any thoughts?

http://picasaweb.google.com/Guyoco/UntitledAlbum
here is a picture of a hobie 18.I took a basic sailing lesson but my wife was scared of the small 420 we were learning on.We tried a hobie cat in mexico with no lessons and only what I read about sailing and had no issues even though there were some whitecaps and a good strong wind.We had a blast.I think a hobie cat is the way to go.This one is 20 years old but always stored indoors.Everything is good to excellent,but he says if it were to be raced you would need new sails.trailer is 2 years old.he is asking 4500. obo what do you think,if you can tell anything from the picture?I have a knowledgeable friend viewing it soon.Any options I should consider?Thanks for any input.Hope the link works,first time trying picaso.

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catman69

My untrained eye would say...4500!!! holy hell, does it have gold in the hulls? Its a lot of money for a 20 year old boat. If you are handy and interested in a 16 they can be had all day long for less then a grand. Not sure what the exchange rate is right now, but even with, its seems expensive.

By the way, a quick search of craigslist.org for Alberta didn't return any hobie results, but you might want to check surrounding areas as well.

Thanks guys,they seem a fair bit more here in canada for some reason,especially alberta,not as many here I suppose.There is a 2003 hobie 17 w/o trailer for $7000 in calgary but at a dealer so +6% sales tax and they want another 2400 for a trailer!I asked about a new one and the price is $10,696 (plus 6% plus $2400 for trailer) for a 16 and a 17se is $13,410,sport $14,472,fx one $16,950!Not sure how that would stack up in the U.S. but its a bit rich for me to start on,plus we can only sail until sept I would guess, due to the cold.I hope to get it for 3800 as he said in the add "or best offer".If a trailer is 2400$ I would be getting the boat for $1400.What do you still think?

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catman69

sorry 2 reply's one person.

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catman69

Check this Forum as to what to look for when buying an older cat.
No matter the US-CAD rate of exchange, $4,500 is too much, plain and simple.
As an example, I bought my 1988 used H18, with trailer, complete with catbox and cat-trax for CAD$2,000 two years ago. It even had the anchor plate upgrades at the front cross bars. Also only sailed in fresh water. All it needed was some new bungee cords.

If the H18 has wings, add US$500-750.
Go on eBay, and Catsailor.com to validate the price you should be paying.

Good winds

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2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

Do you think I would be better off getting the one for $7ooo without the trailer?If they were not willing to move on the price , I would end up paying $9964 with a new trailer and tax.What do you think is a fair price for the 20 year old h18,remember the trailer is worth 2400 new and its only 2 years old.$3400 ??

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catman69

Read previous posts on the Forum re H16, H17 and H18, what to buy.
H17 is most often a single person boat. With two, it sails 'heavy'.
For two, go for a H16, H18, H20, Tiger, FXone or Getaway.
You can get tons of H16's all over the world, all at reasonable prices.
You pays your money, and you takes your choice, as they say.

H18 went out of production in 2005, and used ones come up from time to time. This H18 still has an all aluminium mast, no comp-tip, and who knows what condition the sails are in. Are they also 20 years old?

No trailer should cost that much, unless its got gold plated wheels or unless there is some kind of premium to get goods into Tar Sands country. I suspect the pricing may reflect this reality of oil sands economics. You can buy a trailer for $750, new, modify it with some pressure treated 2 x 4's and some rollers, 4 x $60, so for under $1,000, you have a brand new trailer. Why not place an ad in the Classifieds of this Forum, or on CatSailor.com? I am sure Ralph in London, Ontario, can get you a trailer for less than $750, and shipping cannot be that expensive. For gosh sakes, do you have a Canadian Tire or a WalMart or a Home Depot in town? How much do they charge for a trailer?

If the H18 is in perfect condition, (remember what I said about looking on the internet for research as to what to look for, especially delamination,) and the lines, rigging and sails are perfect, I suggest a 'top' price is in the $1,500 range, no trailer, and perhaps $1,750 with stuff like cat trax, hiking harnesses, life jackets etc. I have no idea what the Fort McMurray premium will be. If you don't know what delamination is, email me off line at lunnjohn at magma dot ca, or do a search on this Forum.

