New to the forum and sailing.Need some honest opinions

I had been looking to buy a Hobie for the past 2 months and had found nothing but dogs. I live in Spokane Washington & was looking in Idaho, Washington, Montana & Oregon and there was absolutely nothing except garbage being sold. I recently found a 1980 H 16 for 3K (I know it seems like alot of coin for an '80) located about 2.5 hours drive so I decided to take a look. Upon arrival the owner greeted me and showed out to his garage/shop/warehouse full of toys including boats, Harley's, campers etc...All of which were in mint condition and extra clean. The owner was the original owner bought the boat new & raced it for 8 years on lakes in Washington State then stored it in his own private warehouse for the past 21 years. The Hobie was in MINT condition with only 1 super minor 1" surface scratch on the port hull and absolutely no other blemishes. Honestly it looked as though it had never seen the light of day or water for that fact. It came with a brand new tramp and a back up tramp, 3 old school trap harness, dbl trap wires, beautiful crisp sails, tackle box full of save a sail parts, all the riggings,trailer w/ a storage box and a bunch of misc. items all of which are in perfect, I mean perfect condition. I have had her out on the lake the past 2 weekends and she has sailed beautifully in 8 to 10 knot winds. The only down side is she is 29 years old and it cost me 3K. Was this the right move? I'd like think it was, but I just can't get past the fact it's 29 years old. Please your opions - am I insane?

Thanks,
George

George,

I think you did great. The alternative would be that you would still be looking for a newer, cheaper boat that would most likely be in worse condition. You would have lost a few weeks of sailing as well. I bought my '85 H-16 new and have sailed it a lot every year. A boat sailed only 8 years and well kept is equivalent to a much newer boat. Enjoy it.

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Howard

Thanks Howard as that makes me feel much better. Looking forward to this weekend sailing as opposed to looking for a boat.

Blessings

You may have been able to find a boat somewhat cheaper, but you say you got a boat in mint condition. Gotta love that. I say don't dwell on it and have great time sailing. Welcome to the sport!

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'88 Nationals Blue
Hobie Alter Signature Model
Sail #11

Hobie Mirage Classic

George,

I think you made the right decision. It sounds like a good boat to me. I have been looking around for a newer h16 or an h18 for a while. Compared to what i have seen What you bought sounds like a very good deal. I have seen alot of boats from about 1985-1990 for about 3k. Yours is a little older but it sounds like the boat has a lot of new parts and alot of extras. I went for an older boat. Bought it for $450. It needed alot of work and i have already spent about 1k getting some life back in it. Even after that it still needs alot more work and new parts. New parts cost alot to buy individually. You are much better off spending a little more and buying a boat that already has Everything it needs plus some. My boat has everything you need to sail, but it doesnt have EVERYTHING i want on it. Thats why i am looking to sell it and buy a boat for about the same price so you paid so i can be done throwing cash into the bottomless money pit it has become.

About the age of the boat, My h16 is from 1971 and she holds up great. I take it out in the ocean in the swells on a regular basis and it has held up fine. Mine has 10 years on yours, and is still seaworthy! I dont think you need to worry about the age at all. If the guy took immaculate care of the boat, and it sounds like he did, the boat will last you a lifetime as long as you take good care of it too.

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1971 H16 (sail #1768)

To all of you on the Hobie Forum... I love you guys!!!
thanks for all the help!

$3K is probably more than he paid new in 1980. On the other hand....a new 1980 boat for $3K versus a new 2009 for $10K. You be the judge.

Score! Let's see some pics.
J

Thanks to everyone who has responded to this post. Your feed back has put my mind at rest about my purchase. I will be sailing at Priest Lake, Idaho this weekend and will snap some pictures to post.

Thanks again,
George

Hey George,
I live on the South Hill and am always looking for people to sail with. I do most of my testing at Hauser Lake because the ramp is fairly new and it's only about 20 minutes of driving from my house. My '16 is trailered so I can sail anywhere that has a decent ramp. Maybe we can discuss a mutual sail? I know another '16 owner in Mead that might want to go...that would make 3 '16s on the water...very nice!

Regards,
Eric

skipper08022000 at yahoo dot com
c: 509.590.9890

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Eric
H16
Sail# 11500

Eric,

WOW!!! Another Hobie in Spokane. I thought I was the only one. Contact me at my e-mail address : [email protected] and we can arrange to meet up sometime. Looking forward to meeting you.

George

How do you post photo's from photo bucket?

Finally, here she is the newest member of the family. God I love this boat.

George

Nice looking boat. It even has the 1988 registration sticker. It seems he was not fooling about storing for 21 years.... ENJOY

Very nice setup you've got there. Don't fret about the price. It looks great!

_________________
'88 Nationals Blue
Hobie Alter Signature Model
Sail #11

Hobie Mirage Classic

Way to go George! What a find!

Can't wait to get on the water.

-Eric

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Eric
H16
Sail# 11500