Buying our first Hobie Cat

We are looking at purchasing our first Hobie Cat and have found one that seems to be a great price, but the seller has said that there is a soft spot on top. Says that it is still solid enough that he would stand on it.... It's a 15' with only a main sail which is new and the trampoline is 6 years old in excellent condition and he is asking $700 and trailer is included. How difficult is it to repair a soft spot and is it worth it? TIA

Are you sure it is a Hobie? I don't remember a 15' Hobie.

The Hobie 14 had a single main sail though the Turbo model had a jib. The Hobie 16 has a main and a jib. I would recommend you look for a Hobie 16. You won't regret it.

I would be concerned about a soft spot. Do you know the year of manufacture?

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Howard

I haven’t actually gone and looked at in person yet. Didn’t want to waste our time if it wasn’t worth it because of the soft spot. It looks like a Hobie “decal” in the picture. Maybe the guy just measured it wrong. It only has the single main sail so perhaps it’s the 14’

Search the forum, there are countless discussions about soft spots. Don’t rely on what the seller is telling you, inspect the boat thoroughly yourself by pressing firmly all over the hull sides and decks. The most important spots are right in front of the front crossbar, on the insides of the hull where you stand during righting, and in the central deck area where you sit. A small localized soft area can be repaired relatively easily with epoxy, but large areas or many smaller areas are a sign that the hulls are deteriorating and are at the end of their useful life.

Also, as mentioned above, in the US, Hobie never made a 15 foot model (maybe in Europe?). Double check the make and model for more specific info on the boat you’re looking at.

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if you want a project boat this might be good (if it's a H16 IMO). If you don't want to take on a project, pass on anything with a soft spot. If he's telling you there's a soft spot it's only worth looking at if you don't mind researching, drilling, epoxy work, etc.

If he'll take a picture of the serial number on the back of the hull, assuming it hasn't been painted over, and he sends you that picture you can look it up here or on other sites to see what size and year the boat is.

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1989 H16
2009 H16 squaretop