Looking at an old Hobie 14....right hull has a slow leak, and both hulls have had the bottoms glassed over a fair bit. Sail has a couple of Dacron sail tape repairs. Tramp looks to be in "ok" condition for now. Hulls look like it was a messy glass job with drip lines running up both hulls the whole way down. I was wondering if one could simply sand down the drip lines and repaint over the old paint with a fresh coat of boat polyurethane or something? What would be the best paint to use on this? Could I paint the entire hull, or would that make the "foot pads" on the top slippery? This doesn't have a trailer and just gets stored on the lake shore. I'm not looking for a racer, just something to toss around after work for a couple of hours. Originally I wanted a Hobie 16, but at $250 I'm willing to warm up on a 14 unless it is just a bad deal all around. I don't mind putting a few dollars and some time into it. I appreciate any advice and input.

I always suggest to friends to spend a little more up front, unless they absolutely love restoring boats. If you buy a 500$ hobie, expect to need to replace a lot of stuff. Stuff that adds up quickly in cost. You might save a little in the end, but you will spend countless hours. If you are willing to spend 1500$ on a hobie and you wait around a bit to find the right boat. You can find some awesome boats because there are a lot of people wanting to spend 500$, but much less wanting to spend $2000.

With that said here is the information on what the verify on a hobie 14 to make sure you don’t get totally fleeced:

Items to check on a prospective boat:
• Right and left rear corner castings at trampoline supports often get cracks in them
• Check to see that the mast is straight by sighting up it when the rig is stood. Look up the sail track.
• Rudder cams should be in good working condition. You can test this by locking the rudder in the down position and tapping at the leading edge of the rudder with your foot. The rudder should not release until you give it a solid shot. The rudder should be easily brought in to the up position with the steering mechanism.
• The spring that holds the rudder cam in place when locked down should be in good condition.
• Push on the deck of the hull just in front of the front crossbar. If there is flex in the deck, this is probably not a good boat for you. This area is critical to the boats structure!
• Look underneath the hulls to see if there is a lot of beach wear. If you can see the hull beneath the gelcoat paint, that is okay. If you can see fiberglass coming through the brown hull resin, the boat will need a $300 bottom job soon.
• Check at the back of the boat where the rudders connect to the hull. The metal fastener housings are called gudgeons. If there is cracking around the gudgeons, the boat has probably had some problems when beaching. This can be a severe problem so look carefully at the back of the boat.
• Look for worn wires on the mast. Look at the shrouds (side wires) forestay (front wire). Also check the bridle wires (very front, attach to bow) for broken strands. Ask the owner when he replaced the wires last. Most manuals suggest a five year maximum life for wires even if they have not been used.
• Look for broken strands in the halyards (lines that pull up the sails).
• Look at the sails for broken battens (solid pieces of fiberglass) in sail.
• Look for tears in the sails.
• Check the stiffness of the sail material. The newer the material, the stiffer the sail.
• Trampoline condition. Tramp should have no tears or holes.
• Look for areas of discoloration in the hulls. This may indicate a repair of some type.
• Ask if the boat leaks. If so, how much in two hours. A few cups of water are okay, but half a gallon or more is unacceptable.
• Look all around the hulls for gelcoat (paint) cracks. Sometimes this is okay, but if the area around the cracks is soft, walk away and look for another boat! Press on the decks with the palm of your hand and all of your weight.
• Ask the owner of the boat to rig the boat with you the first time to make sure that all of the parts are there. Make sure that you look overhead before you stand the mast to make sure that there are no electrical or telephone wires you may hit. Once you have rigged the boat, actually get on the boat and pretend that you are tacking. Move the sails, the rudders, and anything else you would normally operate when sailing the boat.
• Ask the owner why he is selling the boat. How long has it been on the market? Are you the original owner? When was the last time you were sailing on this boat.
• Ask the owner what model year the boat is. Then go to the back of the boat on the right hull and look on the back of the boat. There will be a hull number that will end something like "M79L". This would indicate that the boat is a 1979 model. Make sure that the title that the owner gives to you has a VIN # (hull #) that matches the number on the boat. Make sure that the person you are speaking to owns the boat. They must own it outright with no "legal owner" listed. If there is a legal owner listed, you must make sure that the lien on the boat has been satisfied. Simply call the lienholder. Make sure that the person selling the boat is the singular owner and that there are not two names listed on the title. If there are two names, then the other person must also sign off and date their interest in the item. To be really sure that this boat is as it appears, contact you local DMV and County Accessors office. Have the Hull numbers for the boat and the VIN # for the trailer ready along with the owners full name and address.
• Taxes and registration. Ask the owner if he has paid his county tax on the boat for the current year. Call DMV and make sure there are no outstanding parking tickets or other citations on the trailer. If the boat and trailer are out of date on registration, it could be very expensive to get the boat and trailer back to current. The certificate of non-operation slips are much more limiting than they used to be so call DMV to confirm you will not have to pay the additional registration fees and back penalties due.
• If the owner no longer has or has misplaced the certificate of title(s), make sure you have them provide you with a "duplicate certificate of title" along with $14 per lost title to cover DMV fees and processing fees. Do not give payment in full for the boat until the title has been cleared with DMV!
• What additional accessories come with the boat? Beach roller, lifejackets, harnesses, wetsuits or sailing gear, spare wires, pins, shackles? Extras are nice, but add no real value to what you should pay for a boat except for a cat box and beach roller. Does the trailer have a spare tire?
• You must also get from the owner a "BILL OF SALE" which is a standard document available at the DMV. A home made version does not do the trick. When you arrive at the DMV with the bill of sale you will be assessed State of California Sales Tax based upon the amount paid for the boat and trailer. You must get separate bills of sale for the boat and trailer showing correct hull and trailer numbers. It is payable at the time of registration.
There are other things to check over and there is no way we can cover them all in this article. If you use this as a fundamental guide and some common sense, you can make a good purchase! Good luck and always wear your lifejacket!

