HOBIE 16FT

[Marshall Tucker]

OK wrong forum etc. but blazing forth in a bliss of ignorance, anybody had much experience? suggestions what to look for / not look for? what is a "soft spot" on hull what does it mean? stay away from 14ft ?

I've had a lot of experience as a kid with sunfish & lightnings (2yrs seagull) but haven't sailed much since. Now have regular access to the beach, looking for a thing the college age sons might enjoy.

Any feedback / suggestions appreciated!

[char_]

Fun, fun ,fun. Soft spot is probably some delaminated fiberglass. Depending on your skill level can maybe be repaired in your backyard.

[old goat]

For 2 or more adults I'd stay with 16 ft.
For something college sons might enjoy, buy a motor boat.
I used to sail a lightning--nice boat for an old fashioned design.

[Marshall Tucker]

For something college sons might enjoy, buy a motor boat.

While I'm totally on board with that (see what I did there) (had a Larson/evenude for 12 yrs pre-kids and loved it); I just, seems you can get in an awful lot more trouble in the ocean / intercoastal with a motorboat. I know I did.

[Core Shot]

14 sucks. Too small

16 are fun, but the design is so dated.
But there are so many of them, they can be had cheap.
Biggest problem is the hulls are narrow and don’t have much float.

If it’s old you might want to replace the standing rigging. Getting dismasted sucks.

The hobie 18 is a more modern design, but now you have daggerboards.

Nacra is the best by far. Had a few of those and it’s so much fun.

Spent a lot of time on the wire, hiked out with a beer in hand. Good times.

[Marshall Tucker]

But there are so many of them, they can be had cheap.

Bingo

[BmillsSkier]

Where are you looking to drop in, drag in on the beach or trailer to the IC side?

We had a Hobie Wave which is way simpler and 13’ iirc but it was a ton of fun for us kids and we could drag in off the beach by ourselves. (Simple and cheap) We eventually got tired of dragging it back and forth and keeping up with it so my parents got a Harbor 20 to sail out of Windmill Harbor on the IC side mostly for themselves but comfortable enough to fit us grown kids when we all wanted to go out.

Sold it a few years ago but there’s an entire fleet down there, mostly out of out of SCYC. Was way more comfortable to sail on the IC. (I know not what you’re looking for, just some perspective on small mono-hull v multi-hull experience we had)

[BigDaddy]

I had a 16' for many years and loved it. Two adults maxes it out pretty fast tho.

Nice thing is they are easily sailed and managed by one person bringing them up onto beach, etc.

[GoldMember]

I had a Hobie 16...great times! We left it on the beach and when the wind would start coming up, go launch. Try to seal all the potential leak spots in the mast for when you tip it over so the mast doesn't fill with water too quickly to try and avoid turtling it. They're a bitch to get upright once they turtle.

[Marshall Tucker]

Where are you looking to drop in, drag in on the beach or trailer to the IC side?

Having both as an option A+, but i'm thinking largely the latter off public access. Did enough in the day to know what a serious business it is. Thinking to get the boys trained so they, too, understand death is a distinct possibility. Then turn them loose. Kinda like skiing I guess. They survived that.

heading down thurs BTW.

[BmillsSkier]

^^^
Nice. No doubt you and your boys will have fun and it’s easy water to be on too.

Thinking about making a run down this weekend ourselves just to make sure everything is still working as should be. Mom has been SIPing up north with my family and is itching to get down as soon as they say it’s reasonably safe for a 60some year old lady to travel.

Should be a lot of boats for sale soon, so that may aid in your search.

[splat]

You want a cheap sloop at 15'? Find an old Chrysler Man o' War. Two piece mast that slips into a sleeve on the sail, centerboard, and airtight hatch make it unsinkable, but two gown men can have a great sail in big wind with them. I got one for $450 once and could haul it in my pickup bed. Fun as hell. But it might not be as cool as your sons would want for picking up chicks on the beach. And you can't fly a hull like a cat.

Chrysler built up to 26' sailboats and made quite a variety of designs. Thing is, they're cheap and sail quite well. I sank mine first day out in 45mph winds because the cockpit plug was stuck and we were heeled all the way over with the boom in the water the whole time. I thought the mast would snap but it held like a champ;

Here's a 15


And a 26'


check out the price- https://www.shoppok.com/minneapolis/...klyn-Park-.htm

[Marshall Tucker]

^ rented a Sunfish a few years ago on Annamaria island. way, way too small. Fits one adult in 14ft size max. They were a lot bigger when I was 11.

