buying my first H16

Hey guys i'm 17 and am hopefully buying my first hobie this weekend. Have any tips or things i should look out for. I know about soft shots in front of the tramp and to make sur the rudders and mast are strait but thats about it. Any subjestions?

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Hayden 1988 national H16

Soft spots are the big one. Walk away if there are any - they're like cancer. There will be other boats.

Straight mast is another.

Make sure all the bits are there - have the seller set up the boat on the trailer - including putting the sails up.

Unless the boat is absolutely cherry, plan on spending several hundred dollars on new standing rigging, running rigging and little hardware bits before you're done.

Have a great time with your boat!

the boat i'm going to look at hasa new black tramp, new rigging, fairly new sails, and it's an 88 model so i'm hoping for no soft spots. From what i can tell the masts are stait, double trap and harnesses. Trailer is like new with cat trax and toybox. There asking 2000, is that too much? Any other subjestions?

Thanks for the help everyone

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Hayden 1988 national H16

If it is an 88, no soft spots and as you describe, then $2K is a reasonable number.

That being said, offer something a bit less - $1800. Bring cash.

Make sure you get the title for the boat / trailer if you're in a state that has them. At the very least, you'll need a notarized bill of sale.

thanks for the help

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Hayden 1988 national H16

what are soft spots and where are they?

Soft spots are delamination of the fiberglass and foam sandwich construction. Typically just ahead of the forward beam, but can be found throughout the hull.

Dod a quick foryum search for you. There is a lot of information on this: http://www.hobiecat.com/community/search.php?keywords=Soft+delamination&terms=all&author=&sc=1&sf=all&sk=t&sd=d&sr=posts&st=0&ch=300&t=0&submit=Search

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)