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 Post subject: New to Hobie Community
PostPosted: Tue Mar 30, 2004 3:54 pm 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2004 3:41 pm
Posts: 6
Location: Coventry
I would first like to say hey to everyone, I'm just registered and I'm happy to see there's something like this forum out there for Hobie 17 owners. I recently bought a 17 from 1986, from the original owner, and it is supposedly the first 17 sold in New England. The boat is in nice shape, although it does have a good amount of blistering under the waterline which I'm sure needs attention. I'd like to list a few things that concern me about the boat, and I hope they're not too serious.

Cracking on the hull where the cross tube ends
Blistering under waterline, probably 5-10 blisters every sq. foot
Mylar was removed from dacron as it delaminated, no mylar left
Stress cracks on sides of hull (about 3-5 feet long)
Boat was always moored (I read this is bad, but I don't know why)

The boat itself is beautiful, but when I really inspect the hull it makes me weary. The hulls move together, and all the rigging looks good. Do any other owners have these problems, and can they be very serious?

I bought the boat for $1500 with a trailer, jib, tramp. in good shape, 3 trap. harnesses, sailing gloves and a bunch of other spare sailing stuff he had. I spoke to him about the problem and he said he never noticed it. It had been stored for 3 years outside since it was sailed, so I think the blistering occured since then.

Thanks a lot for any help!


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 Post subject: Welcome!
PostPosted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 10:02 am 
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Site Admin

Joined: Tue May 27, 2003 12:44 pm
Posts: 15026
Location: Oceanside, California
The only really serious sounding problem is the long cracks. Where on the hull are these located?

Blistering (below the waterline) is likely caused by mooring. The gelcoat can absorb water and create little blisters. This can also happen if stored in grass or sand where it is always wet.

The (hopefully small) cracks in the gel coat at the endpoint of the crossbars is likely just cosmetic.

The laminated mylar was to keep the dacron from stretching, so now the dacron will stretch more. Can't say how long that might last, but likely it is more of a performance loss that anything.

Mooring a cat is a bad idea. This causes accelerated wear on all of the parts. Cats don't sit well at anchor and even small waves can cause the boat to jar and shutter. Shackles come loose, mast rotation balls wear, aluminum parts fatigue. Be sure to look at the under sides of the cross bars at the hull connection point. These have shown to crack over time.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Mar 31, 2004 9:13 pm 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Tue Mar 30, 2004 3:41 pm
Posts: 6
Location: Coventry
Thanks a lot for the info, I was wondering why it was bad to moor them, but that makes perfect sense. I'll be sure to check the crossbars. I honestly must say I did not check this boat out as well as I should have, which is odd since I deal more with cars than boats. Anyways, I am hopeful that everything is fine, I am going to start sanding the hull tomorrow, and see what damage has been done. I read somewhere the blisters are more of a cosmetic problem than structural except for in rare cases. Thanks again for the info.


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