Is this decent for a 2001 Hobie Mirage Classic Tandem?

Long story short:

I have the opportunity to buy a 2001 (manufactured in 2000) Mirage Classic Tandem for $1000. It comes with two mirage drives one of which is definitely a V1 and the other looks to be a V2, paddles and seats. I had the opportunity to do a bubble leak test and the hull seems to be solid, the only bubbles appeared at the rivets for the pad eyes and around the forward and aft hatches. Nothing at the scupper holes or around the mirage drive bays. The mirage drives worked just as expected.

Took it out for a test run with my wife on a calm lake surface (this kayak is primarily for her and our daughter to fool around on at the lake) and it came back with 1 1/2 cups of water in the hull - primarily I'm assuming from my 280 pound frame causing the front of the boat to ride low in the water and fill the footwell up with a few inches of water... which was enough to cover the bottom quarter of the front hatch.

My questions are; is there anything else I should be looking out for? Is this a decent price (the seller isn't planning on budging)

And... does anyone have advice on sealing around the pad eye rivets (or should you seal around these rivets?)

Thanks!

You should evaluate the condition of the boat -- hull condition (especially scratches, wear on the bottom), condition of the hardware (corrosion), etc. Has it been stored indoors (or at least out of the sun)? Condition is more important than age. The old tandem hulls are efficient; most parts are replaceable. Limitations -- the old seats are riveted and not removable; the kick-up rudder is not expandable or upgradeable. You can upgrade the Drives to Turbos if desired. Access to the interior for patching or repairs is limited. It will not take a Hobie cart or sail. IMO, the price might be a little high (especially this time of year) unless it is in excellent condition or has upgrades / accessories included. He paid about $1800 for the boat 19 or 20 years ago (I bought one the same year). Of course, this also depends on your local market and what alternatives are available.

As to water in the hull, it doesn't seem excessive or problematic. Those old hulls can leak from several points. Rudder cables in the stern are not sealed and the stern tends to squat with speed. That's probably your biggest source of water. Rudder control and up/down handle on the starboard side also are not sealed. It's easy to remove the water with a sponge or rag after using and open the hatches to let the boat air out. Any hatch sealing you might do would probably not mitigate the situatilon. If you want to try anyway, you can reinstall with clear silicon calking would seal the mount. The hatch opening is another matter -- check the gasket. Same with the rear hatch mount -- it tends to collect water from the cargo area.

Good luck with your decision!

Roadrunner, thank you very much for the tips!

I ended up buying it after reading the points in your previous post. I appreciate your consideration of condition vs age, I've bought boats in the past that were 20 years old at the time and lasted another 20! Tandems unless they are PA's or AI's don't seem to come up for sale very often in my area and those that do are usually out of my price range.

The condition of the hull seems really good, mostly small surface scratches on the bottom from beaching on the lakeshore. The boat has always been kept inside, hung on the garage wall and paddled in fresh water. I looked again at the seats and they have the expanding pin and screw rather than rivets, so I should be able to replace them. The older V1 mirage drive has bent masts which I'll need to straighten, the V2 drive masts are straight. The rudder lines have also replaced with spectra sometime in the past (I found the original faded red and blue zip ties sitting loose in the hull).

After buying it, I took it to the local Hobie dealer to check out whether it would be worth adding heat welded plastic to a deeper scratch on the bottom and he concurred that the boat is in great shape and had obviously been well looked after. At the end of the day, if my seven year old daughter and my wife get a few years of fun out of it on the lake we live by, and it instills a love of the water... that's all that matters.

Thanks again for your reply. Much appreciated.

Congratulations on your purchase. We've had 3 generations of Oases -- it's always been a great boat -- quick, stable and forgiving! We had a lot of fun goofing off with the first:

Great photo!