shark wrote:
Looking at an older 16 as a rehab project. First do they carry a serial number or date of manufacture code? Is there a series of older 16s that a person should avoid? This 16 has been stored uncovered on the beach in Virginia for at least 6 years. Fiberglass looks pretty rough, of course needs a new tarp. Mast looks okay and hardware appears that it will clean up okay.
Any help would be appreciated.
My first question would be how much are they asking. Buying a Hobie with the parts on the boat or in the sailbox is typcially a much better deal than trying replace worn out parts with new. A new tramp has to cost at least 400. I have bought three Hobies off of local lakes. I considered the last two to be good deals. I paid 700 for the second boat and it was i great condition. I had to buy cat tracks from someone that cost 200 used. I sold that boat to a buddy and he still has it. I recently bought a replacement boat for 1200 but it had a nice sailbox on the trailer and the cat tracks were included. Both had tramps that were in good condition. The condition of the sails is a big deal. Stiching, battons and the leading edge which fits up into the mast when you raise the sail can get worn and often needs attention. If I were going to look for a new used boat, I would definately lean towards finding one on a lake.