Where do you guys sail up there?
Or would you trailer down to places like Shuswap Lake in BC?
How long is your sailing season?
Happy hunting

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2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

I do have an excellent person checking it out for me,she has been around boats most of her life I would say,she was my instructor for white sail one and has been teaching sailing courses for many years.Not sure about the comp-tip or even what exactly that is,or the age of the sails other than he said for racing you would need to get new ones but they are in good shape,so i'm assuming they are ok for learning on.As for the economics of the oil sands,Things can be more pricy I would think depending on what you are selling,housing is nuts!Taco time is hiring at 14 bucks/hour.If you have a trade or class 1 d.l. and you are not making 80 gran to start you are working for the wrong company for sure.My brother is a journeyman pipefitter,he's taking home almost 3 gran a week!So things go fast up here if you can get it at all.There is walmart,can. tire rona,etc.etc.Not exactly sure on the prices,probably 450 for the smallest trailer at walmart.Getting rollers and boat stuff though,4.5 hour drive to Edmonton for sure unless shipped.
I saw two sailboats at Gregoire lake so its only 15 mins south of town.Its a good size for Alberta standards,maybe 10kms long,almost round in shape so should suffice,there are a few smaller ones if need be,seems very windy this year!I have never seen any cats up here,I've only seen 4 sailboats in total in 3 years so Edmonton or Calgary is where I'll be looking to buy,gas is 114.9 /L up here so my truck will soon eat up any savings to travel too far I would think.Its about 20 hours drive to vancouver from here.Shipping I never looked into,but I would need to go look at a boat as I don't know anyone in b.c.and I would need to do a lot more research i.e delamination,soft spots etc.I don't want to wait too long as the season is short up here,maybe middle of sept. i'm guessing.

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catman69

I saw that ad for the Hobie 18, a year older than mine. If in very good shape, I still think he is asking $1500 too much. Mine with wings, snuffer, spinnaker and galv. trailer would maybe bring $3k (if I could find the right person).

I like the H-18 for many reasons, stable & comfortable with wings. Fast enough to get you places and very durable.

As for where you live, my company has a mfg facility in Calgary. I know prices up there are way out there. Factory people are making what I am as a Engineer down here.

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1989 Hobie 18 Worlds Boat, Magnum Wings & Spinnaker
1987 Hobie Holder 20 #273

dale.vanlopik"at"att"dot"net

$4500!!!!! You can buy my boat. 1982 Hobie 18 Magnum with SX 29'6" stick, Tiger smoke main, white Tiger jib, full harken blocks( 8-1 main), selftacker, endpole spin system, wht, grey and black Skip Elliott spin, EPO 2 carbon rudders, Miracle 20 quick rudder system w/new castings, black mesh tramp, new black mesh wing covers, trailer and 2 sail boxes, cat tracks w/hull cradles. I'd even throw in a solid standard mast and complete set of 18 sails.
My boat is not for sale. I did this to show you that you are about to get ripped off. I have less than 3k in this boat with all the upgrades. It has never even had the keels reglassed. I paid 1k for the boat, trailer and 1 sailbox 2 yrs ago.
Please don't pay that much for a 18 unless its better than perfect!

I talked to the owner of that 18 a couple of months ago. Its a basic '82 (non SE) and is in pretty reasonable shape but $4500 is WAY too high. I live in Vancouver, BC and I ended up buying an 18 SE in Portland, OR for $1800 including a trailer and catbox. It's an '85 and is in really nice condition. I replaced the standing and running rigging and trampoline, so I have about $3000 into it, but it looks like a new boat. It was a snap to import - the trailer is actually harder to get across the border than the boat itself!

(alt+p)

Take a look on Craigslist and decide how far you're willing to travel. Seattle, Spokane, Portland, Denver and the San Francisco Bay area seem to be the best hunting grounds. The dollar is almost at par now and I think that you can do much better than that boat if you're willing to do a road trip.

Will

Cool thanks,I don't see much around canada other than Ontario and that is way too far,maybe the states is the way to go.The guy with the cat for 4500 had someone come by and he took the first offer,guess he wanted the cash right away even though I had someone coming over that evening!

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catman69

I just paid $2500 for a 1991 Hobie 18 SE & trailer with a cat box, wheels, and never used sails. There was one for sail somewhere on the web in Green Bay that I seriously considered but was deterred by the drive. Depending on where you live in Ontario, Wisc. and Michigan have boat loads it seems (pun intended). Then again, I'm not sure how many pains it would be to get it registered in Canada.

I can speak to the issues involved in getting a H18 into Canada from the USA. I bought my H18 in the USA last summer and it was a breeze bringing the boat across the boarder. The trailer was the hard part. You will need a separate receipt for the boat and one for the trailer. The licence plate I used was the one from the USA and then I shipped it back to the old owner. At the border they will collect the taxes on the boat and you are done with the boat. the trailer then has to be registered at your provincial MOT. They require an old trailer title with the weight listed (they were hard over on the weight issue) as well as the customs form singed and stamped (in two places or three, I had to go back and get an other stamp because the folks at the border missed one). That is all. PROVIDED the trailer is old enough. If it is newish then you need to get a "safety" on the trailer. The other option is to "build your own trailer" and go the the MOT and tell them you "built a home made trailer" and they register it and give you a tittle there on the spot. Just don't try and change horses in mid stream.