"Soft Hulls?" looking to buy H16

I am looking to purchase a H16. I can buy a 70's vintage (Orange Hull) from a Hobie Cat master (owns about 5 cats), lives down the lake from me, and is in great condition. (I prefer white hulls)

Here is my question. I just looked at a hobie that I think is 80's vintage (Hulls are white, tramp is blue) and as I looked for soft spots I realized I do not know what, if any softness is normal for a hobie. This cat has a soft spot approx 20 inches in front of the right front post. The softness was very mild in that the hulls were firm on the sides, but there was some give directly in the middle in a very small area. Every thing else looked good.

Is this the soft spots that are good to avoid, or is this normal?

Any benefit from a 80's vintage boat vs a 70's?

Personally I would go for condition over color. You can paint them.

I have a '75 and a '77 ( I think ) and both of them have solid hulls.

They might have made the '70s boats stronger with more glass ( not sure on this )

Also I like the all aluminum mast. I think it is stronger and more waterproof and looks better too. On the older boats you can reef the main if it blowing too hard. For watever reason Hobie dropped that. I've heard it has to do with the Comptip mast.

Soft spots on the hulls are normal on older boats but need to be fixed. They can lead to structural problems if they are not fixed. It is relatively cheap and easy to repair a soft spot using epoxies. If you search for delamination you will find many threads on this topic and I think Matt Miller has a thread on it under the FAQ.