I paid $2300 for a 1979 hobie 16 the other day, and I knew from the start that this was above average. But after reading my circumstances, I'd like your opinions on the price.
I live in Victoria, BC, a town of 300,000 people, on a Canadian island near Vancouver and Seattle. Driving a car to the Vancouver and back costs about $150, and add perhaps $50 for a trailer. Driving to the states is a similar cost, but you have to register and import the trailer.
So you see, when I saw a H16 in good condition right here in town, ads in Seattle at $1000 seemed very unattractive, considering the likely hood of driving down and coming back empty handed. Bad boats, trouble registering or importing trailer, chances of getting ripped off etc.
I also noticed that there were only 2 H16 ads in Victoria, 2 or so in Vancouver, but 5 in the Seattle area. My impression was that the next H16 might be a long time coming. The ad in Vancouver asked about 3000 for a late 80s model, and both Victoria ads asked 2700. These prices are much higher than average because average takes into account areas where the market is fast, I guess.
The hull has no soft spots, trailer was nice, sail in good condition with a few repairs done professionally. The tramp has a tear in it, but is useable (we reinforced the tear already), and the mast base only takes 1 rivet (it's a bit jerry rigged for travelling, but fine for sailing). Some of the haliard blocks have a chipped pulley in them. Comes with a mast float and all (original) trapeze gear.
I keep checking and have not seen any new ones come up for less, so I think I made an OK-good decision so far, considering I got my H16 so fast.
Does anyone else have experience buying an H16 in a small town?
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