Hobie Cat 16 hulls

I just purchased a '81 Hobie Cat / Cat fever. Halfway up both sides of both hulls has been painted black. Do you have any idea why ?
Can the black be removed so the hulls can be restored back to the original light blue color.

Could be any number of reasons - anti-fouling, to cover a bad bottom job . . . who knows?

I'd try solvent remover first. Gel coat is impervious to pretty much any type of aromatic solvent. If you can get the paint off without damaging the underlying gel coat, that would be ideal.

Sanding is probably next. Wet sanding will keep the dust down, and some paints (anti-fouling) have toxic dust. Go slowly and be careful not to sand through the gel coat. Wear a good mask if you're sanding dry.

Realize that this is a 36 year old boat. It will never look like new again, and it's useful life is limited. It's tempting to pour a lot of time and $$ into the old boats to make them pretty again, but in the end - it's still a 36 year old toy. These boats weren't built to last forever. It will break - it's only a matter of time. These forums are littered with stories where someone poured their heart, soul and hundreds of dollars into a restoration, only to have the boat break in half not long after.

Your best bang for the buck may just be to fix all the dings, sand the hulls smooth and paint them. Normally I wouldn't recommend painting because it's a short term fix - but that may be all the time you have with this boat.

As evidence, look for the posts from Tiberius on here. He did a ton of work on his boat and made it look awesome!! He became our Fleet Captain in Fleet 16, and was quite competitive (OK, he won a LOT). The boat was named Breaking Point. He didn't realize how apt that was until it literally broke both hulls, folding them up just in front of the front pylons (where they all seem to break eventually).

Now, I will say, that he raced it hard (I wouldn't want it any other way), had 6:1 blocks, an Aussie Jib setup, etc., all which will maximize the stresses on the hull. With him it was bound to happen sooner or later. Fortunately, it was towards the end of the day and he was able to make it back in without losing the mast, I believe.

As Matt said, they are getting older. Mine is a '79 and still sails fine, but I don't win much, and sail a little more passively even when racing. I still have a blast, and anyone can get started with a relatively minimal investment.

Have fun, enjoy yourself, don't fret it too much, because by the time it happens, you will be ready to move to a newer boat anyway, just to get a little more competitive.

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Steve
1979 Hobie 16 "Orange Crusher"
2017 Hobie 16 "Cayman" sails 114795

Dang, now I am paranoid that my very seldom used '84 H16 is going to break in half!!!! I don't plan on racing the boat, she really is in "like new" condition for such an older boat. I guess you'd really have to be pushing the boat hard all of the time to have it break in half. Wow!!!!!

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Marty
1984 H16 Yellow Nationals Redline, "Yellow Fever"
Lake Martin, 'Bama.

Inspect the deck and hull sides regularly for soft spots and cracks in the vicinity of the front pylons. Soft spots will be the biggest indicator that the hulls are in danger of failing. If the boat is solid, then there's probably nothing to worry about.

sm

That's a relief. My boat doesn't have any soft spots anywhere, no cracks, only a couple of light scratches. I figure if I take care if it, it should give many more years of fun.

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Marty
1984 H16 Yellow Nationals Redline, "Yellow Fever"
Lake Martin, 'Bama.

hdpapa - Great advice so far. I'd also suggest that since you have an older boat like mine (1979 Hobie 16) & you recently purchased it, you should check all your cables and connections (including anchor bars & anchor pins) for fraying & corrosion. There are other things to check as well, but you should start with these, and also your trailer - wheels, bearings, etc. Be safe & enjoy your boat.