Advice !!

I am looking at a 1977 H16, fairly good cond, 7 out of a 10, decent tramp & sails & fair trailer, bottom of hulls look great, BUT has soft spot on one hull. Maybe a 2' area ? I know I can effectively repair it. Owner sailed this past summer, so its complete. He is asking $600.00, might go a few $ lower. Not a bad price, should I wait ? not too many available in North Alabama. More come available as it gets warmer, but price goes up too !! It will be used to beach sail 1 or 2 weeks a year. Alabama surf is usually calm. Also, the color is a light blue,, does color date it ?

I know that many others will chime in on this, but everything I have ever heard about a boat with soft hulls is to walk away. Keep in mind I am a novice sailor. I bought a used 83' for 800 with trailer. Everything seemed fine when I bought it. The guy I bought it from wasn't an experienced Hobie sailor and neither was I. After about a season of sailing she started to develop soft spots on the starbord bow. Unfortunately it was probably of my own doing since I hadn't discovered this awesome forum at the time and even though I always drained my hulls after a sail I wasn't aware of the importance of leaving the plugs out. , but I don't know the complete history of the boat either.

I have done the delam repair, and actually plan on adding a little more expoxy inbetween the crossbars today, as there seems to be another area of delam that I did not origianally fix. Even though I believe the repair will be solid, I will always have in my mind that I am sailing on a repaired boat. There will always be that little bit of doubt that I didn't get all of the areas or that something may happen at a critical time. Plus from what I have researced, a boat with soft hulls will tend to develop them in other areas as well. Plus it drastically reduces resale value.

So even though most will tell you to walk away that is a question you'll have to ask yourself. Is it worth saving a little on a boat that will likely require future repairs? Is it worth knowing that there is a defect in the boat? If your like me and can't afford much more it might be ok, plus you'll get to learn a lot about them from the research I'm sure you'll do on it. I can't even begin to state all that I have learned, mostly from this forum, on researching my delam repair. It's actually how I discovered this forum. So in a way it has in some way benefited me. But if I would have known what I know now back when I bought the boat, which was the most I've ever spent on anything besides tuition, I would have looked for a more solid, newer boat even if I had to save up a little longer. I just can't wait until I'm able to get a brand new one and don't have to have the uncertainty on my mind. The quotes I got for professional repair were more than I could swing.

Sorry for rambling, hope this helps. Please correct me if I may be wrong, experienced please chime in.

James

I think the walk away from a boat with a soft spot attitude is a racer thing. The guys that know the most about these boats are the ones who sail competitively. But they have different expectations, for them a boat with a soft spot will be unacceptable period.

If however you are a recreational sailor who will not be overly demanding and if as you say you can fix the spot it sounds to me like it could be a good deal. One caviat... If the soft spot is on the deck in front of the front beam it could be a structural issue and would require a very good repair. This area of the hull is loaded in compression when the main sail is sheeted hard.

I believe there are instructions on how to fix a soft spot by injecting epoxy into it around here somewhere. Matt M?

My 2 cents.

Hey Pappastratos,

Four years ago, I bought an "85" H16 with sound hulls and a great trailor for $700.00. You do the math !!! This photo was taken at it's maiden voyage two and a half years ago.




Happy Sailing,

David

DavidBell47,
Is the 85' boat you purchased now "Sciatica" as I have seen on your other posts? If so, that is just too cool, nice upgrades, you may be my new hero. If not, that's still a beautiful boat with a more than appropriate name, I've had some back troubles myself. Reguardless, that looks like a nice clean boat for the price you paid. Like I said, wish I'd of known about the forum sooner, but my 16 is still my one and only.

