Hobie 16 resto

I recently resqued a '76 Hobie 16 from a friends over grown "back forty" out in Terrell, Tx for $0. He said to just "get it outta here".

What I actually have is two decent hulls, frame and a mast. No trailer. The rudders are there, but most likely worthless. And bits of wire and pulleys and such that are junk i'm sure. All the hardware for the rudders is gone. But for that price? I love a good challenge.

I havent really been sailing since I was a kid and went to sailing camp out at Lake Worth. I have a ton of questions, but I will scour the forum before posting them.

The one question that I do have is about Title and Liscensing. I like to get things on the up and up, before putinng any money and time into things. My friend that gave it to me said that it was given to him by a friend of his. The only paperwork that he had to give me was a Bill of Sale from a local charity auction that states " 76 Hobie Catamaran - No Title". Thats it.

I know that big boats have to be titled, but I am not sure about these. Or much of anything else like what are the numbers on the sail for and blah, blah, blah.... Any help with info about the legal hoops would be greatly appreiciated. I have restored a couple of 60's cars before, and I can't wait to dig into this project.

I know that in Calif hobies have to be titled. I ran into a similar situation as yours, I rescued a beautiful (not at the time) '74. If there is no lein on the boat, wich the DMV would find by running the hull numbers, a bill of sale from the owner is what you need to get started. Its a hassle but like you said, keep things on the up and up. I personally wouldnt start pouring money into her until she is legally yours. There are ways around everything but if you have a bill of sale that will get you started, every DMV is different Im sure... Have fun, keep her alive, its the greatest experience ever to sail a "classic" boat, that is is good shape.

Luke

Search the forum for "Texas Title" - there's a thread that describes the horror story of one guy trying to title a 16 in Texas. Texas seems to be incredibly difficult / ignorant about titles for small boats.

Good luck.

I had no trouble titling my old 14. The key is getting the correct forms and having a cooperative prior owner. If it's a "backyard boat" it may have been sitting since before titles and registration were required. If that's the case and you can get the owner to sign the paperwork to that effect, no problemo.