Hi,

I am new to cats but have sailed single hulls for awhile. I live on Long Island NY and I am looking for a used Hobe 16. I used one down in Myrtle Beach last week with my son a few times and we loved it so we are going to try to get a used one.

I know the obvious things to look for but since I have not work with catamarans before is there anything special I should look for?

Thanks for any advice you have.

Larry

First off, let me say that the Hobie 16 is a great boat, both for cruising around and for racing. The most important thing to watch out for are soft hulls, particularly in front of the foward pylons. There are ways to fix this, but it could re-occur. Best thing to do with these boats are to back away, unless it's crazy cheap and you don't mind doing repairs.
Also, when buying a Hobie 16, make sure the boom, mast and rudder system are in good shape, especially the rudders, these can be really expensive to replace. Other things to watch out for are wornout sails and tramp, and the standing rigging. Chances are you will want to replace the wires and trapeze system anyways out of safety.
One tip when you begin sailing the 16 is to have the mast raked far back enough to have the back of the boom only a few inches above the rear crossbeam.

Any other questions feel free to ask, lots of knowledge on these forums.


"Embrace the dark side"

yellowhulls

dont foget to make sure the trailer is in good shape... you dont want that failing you on the ride home.

also look into the state requirements for reg and title and make sure you have all the paperwork.

here in fl it is a not required to register a sailboat under 20' and you dont have to title it if its under 16.... so in turn, almost NO ONE has a title on thier boat. If they ever enforce the title law... we are all in trouble.

Ok thanks guys. That will give me a good starting place to look.

I will let you know what I find.

Larry

there is also a site called catsailor.com that in the forums you can search for info on boats for new guys... this topic has been covered in detail 10000000000 times

I agree with Andrew, this topic has been covered, but we are always ready to help
Remember, in getting a cat, think about typical wind conditions, how many crew/weight will be on the boat, and what kind of ride you really want----the Hobie 16 has the tendency to pitchpole/ and or flip readily when not sailed correctly (trust me on this ).
Good luck

I checked out catsailor.com and found a lot of information.
Thanks again.