[plugboots]

I helped a friend by his 16’ and then we sailed it for a couple summers in Indiana on Lake Michigan. They basically last forever. Looking back, I would just try and find the cheapest one that isn’t destroyed, because everything on it is easily repairable. I haden’t sailed one in 20 years, and two summers ago I took my wife and daughter out on one and we just had a blast, it all came back in seconds.

[Timberridge]

Have you considered something like a Sunreef 80?

[refried]

I had a MFG Sidewinder as a kid, it was bigger and faster than a sunfish at 16' and held two people much better, still too small for 3 though. Hobie's were more popular on long Island than they were in Maine, I think the water was too cold and drysuits weren't popular yet.



internet pic

My father had a Chrysler 26 for a while, it was a nice boat.

[iceman]

I don't think there's any wood in those hulls but if there is a soft spot would be worrisome. These guys would know: https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewfor...b38cc8f24d8377

Years ago my brother and a buddy set off on a cross-country trip driving a CJ pulling a Hoby 16. They drove the coast from Mass. to Florida, across to California, up to Oregon and back pst the Great Lakes, it took them 3 months all told. Never put the boat in the water.

[splat]

Here's a 15' Mutineer by Chrysler. Three adults, no prob. They're beamy. Can't believe they had a spinnaker for this thing!!

[Marshall Tucker]

^ well, that's bigger. thanks!

[GoldMember]

Here's a 15' Mutineer by Chrysler. Three adults, no prob. They're beamy. Can't believe they had a spinnaker for this thing!!

The beauty of a cat versus a mono-hull is speed. Or, at least, the perception thereof. That and flying in the diaper, right up until you pitchpole and go flying around the stays and getting trapped between the hulls. Not that that ever happens...

[BmillsSkier]

Like the Hobies, keep an open mind for anything that they made a ton of. FJs and 420s for example.

[Tele 'til You're Smelly]

(2yrs seagull)

as in Camp Seagull? haven't thought about that place in a long time- I had like 6 t shirts from there from when my brother went, all I wore in the summer for a couple of years as a kid!

I'd pay more for one without soft spots- not really that easy to repair a hull if you don't have all the proper equipment and skill. And replacing stuff could get expensive, I'd want one with a decent sail and functioning major parts- I think that would be cheaper than buying a beater and fixing up because even ones in decent shape can be had fairly cheaply.

But multihulls are way more fun not just because you can go super fast in high wind, but so you can enjoy low wind days too when a monohull would be too slow- so I'd say go for a cat for sure, whatever it is.

[dunfree]

Proper equipment isn’t much to fix them. Materials aren’t that much either. Hardest thing to source right now would be rubber gloves and an n95. But given how shit the market is, easier to get a good one to start.

[plugboots]

I want to sail one right now.

[Core Shot]

I’m sure there’s a cat forum with all the things to look out for.

Knock And push on the fiberglass all over to find soft spots.
Look for cracks where the aluminum posts go into the fiberglass hull. This is also a place you need to recaulk since water will get in here.

Check bottom of hulls for wear. It’s a knife edge that wears down. Good news is that it’s super easy to put a stripe of fiberglass back on the hulls.
“Soft spots” are more likely to be on the top of the hulls, but wherever they are it’s a sucky thing to have to repair.

Check the rudder blades for cracks near the bolts. Damage from hitting rocks is no big deal. Bondo time. Make sure they click down and lock properly. Check the aluminum rudder tubes for fatigue at any holes, joints or rivets. Broken a few of those over the years.

The sail shouldn’t be too soft and faded or you’ll be buying another soon.
Trampoline is durable but the stitching gives out. First on the hiking straps, then on everything. They can be restitched.

If it’s salt water, definitely budget for new bridle forestay and sidestays.
I used to sail the Great Lakes and still have been dismasted half a dozen times. It sucks. Wire isn’t that expensive.

If you’re on icw, I would get the ugly ass float for the top of the mast. Keeps you from turtling.
I never had a problem righting a turtle, except the one time the mast got stuck in the bottom. Uggh.

And last but not least, unless you have a friend that knows the parts, make the guy rig the boat in his yard. You would be surprised how many parts can go missing on an older boat that’s been sitting idle for years before it’s sold.