|
|
|
|
|
   
|
|
TACKING OUTRIGGER FROM ALCORT |
|
Thanks to Fred, you can now download a PDF file of the
Hilu Manual here!
Definition of "Hilu":
1. n. Various species of reef fishes of the genus Coris. The name hilu
may be qualified by the terms ʻeleʻele, lauwili, melemele, moelola, pano
(probably same as uli), pāniʻo, pilikoʻa (Paracirrhites forsteri), hawkfish),
ʻula, uli. See saying, noʻenoʻe 2.
2. nvs. Quiet, reserved, well-behaved, decorous, unobtrusive, easygoing. A child born to a woman who craved hilu fish during her
pregnancy was thought to be of this desirable type.
3. vs. Strange. Eia ka mea hilu loa, here is something unusual.
While looking for a Sunfish mast and spars, I came across an ad on Craigslist.com for a Sunfish with
everything but the sail, so I called. The owner had just donated it to a charity, but he said he had
a catamaran with a Sunfish sail that he would sell me for $50. Needless to say, I went and got it.
It is a Hilu, made by Alcort or AMF, the makers of the Sailfish and Sunfish.
Alcort built these proa type boats for a year or
two and only about two dozen are still known to exist. The main hull is just under 14 feet and the total width of the Hilu when put together is
8 feet. I brought mine home on a utility trailer after separating the hulls from the trampoline.
The following two photos were taken one day after the purchase.
I refinished the mahogany wood parts and bought trampoline mesh to replace the original webbing.
Apparently some Hilus had webbing while others had mesh tramps. I didn't attach the tramp boards
because I wanted to keep them indoors.
I sold my Hilu to a lady in North Carolina for $800 on June 15, 2008. She made a
few changes as you can see in the pictures below.
The photo below shows the only known Hilu in Europe. It is not certain whether the window was
installed at the factory or after market. Mine had no window nor do the ones that appear in Alcort advertising.
The Hilu below sold on eBay in August, 2007
Fred's Hilu first sported a Mistral windsurfer sail. It now has a Sunfish sail.
Jim, in Northern Michigan, inherited a Hilu from his grandfather.
Bradley, of California sails a nicely restored Hilu
The above pictured Hilu has found new owners in Oregon.
The pictures below show it sporting a new sail.
The following Hilu sails with a close relative (Sunfish) in Wisconsin.
Dave of Kansas sent me these pictures of his beautifully restored Hilu which he has owned since his
13th birthday. In these photos, it's finished except for the trampoline.
Everything has been restored to like new or better than new condition. Dave has the original sail but it was faded
and torn in a few small places. He sent it to California and had a new one made to exact size, shape and color with
the same logo. All wood parts have been either replaced with new or refinished. The pontoons were split and reassembled
with new foam inside and new outer gel coat to the original color. Dave made the decals himself. The yellow stripes were replaced with the same size,
shape, color and location with a new Hilu decal reproduced. All of the metal tubing has been either replaced with anodized marine grade and powder coated silver. All hardware is now stainless steel except the halyard
cleat, daggerboard brass clip and forward rope cleats. Hardware was assembled using Mastinox (anti-corrosion paste).
The anti-slip pads were sprayed on in place of grip tape. Seats are made of mahogany from California and sealed with
marine grade varnish. Anywhere tubing touches structure or other tubing, 3-M anti-chaff tape was applied to prevent
fretting.
If anyone wants to chat with Dave or needs decals, drop him an
email
or call: 316-944-0767
|
|
|
