Return to Hobie.com
Hobie Forums
It is currently Tue Mar 19, 2024 2:12 am

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 15 posts ] 
Author Message
PostPosted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 7:10 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Wed Sep 04, 2013 9:55 pm
Posts: 6
Hello all,

I am looking to get into sailing for the first time and have been looking at a few used H16's in the area I live, St. Augustine FL while in college. I wanted to know if I would have any issue solo sailing or going out with 1 other crew members on the 16. I am on the bigger size 6'3 and 270.

Should I not be looking at H16's?

Any suggestions or advice on the subject would be of greatly appreciated.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 9:54 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Fri May 11, 2012 3:07 pm
Posts: 224
A H16 has a capacity of 800 lbs. It will carry you just fine. The H16 is a find starter boat. Lots of people have many opinions on the matter. I would only suggest that you make the leap.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 10:31 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Wed Sep 04, 2013 9:55 pm
Posts: 6
Im going to go check one out today in the area after classes. The guy selling is had it listed for about $1200.

Because I am right next to the beach I am really looking to get this thing in the ocean and inter coastal area.

With that said, if it has any soft spots should I just walkaway immediately?

Thanks again for the fast reply.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 11:14 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Wed Mar 31, 2004 7:20 am
Posts: 283
Location: New Brighton, PA
No, you shouldn't just walk away, it may be good for bargaining tool a better price. There is lot's of good info on here about soft spots and any other thing under the sun. You can use the search index to find answers quickly without waiting for a response from us. Also a nice section on boat repairs, it's near the bottom of the main forum page.
With your size, buy a 16 and sail on, have fun and welcome aboard!!

_________________
Buxton
18' T16 Silent Lightning (16' T2 Hybrid)
11' H16 White Lightning
79' H16 Green Lightning


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 12:31 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Tue May 14, 2013 10:44 am
Posts: 32
Location: SE Michigan
I just started this year with a 16. The Forums have lots of good info if you read through previous threads on buying, repair and sailing. You'll want to consider the full cost to get it in running condition. Little things like chewed up rudder cams, broken gudgeons, damaged lines, worn hull areas (bottom), old shock cord or control lines all add up over the next few months as you get going.

I can see the 16 both as doable solo and a bit daunting. Rigging and stepping can be tough at first. It's almost always easier with some help. I have taken it out solo once and I thought it was easier in some ways.

Somewhere there's a notation on reading the hull serial numbers. I'd suggest using that to confirm what you're looking at.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 3:07 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Wed Sep 04, 2013 9:55 pm
Posts: 6
Just got back from checking out the H16.

Its definitely older, maybe 30 years old. There was no number on the hull to go by.

The hulls were in poor condition. While checking for soft spots there were about 6 spots on the tops of the hulls that gave when pressed in with my fingers. The sides of the hull were a little more squishy especially near the rudders.

The Rudders were very worn from beaching and where they attach to the hull of the boat they have bad stress cracks all around the brackets.

The sail was the original sail that came with the boat. The guy said it was resown and patched up but was faded and looked to be in poor condition.

I gave up on the boat when he said after he took it out once and it took on water in the hulls, thus the repair he had done on both the hulls.

I pictured me taking this boat out on the water and the hull cracking on the first major gust of wind I catch.

Is this what I can expect to run into the majority of the time when looking for H16's in the 1k - 2k range or is this just a case of poor owner care?


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 3:59 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Tue May 14, 2013 10:44 am
Posts: 32
Location: SE Michigan
They're out there. For me, I happened to find the guy that was finally parting with the boat he's had for 30 years just as I was considering one. I dropped just over 2k, and it was well maintained and ready to sail. I don't know about your area, but there's always Hobie cats for sale up here, and I haven't seen another one the water yet. Some of them do look in frightening bad condition.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 4:06 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2011 6:28 pm
Posts: 323
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Hobie 16s have been around since the early 70's so you will find plenty rotting in backyards that are trashed and beyond hope. That never seems to keep people from asking $1000+ for them on craigslist.

That said, there are some very good ones around too but you need to be patient and do some leg work. Start by putting a classified advertisement up on this board and thebeachcats.com forum. The next thing you should do is contact your local hobie fleet or yacht club. They tend to know where to look and it's not uncommon for yacht clubs to have idle boats around that aren't advertised but the owner would happily part with if they got a reasonable offer. Be very clear what you are looking for, where you are located, and give an idea of what you want to pay. If your budget is less than $2000 you are going to have to look at a bunch of old boats to find a good one. Your ideal boat in that price range is an older one that someone else restored a few years earlier. I've seen several restored mid/late 80's 16s around $2000-$2400 that are in fairly nice condition.