James

Abbman said it best. I bought a 1980 for $500 w/ a soft hull spot and six months later I bought a 1987 for $500 w/ solid hulls. When I was righting my 1980, I thought my heels were going to go through the sides of my hull. My 1980 is a parts boat. If you buy a boat with soft hulls, that is what your buying. There are good ones out there and they are about the same price.

hey DavidBell47, beautiful boat, you guys are right, but here in central Alabama, hobies are hard to come by, I will travel a few hours for a good deal,, have a listing on the "wanted" section. On ebay there is a less than nice 75 H16 that is going for $1100.00

From what I've seen the Hobies on ebay tend to be a little pricey. It's definately a good place to find parts boats. Every once in a while there will be a great deal but I would highly recommend that you take the time to inspect the boat in person before bidding with any confidence.

Have you looked at the classified sections at:
www.thebeachcats.com
or
www.catsailor.com

I would think those site are a little more reputable than eBay

Best of luck with your search. I still think it's hard to put a price on confidence in your boat, especially if you are sailing in low traffic areas where help might not be right there. But, then again some folks like those fixer-upers. But would you rather be in the garage, like me recently and unfortunately, or flying out on the water? I'll always take the later.

James

I think of ebay as, the best place to sell and the worst place to buy. It's all about the size of the audience of buyers. Some of the cat sites are good , but even then you have a very educated audience. You will get your best deal from someone at a boat storage facility that hasn't used their cat in a couple years and are just about to renew their annual storage fees. This is all time consuming with leaving notes on boats and such. Look for local classifieds, cragslist, search engines, etc.

James,

Yep, that is now Sciatica and thanks for the compliment. Been working on it for almost two years now (a little at a time) and "I think" I'm almost finished. Got a good deal on the boat but the upgrades were quite costly. I was so depressed after buying the CatTrax and the main Harken blocks that I almost had to go to counseling. Of course, when you're on the water, that's the furthest thing on your mind. Know that I had been seriously looking for a boat for about a year and a half before I found this one and had been wanting one ever since "Jaws 2."

Papastratos,

In my opinion, Buzzman2 is right about Abbman saying it best. Try not to be anxious. Be patient and be as local as you can in your search. If you wait, it will come to you. Yes, I've done a lot of upgrading to my boat but most of it has been preference. It's like buying a computer with the intent of using it to do a few specific things, until you discover it will do things far beyond your purpose of purchasing it.

Happy Sailing,

David

Boat in Los Angeles always go for was less than in the real LA, lower Alabama. Good used H16's tend to go for $2,500. If the soft spots are small and only on the top of the hull then they are very repairable, our glass guy can do wonders. I normally try to stay away from soft hulls but sometimes you just have to get them and go for it, you can sometimes get a spot boat for in the 500-700 range, fix it and keep your eyes open for a set of hull, around 500 and you have a good boat.

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Brad Stephens is right, these are not that many Hobies in Alabama, along the coast there are a few more. The fix up is sounding a little better ??

you need to try and find someone who has some experience with Hobies to take a look to see if they delam is very bad or not. From the front pylon how far towards the bow does it go? If it is any more than lets say 12"-18" then its prob not worth fixing. Also look at the tramp and sails, don't worry about the rigging I always recommend buying new rigging on old boats, its a safety thing just one of those things that you have to do

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Brad Stephens
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Brad,
I just saw in your last post that more than 18' of delam isn't worth fixing. I have been repairing a rather large delam on my 16, probably from the pylon to about a foot and a half from the tip of the bow. There was also some delam inbetween the pylons. The repair seems solid, but hasn't been tested. The quote I got for professional repair was too much for me, not to say it wasn't fair, but too much at the time. I'm starting to wish I would have just taken it to a pro and coughed up the dough.
My main question is this, should I be on the hunt for a new hull? I have one of the heavier year boats, an 83'. Would the hull need to be of the same year due to the extra weight? Do you ever come across any hulls from this year? This discussion about soft hulls and repair has started to get me a little worried. I don't race, at least not yet anyway, but I still want to be able to push her. What do ya'll think?
James

you can essentially fix any size soft spot, don't worry about it, its just a lot of work, as I am sure you've noticed. The small sized sports are much easier to fix and don't add to much weight to the boat. I rarely if ever fins good used hulls in the part of the country. Keep working on your boat and don't worry about the large repair it will be fine, just heavy.

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Brad Stephens
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