Do it yourself

Repairs, restorations and homemade parts

Hobie's manuals tell you how to assemble a new boat. Nobody's boat is new any more. This is what owners have worked out about soft decks, loose pylons, chipped Comptips, dead trampolines, and the parts you have to make because you cannot buy them.

Structural work is structural. Hulls, mast steps, pylons and Comptips carry the rig loads. The resources here are owner experience, not engineering. When a repair is near the mast step or the forward crossbar, or you are not sure, get a fiberglass professional to look at it.

Guides and articles

Written procedures with photos or drawings.

Soft decks: diagnosis, the injection repair, and what not to injectAll models
This site's long-form guide, synthesized from the 1988 Hotline articles, Hobie's support sheet and twenty forum threads: where decks go soft, how to tell delamination from a cracked skin, the procedure step by step, foam versus epoxy, and when a hull is beyond saving.
Which Hobie is this? Hull numbers, model variants and a used-boat checklistAll models
Decode the hull number, date a pre-1973 boat, tell the 18 variants and the two 21s apart, Hobie 16 changes by year, and what to press, pull and sight before you pay.
Hull repair on an old Hobie: soft deck injection with screwsAll models
Rob Morse's 2013 write-up for an inner-skin separation: drill the outer skin, inject thickened epoxy, pull the skins together with sheet-metal screws, fill and refinish. TheBeachcats.
Catamaran sailboats delamination repair instructionsAll models
The 2003 grid method on a 1982 Hobie 16: taped area, 1/8-inch holes with a depth stop, West System with 404 filler, 24 to 48 hours cure. TheBeachcats.
Delaminated hullsAll models
A short club-library page on the injection method: 2 mm holes on a 3-inch triangular pattern, large syringe, stop before the inner glass.
How to repair a Hobie Cat 16 hullAll models
Puncture and gouge repair walkthrough with photos.
Rig tuning: mast rake, rig tension, diamond wires, spreaders and ruddersAll models
This site's model-by-model guide to the settings made ashore, from the factory manuals, the Hotline tuning articles of 1980-1990 and the forum: how to measure rake, which shroud hole, the diamond wire touch test, Loos gauge numbers for the 20, Tiger and FX One, and the 12-inch rudder rake measurement.
Sail controls and power: downhaul, outhaul, sheet and traveler, rotation, jib, battens, telltalesAll models
This site's companion guide to the strings pulled afloat, from the 1973 Hotline sail-shape primer, Matt Miller's downhaul column, the Hobie 16, 17, 18 and 20 champions' settings and the forum: what each control does to draft, the depowering order, and a settings-by-wind table.
Handling: tacking, roll tacks, irons, jibing, trapeze, heavy air, righting, surf launchingAll models
This site's boat-handling guide, from Hobie's sailing guide, Carlton Tucker's and Rick White's roll-tack articles, Terri Crary's crew guide, the Maui method for breaking irons without a jib, and the Hotline's surf-launching and righting pieces.
The Comptip: history, failure modes, repairs and replacementsAll models
This site's long-form guide, synthesized from Hotline magazine and seventeen forum threads: removal, re-bonding, cracked tops, luff tracks, leaks, and what to do when the tip for your boat is discontinued.
Hotline, Sept/Oct 2009: "This Old Hobie: Pylon Shoe Repairs" (pp. 14-15)Hobie 14, hobie-16, Hobie 17 / 17 Sport, Hobie 18 / 18SX / 18 Magnum
Rick Buchanan's illustrated procedure. Opens the issue PDF on this site.
Installing a trampoline on an 18-foot Hobie CatHobie 18 / 18SX / 18 Magnum
Owner write-up, done on the trailer in about two hours, with tool list.
Hobie 14 Tuning Guide (Hobie Class Association, from Hotline Summer 2010)Hobie 14
Rig tension, mast rake, shrouds, outhaul and leveling. Mirrored on this site.
Hobie: rudder tuningAll models
How to measure and set rudder rake and get a tight cam lock. Applies to every Hobie with the classic castings.
Hobie: hull leak detectionAll models
Soapy water and a shop vac on blow.

Forum threads worth reading

Owner experience, including what went wrong. Read the whole thread before you drill anything.

