Soliciting Hull Color Advice

I'm refurbishing a 1989 "Stars and Stripes" H18 with dark blue hulls that had been painted over by the previous owner. I've stripped off that paint (huge amount of work) back to the dark blue gel coat and will be painting them with Imron. At this point I could go with any color I want, and have narrowed it down to a royal blue (lighter than the original), the original dark blue, or white. I'm curious to hear what this group would recommend. One local guy recommended white because that's what everything new is these days, it's clean looking, and won't show minor scratches. A deep scratch through the Imron, though, would show the dark blue underneath. The blue options would better hide a deeper scratch. I personally like the idea of being different and going with a blue, but am willing to go with white if it's really a smarter choice. Opinions?

Thanks,

Mark

Just my two cents but the white would be my choice.

For fun, I've bought and refurbished a few H18's over the years and have always installed new graphics. The boats were all Hobie white. New hull stripes, Hobie decals and 1/8" pin stripping up top the hull. Done right, it looks sharp. And the purchase of vinyl to complete a 18 is very affordable. Sure it takes time to get it done, but what a difference it makes.

So the white would make the boat look much newer and the addition of the graphics, your color choice naturally, would be an real nice visual update.

Good luck.
t-bone

Thanks, do you have any pictures of the ones you did? I'm curious to see how it looks with the new stripes and decals.

You need to paint an American flag on the outside of each hull. Put the blue field of stars at the bow and the red and white stripes need to fade to flames as they get closer to the stern.

Yes I have images of before and after. I can send later this afternoon. Let me know where to send the pics.

t-bone

I'm not sure the image of a burning American flag is what you really want...

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1992 Hobie Cat 18 #16943
Hobie Fleet 198, Rapid City, SD

I guess if your aim is to preserve the Star & Stripes image, then the dark blue is your answer. Will you be using the original sails?

If not, then a white boat looks really sharp and keeps looking new with a small amount of attention.

But... Stars and Stripes is a classic. If it were mine, I'd work real hard to preserve her.

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Chris
'88 H18SE Arís

No, I don't have the original sails but have been looking for a set. I do have a nice set of "Red Line" sails and also some "Carumba" sails that would look great with the blue hulls.

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2007 Hobie Tiger

Go for the original color, "Gunsmoke Blue" with a light gray deck.The light gray is almost white. My 1989 21SE is also a Stars and Stripes boat, all original and looks nearly new. Keep your boat covered to preserve the finish.

Good Luck, Bill 404 21SE

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Bill 404 21SE

Personally, I like white hulls. After considering some options I ended up going with the red Hobie decal/stripe on white hulls. I just really liked the updated look of the reproduction hulls that came out a while back but still wanted a nod to original style hull length stripes.

Here are a few photos for reference:



On the trailer:



Out sailing with Steve (on his NEW set of hulls):

Wow, some great pictures of beautiful Hobies. The white does look great, especially with those sail colors. Where did you get those curved trailer bunks?

Thanks,

Mark

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2007 Hobie Tiger

Here are the blue options I'm considering showing both sets of sails.

Dark Blue Hulls with Redline Sails


Lighter Blue Hulls with Carumba Sails

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2007 Hobie Tiger

give the gelcoat some love and keep the original classic look while saving $$ and weight of paint.

OR

just sand all the gelcoat off, then paint.

those redline sails are nice! goes well with either the S&S blue or white hulls.

and I sure hope you can use the Star & Stripes hull graphics!

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Chris
'88 H18SE Arís

Mark, the curved bunks are custom made thick PVC tubes, cut in half, then rounded off to roughly the shape to fit the hulls. Then glued some carpet on the inside. The front ones were built up a little to high so I had to cut them down (roughly), hence the somewhat jagged edge on the top compared to the aft bunks.

Good luck with the colors, I'm sure whatever you go with will be great. Post up photos of the boat and progress shots as you go, would love to check them out.