Source: http://www.sailingproshop.com/catamaran_guide.aspx

I agree with Matt. There are a lot of cats out there at all price ranges. From the way you describe the 14, it seems as though it has had some problems. I would be afraid of spending the 250 and then finding out I purchased a much bigger problem than I anticipated. I just purchased a 16 that was in great shape for 1500........trailer and all. It needed nothing and was ready to put in the water right away. My original budget was about 500 then increased to around 750 and I wound up spending 1500. The more 500 dollar boats I looked at, the more I realized by the time I repaired all that needed repairing, I would have a minimum of 1500 invested. So I continued to search the internet and was finally rewarded. My opinion is to wait for what you really want before making a purchase. You will not regret it if you put a lot of thought and research into it. Then and only then can you make an informed decision. Good luck!

Thanks guys. Decision was made for me. The boat was posted last night and I thought I had the guy holding it for 24 hours, but apparently not. I contacted him this evening only to find out it had all ready sold. Oh well. Wasn't meant to be. I guess I'll just have to wait around for that Hobie 16 w/trailer that I wanted originally. I really want a tramp. system too...the 14 didn't have it...so I guess I should consider the whole thing a blessing that I didn't get it. Oh well.....still...for $250 I could have been on the water this week....at around $1500 for a reasonable Cat 16, it will probably be another year at least......

Of course having not seen the boat all of this is conjecture. After 20+ years around cats I have yet to see one under ~$8-900 that would be in the water in a week. You said the 14 didn't have a tramp? Thats another couple of hundred right there! If you sail it once and the sail rips, a couple of boat bucks will not be enough to get another one even used if you can find one. Where are you located? I have a trailer that used to haul a H16 that I'll make someone a deal on. I'm sure if you look you can find a deal that will work for you.

Clayton

We had a Hobie 16 in the local paper a couple of years ago for $150...didn't see the ad till late in the day and it was already sold... The boat was at the local launch the next day complete with a good galvanized trailer, good sails and no hull damage or repairs...the owner was just tired of having it sit in his back yard and sold it cheap to get rid of it. So keep looking there is a million of them out there.

Regards,
Bob