Hobie Forums: delamination repairAll models
Depth control is everything: 1/4 inch with a drill stop, then finish the hole by hand so you do not punch the inner skin.
Hobie Forums: Comptip mast repair and re-gluingAll models
Hobie staff confirm the Comptip is fiberglass in vinylester resin and can be repaired with epoxy. Re-bond with epoxy plus the original fasteners.
Hobie Forums: can I repair a Comptip?All models
Chipped joint rebuilt with glass-reinforced filler; a loose fit is usually what caused the damage.
Hobie Forums: remove old Comptip from mastAll models
Heat, a rubber mallet and tension. Do not load the halyard cleats or you will rip the rivets out.
Hobie Forums: mast step replacement successfulHobie 14, hobie-16, Hobie 17 / 17 Sport
Drill the rivet heads with a 1/4 inch bit, punch the shanks through, 45 minutes start to finish.
Hobie Forums: can a cracked mast be repaired?All models
Sleeving and when to give up on an extrusion.
Hobie Forums: loose pylonsHobie 14, hobie-16, Hobie 18 / 18SX / 18 Magnum
Tightening the bolts does nothing and can crack the casting. Shim with epoxy and high-density filler, re-rivet or bolt stainless.
Hobie Forums: pylon shoe hull crackHobie 14, hobie-16
Cut away all damaged material first; polyester resin for the rebuild.
Hobie Forums: pylons stuck in corner castingsHobie 14, hobie-16
Gentle heat to about 140 F breaks the old epoxy loose.
Catsailor.net: pylon repairsHobie 14, hobie-16, Hobie 18 / 18SX / 18 Magnum
A corroded upper pylon cut off and re-welded, with the lesson that a collar is needed over the weld.
Hobie Forums: relacing and replacing a trampolineHobie 18 / 18SX / 18 Magnum
Tension the aft lacing first, then the center, then come back and re-tension once it is all laced.
Hobie Forums: trampoline replacementAll models
Older boats need the frame apart; newer crossbars have a center opening so the tramp slides in without disassembly.
TheBeachcats: trampoline repair on a budgetAll models
Sunbrella overlay patch stitched both sides with a Speedy Stitcher beats tarp or netting.
TheBeachcats: Hobie 21SE restoration progressHobie 21 SE / 21 Sport Cruiser
Full teardown, sanding, epoxy gouge repair and Interlux primer.
Hobie Forums: my Hobie 16 restoration is nearing an endHobie 14, hobie-16, Hobie 18 / 18SX / 18 Magnum
Hull sleeves, pylons and gudgeons. The techniques carry across the classic fiberglass boats.
Hobie Forums: Hobie 14 restoration adviceHobie 14
What to do with punctured hulls before delamination spreads.
Hobie Forums: Restorations / Modifications / Ideas boardAll models
The cross-model restoration board.

Videos

How to fix soft hulls, Hobie 16 repairAll models
A 1979 hull repaired on camera with West System 105/209 and 403 microfibers. Same construction as the 14, 17, 18 and 21.

3D-printed parts

Owner-designed replacements for parts Hobie no longer sells. Check dimensions against your own boat and print structural parts in something better than PLA.

Hobie 21 masthead fitting (this site)Hobie 21 SE / 21 Sport Cruiser
Open 3MF and G-code for a replacement masthead fitting, with fit gauges.
Hobie 18 Magnum tiller extension clip (Thingiverse, samibe)Hobie 18 / 18SX / 18 Magnum
Holds the unused tiller extension on the wing tube. Print a mirrored copy for the other side.
Hobie 18 mast support (Thingiverse, samibe)Hobie 18 / 18SX / 18 Magnum
Straps between mast and aft crossbar for trailering. PLA, 1.6 mm walls, carries 150 lb.
Hobie 18 trailer support parts (Thingiverse, samibe)Hobie 18 / 18SX / 18 Magnum
Fore and aft blocks plus a roller interface so trailer rollers stop denting the hulls. Large prints.
Hobie 18 hatch tool tray (Thingiverse, samibe)Hobie 18 / 18SX / 18 Magnum
Tool and parts insert that fits inside the replacement deck hatch.
Hobie 18 gin pole base (Thingiverse, samibe)Hobie 18 / 18SX / 18 Magnum
Fits between the mast and a 2-inch PVC gin pole for solo mast raising. Add 7 ft of pipe, a slip cap, a 1/4 x 3 bolt and 20 ft of line.
Hobie 18 Magnum wing support ends (Thingiverse, samibe)Hobie 18 / 18SX / 18 Magnum
End caps for a 2-inch PVC wing support. The designer reports PLA holding up through summer heat on all of these parts.
Cults3D: Hobie tagAll models
About 30 free models including clam cleats, a wind indicator and the H18 parts above.
Printables: Hobie tagAll models
Search here and on Thingiverse by model name; the 17 and 20 have almost nothing yet.

Made or fixed something? A write-up with photos, a measured drawing, or a 3D model goes up here with credit. Wing castings, hatch hardware, rudder cams and Comptip rebuilds are the big gaps. See About.