Good luck!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Sep 09, 2013 8:04 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Mon Sep 12, 2011 7:28 pm
Posts: 265
Location: BC, Canada
Richardm1564 wrote:
The hulls were in poor condition. While checking for soft spots there were about 6 spots on the tops of the hulls that gave when pressed in with my fingers. The sides of the hull were a little more squishy especially near the rudders.


Definitely walk away... :( This does't even sounds repairable.

There should be a lots of H16 in FL. You should be able to get an older but but ready to sail boat for around a $1000.

Good luck :)

_________________
H17
Image


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Sep 10, 2013 5:06 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:54 am
Posts: 26
For $1K+ with those problems, yeah, walk away. Don't know about St. Augustine, but even where I am in mostly-landlocked western PA, these "back yard" boats are not uncommon. The market isn't small (there are a lot of these boats out there) but it's also not large, and they're not really a "commodity item". I've been looking around a bit lately, and been debating various upgrades, etc. and weighing against getting a newer boat, so let me see if I can boil it down a bit.

To give you an idea, I got my '81 H16 5 years ago for $750 with no soft-spots (although the hulls have inspection ports which is a telltale sign of previously-repaired soft spots), a mostly-roadworthy trailer, 2 sets of blown-out-but-recreationally-usable sails, an ever-so-slightly bent mast (that has been getting worse), and enough "stuff" (spare parts, rigging, etc) to sail on and off for ~4 years without major investment. I would say for the first 4 years I had it, I put in maybe $500 total. In hindsight, I feel that this was a pretty good deal. This year I put ~$500 into overhauling the trailer (I'm paranoid about trailering) and this winter, I'm planning to re-glass the bottoms of the hulls, as one has started taking on water -- it's not severe, but it's not minor either, and it's only on one side, so it puts the boat out of balance -- anyway, it's time to fix it. (I've also replaced the mainsheet blocks, and done some other assorted fix-ups.)

In terms of "whole boats", most everything I've seen on Craigslist considerably under $750 has been an obvious fixer-upper/for-parts boat. If you can find a boat with soft spots but a decent rig, and another boat missing most of its rig, but with solid hulls, both on the cheap, maybe you can put together a FrankenHobie. But that'll be a project.

I also see a fair number of delusional $1500+ listings on Craigslist for early 70s to early 80s boats that have obviously been rotting in the back yard for years with no protection from the sun, and which mention no redeeming factors. (i.e. $1500 boat might be an OK deal if the thing has a mostly-unused, indoor-stored rig, tramp, and a crisp set of sails.)

If you're going to spend $2500+ then you really want to look for 1993+ hulls. AIUI, they got considerably lighter in 1993.

If you've got even more money than that, but not enough to go full retail, you might consider calling around to dealers in low-traffic areas. I know one guy in our little local group got a hell of a deal on an H16 that our local dealer had sitting in his warehouse for 3 or 4 years.

This is anecdotal, to be sure, but I have seen very few boats on Craigslist over $1200 and under $2500 that looked like they were worth a second look. Mostly seemed like people with these rotting boats just throwing it out there and seeing if anyone will bite. Obviously, I don't go and look at all these boats first hand, but the pictures and descriptions are usually uninspiring.

The other thing that's helpful to know is what repairs/replacement parts cost. For instance, if a boat is missing its rudder/castings/tiller assembly, that's going to cost you ~$1000 (at least, new) to replace. Sure, you could get a parts boat, or shop around for the parts, but do you want a project? or do you want to sail? Other big ticket items are the mast (~$1700 new, wide variations on used ones, but they're awkward and not readily shippable, so you gotta find one local), the sails (~$500 a set for anything decent used, ~$1400+ new), the trampoline (~$3-500 new, don't buy used), and the mainsheet blocks (~$350 new). Any one of those things missing or unusable, and a boat becomes much less of a "deal".

Hope that helps, and best of luck. I hope you find a well-maintained boat that'll give you the kind of economical enjoyment I've gotten out of mine!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 11:45 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Wed Sep 04, 2013 9:55 pm
Posts: 6
Thank you all for suggestions they have been a great deal of help.

