in key points.

As to point-loading the hulls during transport, the carpeted 2x8 bunks sound like a sensible solution (may measure and design something more 'trough-like' - something with sides to guide and hold the hulls). And my Cat Trax unit does have the FG cradles padded with a sort of carpet, which also cleaned up very well with the pressure washer.

Decades ago, I started making my own small boat and windsurfing gear out of necessity - more recently the DIY aspect of boating has become an optional hobby symbiotic with the sport of sailing small, fast boats, and with the lifestyle of cruising larger boats.

I've kept a walking-foot sewing machine since long ago and have done my own sail repairs and made simple sails before, made a tramp for my old H16 that turned out well, and also repaired, and eventually made tramps for my tri. I don’t race - my travel is frequent, but rarely coincident with those events and I'm 'schedule-impaired' anyway, so making my own fabric assemblies is an obvious choice for my H18.

After consulting with Matt at Sailrite, I plugged the recommended materials for all three tramps (in mesh) into my 'Fabric_Assembly_Cost_Estimator.xls' and it comes to $205.20 (not including shipping), and I added another $85 in tools (#4 spur grommet die set, zipper/roping foot, and so on) just to keep the work pleasant, simple and quick.

This is getting fun already and I'm not even close to sailing it yet!

Hi Again,

I kept some of my "improvements" simple in my first post ...

On the trailer bunks I cut some wedges from some 2x4's" and installed them on top of the double stacked 2x8's" on the outside corners .... THEN installed the carpet. It works to guide the boat towards the center of the bunk .... and the bunks are still comfortable enough to sit on as you get into your sailing gear. (my 12" Dewalt Radial Arm saw can't cut a 2x8" on "edge" so I used 2x4's" and put two wedges side by side to equal the 2x8".

I like the idea of making the magnum wing covers .... but I would still recommend purchasing a "factory" tramp. The all white vinyl is approx $360.00 (last year) and allows you to attend Hobie Class Association events since that is one of the parts that HAS to be supplied by Hobie.

If I could sew ..... I would make a "mast-up" boat storage cover for on the beach ..... they really help protect the boat from the sun. A simple poly tarp 12'x 18' does just fine when the boat is on the trailer w/ the mast down and the wings folded up. My last factory tramp lasted +15yrs, but I did keep it covered from the sun.

I forgot ..... the magnum wings are held/locked down in place by 1/4" clevis pins. I use 1/4x20 SS countersunk machine screws instead as it secures the wings in place W/O any movement at all .... install the nuts on the inside so you have no "pokie" points to get cut/scratched with. (a 1/4" bolt or clevis pin can give you one nasty cut!!!!)

In my profile is my personal E-Mail address, please contact me w/ any questions

_________________
HarryMurphey
H-18 mag/ #9458
Fleet 54 Div 11

Just a quick note: do not put the additional port behind the dagger board. you will run straight into the foam for bouyancy.

Put a 4" curved port about 12" behind the rear crossbar. that gives you access to adding anchor plates to the rear crossbar and access to the transom for any rudder work.

Join us at www.HC18.org for more information.

_________________
1989 Hobie 18 Worlds Boat, Magnum Wings & Spinnaker
1987 Hobie Holder 20 #273

dale.vanlopik"at"att"dot"net