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PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2003 1:09 pm 
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Joined: Mon Aug 11, 2003 10:31 pm
Posts: 91
Location: Memphis, TN
There have been rumors for a while about the demise of the H17 & 18. They are true. Matt Miller is on vacation, but he sent me an announcement to post at TheBeachcats.com .

Thanks Matt
Official Hobie word on the 17/18


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 Post subject: The Official word...
PostPosted: Fri Oct 10, 2003 4:42 pm 
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Site Admin

Joined: Tue May 27, 2003 12:44 pm
Posts: 15027
Location: Oceanside, California
Dear Hobie Sailors,

October 9, 2003: It is always difficult to come to the end of an "era", but Hobie Cat Company has had to face the fact that it is no longer economically feasible to continue to build our Hobie 17 Special Editions and Hobie 17 Sports, as well as our Hobie 18 Special Editions and Hobie 18 SX's. Both the 17 and 18 enjoyed life cycles that would make any manufacturer proud. More importantly, we are proud of the introduction to sailing and enjoyment they provided to so many people for so many years. For us, it is like saying goodbye to old friends.

The bright side to this announcement is that we have introduced some boats in recent years that have, slowly but surely, rendered the H17s and H18s virtually obsolete. The Hobie Getaway, in particular, has fulfilled, and to some extent surpassed, many of the features of both boats for the recreational user, and for less money. The Hobie Tiger and, to a lesser extent, the Hobie FX-1 in this size range have raised the bar a bit on the racing side of things, and have re-invigorated the racing scene in many parts of the country. Our Hobie 16 sales remain constant, which in itself is unusual for a boat of it's vintage, and thus remains a very healthy and important part of our product lineup.

As with previously discontinued models (Hobie 14 for example), we expect that sailing and racing of these boats will continue to be strong for many years to come. With this in mind, we have set aside parts to support those boats for the foreseeable future. In addition, our network of dealers have many parts and some may even have these boat models (new) in stock.

The current Hobie USA product lineup (11 Models):

Hobie Bravo (12')
Hobie Wave (13')
Hobie Getaway (16')
Hobie Dragoon (12' 10")
Hobie 16 (16' 7")
Hobie FX1 (17')
Hobie Tiger (18')
Hobie 20 Miracle (19' 6")
Hobie Fox (20')
Hobie 21 Sport Cruiser (21')
Hobie TriFoiler (22')

Hobie Cat USA
www.hobiecat.com

_________________
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: Re: The Official word...
PostPosted: Thu Jul 01, 2004 5:24 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jul 01, 2004 4:56 pm
Posts: 4
Location: Merritt Island, FL
mmiller wrote:
With this in mind, we have set aside parts to support those boats for the foreseeable future. In addition, our network of dealers have many parts and some may even have these boat models (new) in stock.

Hobie Cat USA
www.hobiecat.com



:? The unfortunate situation is where do we go to get major parts. Does the Hobie dealer network still have Hobie 18 hulls available? I had a bow crush and have been looking for a starboard white hull. Online boards seem to have several other Hobie 18 owner looking for starboard hull for some reason!!! Looks like my best option is to buy a used boat and part it out for the hull. Any other options? Thanks,

[email protected]
:cry: Lou3220


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 02, 2004 4:44 am 
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Hobie Approved Guru

Joined: Mon Jul 14, 2003 7:11 pm
Posts: 5197
Location: Detroit, MI
Matt M. may correct me on this one, but I believe that Hobie Cat could "one-off" a hull for you, since the molds are still around. You'd have to wait several months for it and it would be be very expensive.

The real killer for the 18/17 production was the "outsourced parts" - particularly the extrusions, which have to be purchased in quantity to make any kind of economic sense.

Your best $ bet is to find a used hull, either from a storm damaged boat or a "back yard queen" that you can part out.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri Jul 16, 2004 5:14 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jun 10, 2003 4:39 am
Posts: 92
This is a little confusing, noticing the date of some of these posts makes it worse-anyway, weren't the 18's completly dropped from production and the 17's put on limited production for support of the racing fleet? From what I read here, both are completly out of production. They must still be able to make or get a 18 hull, since they still offer 14 hulls for over $1000 in the catalog, and they have been out of production for over a decade now. I wonder what they would do if someone ordered EVERY Hobie 14 or 18 part listed and planned to put a boat togethor themselves.... maybe import one from Hobie Cat Europe......

Sam


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sat Jul 17, 2004 4:48 pm 
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Joined: Mon Apr 05, 2004 6:05 pm
Posts: 33
Location: Melbourne, Australia
AFAIK only the H18 has been dropped from Hobiecat USA. From memory they reversed the decision to discontinue the H17. Also be aware that both boats are still manufactured by Hobiecat Australia and that there are the H17 & 18 worlds this christmas in Melbourne Australia. Check out http://www.sailmelbourne.com.au/classes/hobieworld.php

Michael


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