I think I may have found a good contender. Just thought I would ask you all if it looks good on paper.

H16 1991 asking $2200

Comes with..

Trailer + Sailbox
Dual Trapeze and Harnesses
Hulls are solid (I haven't seen them yet)
2 Full sets of sails - 1 used, 1 new
New EPO Rudders
New halyard
Spare parts bag


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 12:19 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:54 am
Posts: 26
Shame it's not a 1993+, but the EPO rudders and the new set of sails can add a lot of value. A pair of EPO rudders would cost you ~$500 (and that's just for the blades alone, to say nothing of the modern castings -- but I don't know exactly when the castings were switched over) and if the sails are truly "new" that's over $1000. (Although it's not clear if "new" means never-been-sailed, or sailed-only-one-season, or merely sailed-less-than-the-older-set.)

Sounds like it could be a good find -- You should go take a look! Make sure to check out whether the rudder castings are new- or old-style, and that the mast is straight. Neither would necessarily be a deal breaker, but might give you bargaining leverage. Also look for all the modern tackle; Are the jib travelers line controlled? Is there a 6:1 downhaul? 6:1 mainsheet? Aussie jib halyard? etc.

Also, feel the "old" set of sails -- if they're totally blown out (no crispness to them at all -- think like synthetic T-shirt fabric), it'd arguably be a mistake to think they add any significant value to the package. A blown-out set can be good to save the day when you get to the beach and realize the good sails are still in the garage, or when you wanna go out in ridiculously heavy weather and don't want to risk your good sails, but other than cases like that, the jib leech flapping will just drive ya nuts.

Good luck!


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Fri Sep 13, 2013 2:15 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Wed Aug 10, 2011 6:28 pm
Posts: 323
Location: Raleigh, North Carolina
Richardm1564 wrote:
Thank you all for suggestions they have been a great deal of help.

I think I may have found a good contender. Just thought I would ask you all if it looks good on paper.

H16 1991 asking $2200

Comes with..

Trailer + Sailbox
Dual Trapeze and Harnesses
Hulls are solid (I haven't seen them yet)
2 Full sets of sails - 1 used, 1 new
New EPO Rudders
New halyard
Spare parts bag


That sounds like a great deal if the hulls are sold. Even if the hulls are shot, the other parts are worth $2200! (A new set of Hobie-made sails is ~$1700 alone)


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sat Sep 14, 2013 10:04 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Wed Dec 28, 2005 12:56 pm
Posts: 740
Location: Los Angeles
GD_NC wrote:
Hobie 16s have been around since the early 70's so you will find plenty rotting in backyards that are trashed and beyond hope. That never seems to keep people from asking $1000+ for them on craigslist.

That said, there are some very good ones around too but you need to be patient and do some leg work. Start by putting a classified advertisement up on this board and thebeachcats.com forum. The next thing you should do is contact your local hobie fleet or yacht club. They tend to know where to look and it's not uncommon for yacht clubs to have idle boats around that aren't advertised but the owner would happily part with if they got a reasonable offer. Be very clear what you are looking for, where you are located, and give an idea of what you want to pay. If your budget is less than $2000 you are going to have to look at a bunch of old boats to find a good one. Your ideal boat in that price range is an older one that someone else restored a few years earlier. I've seen several restored mid/late 80's 16s around $2000-$2400 that are in fairly nice condition.


I agree !!! I paid $700 for an 1985 in 2005. It was just luck for me because I had no idea what I was buying. Of course, it didn't look anything like it does now but it was fundamentally sound. Nevertheless, never buy anything with soft spots. You don't want to get anything that's going to require a lot of maintenance right off the bat, especially if you don't have any maintenance experience. Also look for worn hull bottoms, especially on older boats. You'll have enough to maintain without anything major like softspots and worm hull bottoms.

_________________
Image
Happy Sailing,

David


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Sun Sep 15, 2013 4:27 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Tue Apr 08, 2008 8:54 am
Posts: 26
If you don't care about looks (i.e. color matching, etc), hull-bottoms are relatively easy to fix. "Fixing" soft spots is a bit more of an art, and is really only delaying the inevitable death of the hulls. Then again, if the hull-bottoms are worn through, the boat has either been abused or been sailed a LOT.


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 15 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Jump to:  
© Hobie Cat Company. All rights reserved.
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group