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PostPosted: Thu Jun 28, 2012 8:26 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2012 8:08 pm
Posts: 3
Hi folks. I'm 100% new here, though I've been lurking / reading here for a bit.

I'm looking @ buying a Hobie 16, but I don't want to spend a bunch of time restoring one-- I don't mind buying one that isn't perfect, and I don't mind some minor repairs, but I prefer to get one that is in decently sailable condition right off.

I found one that was "lovingly restored" but the guy that owned it hadn't done the resto work, hadn't ever sailed it, and it was more beat up than I felt the price he was asking for it merited. I decided to pass on that one.

Someone else was advertising one for $500 and I figured I'd take a look at it; it was pretty rough hull wise and in my opinion only good for parts. It had a poorly repaird 6" x 6" hole in the starboard pontoon, some very soft spots in front of the tramp frame on both sides, and some pretty significant cracks in the gel coat. More work than I wanted to do to fix it though I knew about the crappy patch coming in, I didn't know about the softness on the tops.

However, the guy selling that actually had a bunch of hobies and one caught my fancy. It was an 86 vintage boat with good hulls. There was some slight softening in front of the tramp frame, but not nearly as bad as the other, and the hole in the fiberglass where the port rudder post mounts also had a crack in it. Otherwise, the hulls were pretty good. (Though they did have some weird blade like things on the tips of each hull. Honestly, the things looked kinda dangerous...) The tramp was pretty dirty and the lace rope (not sure what it's called) was pretty greasy, but the mast was in pretty good condition and it looked like most of the hardware was there and functional. I looked @ the boom and it was in decent shape too.

I looked at the sails and they looked OK but I didn't get a chance to spread them out well--- he didn't have a big enough clean area. Before I bought it, I'd check them out better.

He would sell me that 16 with a trailer (no lights) and sails set for $1000. The trailer was in good condition, but not great--- it'd need to be cleaned up and repainted in the near future. He claimed the boat had all the hardware with it, but I'm not familiar enough to be absolutely certain it would.

He did say that if there was a significant piece of hardware missing, he'd find it / strip it from one of his other cats and seemed to think it was good to go. I told him I'd think about it and get back to him tomorrow.


So, my questions to y'all are as follows:

Given the limited quality of the description I gave, does it sound like an OK price? Should I try and talk him out of it a bit. I don't think the boat's been in the water in quite a few years.

Is there anything I should check specifically that I'm missing? Any common mistakes that first time buyers make that I may not catch?

I think it's an OK deal (not a great one, but a fair one for both parties) but I'd prefer some reassurance -- I don't want to invest in something that I have to put 80 hours of work into before I can enjoy it.

Thanks and hi y'all. =)

-S


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PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 9:12 am 
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Joined: Sat Oct 29, 2011 4:27 pm
Posts: 576
Location: Central Oregon
run away...soft spots in front of tramp=bad
missing parts=bad.
For 1000-1200 you can get a nice 16 ready to hit the water.

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PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 10:11 am 
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Joined: Sat Nov 06, 2010 8:10 am
Posts: 681
Location: Satellite Beach, FL
I agree. You can do a lot better for $1000. If it has soft spots and is in generally dirty condition, he'd be lucky to sell it for $500 any time quickly. Someone will probably buy it eventually though.

Keep looking, check craigslist daily or even twice daily. If a good one pops up with a good price, you'll have to move quickly or it may be gone. Until then, read the forums and educate yourself as much as you can.

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PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 11:12 am 
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Joined: Mon May 21, 2012 10:20 am
Posts: 34
Where are you located? How far willing to travel to get a decent boat?

I am relatively new to hobie ownership- have sailed them of and on since a kid. But I know fiberglass boats pretty well.

To me, if there is any soft spots/ delam, it probably won't be worth more than about 500, unless there are some really nice hardware and other adds.

1000 should get you a pretty nice boat needing minimal parts, cleaning, etc. 2k should get you a great used one that you can take sailing that day and little needed for upgrade.

There is more than just having all rigging/ hardware. Is it original or upgraded?


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PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 1:43 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2012 8:08 pm
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I'm just outside of Madison, WI. I'm willing to go up to 3 hours in any direction- farther for the right boat / deal, though I figure every 3 hours I go adds another $100 in boat costs just for fuel.

The softness in the hulls on the cat that I'm looking at are pretty minor. There is some slight deflection when I press on them and they're slightly deader sounding when tapping that the rest of the hull. I've looked at the repair guides for fixing de-lam'd hulls and I think I can manage those repairs without too much trouble.

The boat is pretty much 100% original, so there aren't any upgrades-- I think all the hardware is there, but I've never owned a hobie before and there may be something missing; I'll have to watch some of the rigging videos.

I THINK it's pretty much all there and good to sail, but I feel sketchy about it because the guy has so much junk around... he had one cat that looked like maybe it came off the trailer @ 75mph and ground the bottom of the hulls off--- then had someone try and fiberglass a repair but never bother to do anything other than a rough 'glass job to it, so it had hairy glass halfway up both hulls. Another 17 was coming apart across the entirety of the starboard pontoon. I didn't even check the port. If the guy had it on a lift and could toss it in the water and sail it, I'd feel a lot better about it.

Thanks muchly for the replies, please keep them coming!!!

-S


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PostPosted: Fri Jun 29, 2012 6:24 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jan 03, 2011 3:42 pm
Posts: 274
Location: Sarasota Sailing Squadron
Have you read this yet?
http://www.sailingproshop.com/catamaran_guide.aspx

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PostPosted: Sat Jun 30, 2012 1:03 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jun 28, 2012 8:08 pm
Posts: 3
I thought I posted a reply to this yesterday, but apparently it didn't go though.

The soft spots are pretty minor; I'm not afraid of the repairs as listed here, I'm pretty sure I can take care of it. There's some slight deflection when pressing on them, and when knocking the hulls they don't sound as crisp in that area.

I think all the hardware is there; he says it's all there, but since this would be my first purchase, until I sit down and rig the thing, I'd be lying if I was sure. This one was pretty much 100% original. I'm more nervous than usual since there was 3 completely junky cats sitting around. One looked like it must have come off a trailer going 70 mph--- the bottom of the hulls were both re-glassed and whoever did it did one of the worst "bubba" jobs I've seen. Glass halfway up the hulls, never sanded, filled, finished, or painted.

I'm pretty much camping CL and checking at least 2x daily; if something pops up, I'll jump on it. I'm just outside of Madison WI and most of the boats are either fairly junky or look to be over priced. There's one up in Waupaca that I was going to probably buy, but it got sold a few days before I could get up there to look at it and buy it.

I'll keep looking; thanks for the input guys!


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PostPosted: Sun Jul 01, 2012 8:24 pm 
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Joined: Sun Jul 01, 2012 8:19 pm
Posts: 1
If you are near Las Vegas and looking for a fast water ready Hobie I have one.
It comes with all the bells and whistles 2 sets of sails trailer has new tires. Mast is sealed, hulls are solid no soft spots Gel coat is clean and fast. I just bought it and it is so fast the wife got scared said sell it it. First $1200 hauls it away. Email me for pictures and details.


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