Baby bob

I am thinking of installing a Baby Bob on my Hobie 16. Does this really help with keeping the tip of the mast afloat or am I wasting my money?

Yes... they work very well.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

That is good to know, thanks!

Many years ago I experienced my Hobie 14 going turtle and I don't want that to happen again if I can prevent it! Our lake is mostly shallow, but as luck would have it I found the deepest part to flip over in (GRIN). I was able to right it.

I will have the Baby bob installed over the winter then. Thanks again.

I am sure the baby bob works wonders, but if you are wanting to save a few bucks there are other solutions. First, you can go buy a dock bumper from walmart and just hang it from the top of the sail.

Or if you are really cheap, a couple of milk jugs work too.

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Nacra 5.2 "Elsies"
Hobie 14T, "Blazin" I guess I am keeping her!

I put one on our 1981 H16 because most of the water we sail in is below 30 foot with a mud bottom (Chesapeake and it's rivers and creeks) and my wife is a little nervous on the water (She's from the mountains of Pa.). The last thing I need is the mast getting dug into 3 or 4 foot of black gooey Chesapeake mud with my wife freaking out.

The Baby Bob works great! We capsized last weekend and my wife scrambled atop the skyward hull like a cat, she stayed up there and the mast dipped a little but stayed afloat. I'd definetly recommend it.

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1981 H16.
1993 Macgregor 26S

swampcreek,

That is good! I have already bought the Baby Bob, but haven't mounted it yet. We bought the boat so late in the season that it didn't seem worthwhile to mess with it.

We only had two weekends of sailing before the end of summer. And alas, we simply don't have time to go to the cottage in September.

As to the cheap alternatives mentioned....I want something that looks good. Milk jugs don't cut it (smile). I am not real thrilled about the looks of the Baby Bob on the mast, but at least it looks like it is intended to be there and has the Hobie emblem on it. And most importantly (from answers here), it works!

Thanks for not using the milk jugs, as you get it, many others don't.

OH, they don't look that bad, you can even spray them with some paint.

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Nacra 5.2 "Elsies"
Hobie 14T, "Blazin" I guess I am keeping her!

My free (plus $1200 in repairs and upgrades) H16 came without the Baby Bob. This and a righting line were some of the first things I bought. I'll swear by them both. Also, one day the mast got away from me and the mast-head hit the pavement but the only damage was a slight bend in the Bob's mounting brackets. I've also taped some yarn to the back of the Bob as an additional tell-tale.