Hobie Cat Forums

aren't you driving Karl?
smart phone = careless driver!

Driving+smartphone+in dash dvd player= I haven't blown my brains out from boredom. Call it unsafe if you want but its the interstate, there's nothing to hit. We're all going the same way.

Buy the Cat Trax. Worth every penny. Better than doing a bottom job every few years. Better than lifting the boat every day. You can sell them used no problem and get most of your money back. Doubt it? Try finding some used that stay in any classified ad more than one day. Sugar sand = Cat Trax. I had a hard time swallowing the cost at first but now I would gladly pay it every time. Besides a Hobie I don't think there has ever been a greater invention that withstands the punishment of salt and sand. I move my Hobie 16 by myself with them. Can't beat that.

On that note, how much wear is too much?

I've just very recently purchased a used 18 (it's a freshwater '79, kept in covered storage for 17 years) which is largely in good shape BUT there's a good amount of wear on the bottoms. A pretty significant amount of gel coat has worn off. The Fiberglass is clearly visible from forward of the fwd cross bar to probably 3/4 of the way aft on the tramp. I'd say ~3" wide and at least 4' long. Is this about the point at which the bottom typically needs to be reworked, or well beyond the typical point of repair?

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'79 freshwater H18

Sounds like your boat is definitely ready for a bottom job. Generally speaking, once you start to see glass showing though, it's time for a bottom job. If the glass is just barely starting to show through, you can get away with just adding a fresh coat of gelcoat to the bottom. If the bottoms are heavily worn (like yours), then you probably want to add glass strips prior to gelcoating since you've worn into the existing glass (hull structure). Pick up some fiberglass tape (2" or 3" wide) and laminate strips on the bottom of the hull, then fair and gelcoat.

Here's a prior thread on the subject with some pics of my 18 that I gave a bottom job last year...

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=20&t=36472&hilit=bottom+job

sm

On some sand, or when you don't want to deal with Cat Trax, and need to store the method on the boat, it can work easier to have something to slide the boat on, that something that rolls. I have six short sections of 6 inch PVC pipe cut in half lengthwise. Put two under each hull, convex side up, perdindicular to the hull, and one out in front of each hull . Slide the boat forward onto the new pairs, and so forth. Ideal spacing becomes pretty obvious. Even the 21 slides on these easier than something that needs to roll on soft sand, even cat trax a lot of times. Each one has a hole in it, and they can be tied together and stored in a port if needed. Maybe use 4 inch pipe for the smaller boats. Bottoms of the hulls suffer no damage.

I can use my righting pole to lever the boat up a fairly steep beach-never used it for righting, so if this had been the intended purpose to start with, I probably would have designed the pole a bit differently.

I did the drag thing for years however I was young and very stupid this was with a 14 and later a 16 Bought some beach wheels and this is some of the best money that can be spent on a hobie and on your body
I now have a 21se and bought beach wheels before i put it in the water
Come off the hip and spend a little on a great boat the wheels should last many years
Former hobie admiral gary

Add some handles. Drill 1/4 inch holes vertically through the lip portion of the hull about six inches apart. Like the ones where your shrouds attach. Put some 1/4 rope through and tie a stopper knot. thread some 3/8 clear tubing over the rope and then put the rope through the other hole and tie another stopper knot. Make 6 of them three per side. 2 in front 2 in back and 2 in center.

After reading these ideas, it makes cat trax seem cheap at $450. As a litmus test, take a piece of wet sand paper across the bottom of your hulls and look at it. You could actually buy cat trax and never need a bottom job. Spend more time sailing and drinking beer, then looking like a tool getting your cat to and from the water.

55 gallon drum, put holes in the top and bottom, Put wood around the holes To support a galvanized pipe that runs through it put holes on both ends of pipe, attach rope to pipe holes and boat

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dig a mote to your boat and just float it to the waters edge.

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06 getaway -- always remember, man with both feet in mouth have no leg to stand on.