hobie modifications

I saw this on another site. Any thoughts?

"I’m on my 3rd Hobie 16 and have made a few modifications to avoid having the thing fall apart on me sailing it balls-to-the-walls.

Both hulls developed cracks inside and just forward of the forward tramp support post(s) when cranking down the mainsheet sailing tight to windward. My fix for this was a section of galvanized fence piping and 2 bolt hole caps bolted across the front of the bows in the same holes used by the 2 forestays. This keeps the bows at the same width and works as hand holds when pulling the boat around on the beach.

I also added a second sidestay to each side and tension each pair share the load equally.

On the 2nd Hobie I had a welder weld a second stainless dolphin striker support and then added a second dolphin striker in tandem with the existing one. My first Hobie fell apart when the striker parted."

These 3 mods beef the boat up a bit. I have sailed my boat hard for a number of years and it has held up well, but I worry about the single striker - if it fails and the load on the main isn't eased ASAP, the tramp supports will break."

Overkill.

Unless you've got 500 lbs of beef on the wire.

In 33 years of playing with these toys, I've never seen a dolphin striker fail. I have seen bows break off, but that was because there was un-repaired delamination.



The beer can in the hull is a nice touch.

For the shrouds, IMHO it'd be easier & just as effective to add another layer of glass inside the hull/deck joint lip and get a longer rod for the shroud connector to bolt through. If you get the heavier-duty shrouds it should be PLENTY strong.

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Warm regards,

Jim