[WaterNewbie]

Hi all,

My cousin has given me sailboat. It is a Hobie 10 and from what I have been able to gather on the Internet it is probably about 40 years old. Before she gave it to me she told me that it would need repair. I flipped it over today to try and find the repair that was needed and wasn't really sure what I was looking at. The bottom of the boat the boat is warped. When I push on the warped areas it feels like the fiberglass or what ever it is has become detached from the solid surface under it. Is this something that needs to be fixed? I also found a couple of cracks at the front of the boat. There are no obvious holes or breaks through the bottom of the boat.

I have never sailed before in my life. I was out on a boat one time last summer for the first time in over 25 years. I will admit my nautical knowledge is barely above zero.

MY question is what exactly do I need to fix on this boat? How much is too much to spend on this boat. I looked at craigslist and there are a couple of 12 ft and one 15ft sailboats listed between $500 and $800. It seems I maybe be better off investing my money in these rather than this one that was given to me.

I look forward to your opinion.

 

[kaluvic]

got any pics?

 

[JohnRPollard]

Hi all,

My cousin has given me sailboat. It is a Hobie 10 and from what I have been able to gather on the Internet it is probably about 40 years old. Before she gave it to me she told me that it would need repair. I flipped it over today to try and find the repair that was needed and wasn't really sure what I was looking at. The bottom of the boat the boat is warped. When I push on the warped areas it feels like the fiberglass or what ever it is has become detached from the solid surface under it. Is this something that needs to be fixed? I also found a couple of cracks at the front of the boat. There are no obvious holes or breaks through the bottom of the boat.

I have never sailed before in my life. I was out on a boat one time last summer for the first time in over 25 years. I will admit my nautical knowledge is barely above zero.

MY question is what exactly do I need to fix on this boat? How much is too much to spend on this boat. I looked at craigslist and there are a couple of 12 ft and one 15ft sailboats listed between $500 and $800. It seems I maybe be better off investing my money in these rather than this one that was given to me.

I look forward to your opinion.

You are not the first to wonder whether a "free" boat might end-up costing you more than its worth. The good news is you are asking the question at the outset, rather than a few months and much $$$ down the road.

I don't know if those Hobie's have cored hulls, but what you describe sounds like delamination between coring material and the fiberglass laminate. Depending on how extensive it is, this could be a fairly major repair given the value of the boat. Then again, it might be okay for light use??

If you are seriously interested, or even unsure how much interest you have, in learning to sail, you might consider taking a basic sailing course. You can learn to sail on that Hobie cat, but it is more common to learn on a mono-hull daysailer, which is a more forgiving learning platform. You'll learn a bit about boats in the process, and be better able to judge whether you want to invest your time and money into properly repairing the "free" Hobie.