Bonjour,
I recently got a great deal on a G-Cat, which im giong to use to teach my little brother and sister how to sail on. Ive mainly sailed bigger boats (corsair F28r) and smaller boats (fj's in college), but im pretty sure this will be a good boat to teach them on.
The person with the boat before me had some really dumb stickers on it, which they took off, but still show up as dirty spots. How can I get these off? Im planning on giving it some good elbow grease... anyone else have any ideas?
Also, am i the only person left in the world with a G-Cat? I searched all over the web, and it looks like there is only one person here with one. Now Hobie says no other cats with them... who can I race against?!
Oh well
Thanks alot,
Cheers,
Eddie

Get the stuff in a can called "Goop Off" and a straight razor blade.

Douse a rag with some goopoff and rubs down the stickers one at a time, wait 30 seconds and rub it down again. Wait another minute for it to get behind the sticker then carefully use the straight blade to peel back the sticker. Be careful not to nick the gelcoat with the corner of the razor.

Works well for removing pinstripes too.

And there are tons of Gcats out there. Good boats.

Thanks for the info.

Allow me to clarify, The stickers themselves have already been removed, but the place where they were remains excessivly stained and ugly.

Should I just try the bowl cleaner on this?

Does anyone know of a web community for G-Cat Sailors?

Cheers,
Eddie

Eddie,

I had the same problem when I removed the old vinyl stripes. The part that was under the plastic has been protected from UV and wind/water erosion, so you usually need to sand the hulls to really reduce the effect. Try cleaning well with Oxalic acid first to see how much difference there really is.

What color are your hulls?

[img]http://www.thebeachcats.com/albums2/album59/MVC_007F.sized.jpg" border="4[/img]

No sir, you are not the only one sailing a G-Cat, we have a fleet of them here in the states, Columbia South Carolina.
See our website for links and G-Cat advice,
www.seacats.org

Hans Geisller has a website that is linked from us, and you can reach him thru his site.

David mosley
www.teamseacats.com

Use Acrylic Enamel reducer it works better than anything for removing adhesive from tape and stickers.

Bob

Wow,
Thanks guys, Ill give it a try. I spent a good few hours last night scrubbing away. Im hoping to get out on the water today.

My Hulls are white, and I was thinking of sanding. Does anyone know a good link on the sanding/repainting process?

I was able to minimize the looks from the old stickers, but i really want them gone because the dope before me thought "chicken head" was a good name for a boat haha.

I cant wait to get in touch with hans... thanks for the info.

Finally, Does anyone know if Sail Numbers for G-Cats go in chronological order or if they are random-ish like on some other boats.

Thanks a ton, maybe ill trailer it down to SC sometime this summer for a race from Maine! Ha!

Thanks
Eddie

If your white hulls are in good shape other than the discoloration from the stickers, I would try wet sanding with fine paper, then wax/silicone to seal and make pretty. The gelcoat is usually pretty thick so you could sand a little off and mostly take off oxidation. Painting is a big job and probably not neccessary to make the boat look good.

How can I get my by-line to not say stranger! its so unwelcoming!

Hi my name is Eddie, I live in NH. I have a cat!
Now we arent strangers anymore!

also,
do most people name their beach cats? I want to rename mine but i dont want to be faux pas.

Rock on!

Eddie, Welcome! Check out Damon's web site at thebeachcats.com for archives filled with technical advice, and his yahoo group for another great forum. Bring that G Cat down to Mass for some of the great regattas, and Fun Sails this Summer! You might take a look at the Hobie Fleet sites for dates, or links to "open" events. See fleet448.org to start. It is a terribly slow loading web site, but has some good events, links, and contacts in New England. I believ to change the name of your boat you are supposed to do it while on shore, but am not sure. By all means rename it! Brian, H17 Sport Conversion, "BLESSING", Westport Ma. P.S. I hope you are sailing with a dry suit if you're out this early!!!

yeah - we name them from time to time!



Your 'status' changes depending on the number of posts you make. Personally, I'm hoping to become an expert soon (although that will not necessarily be a reflection of my abilities on the water!)