Which are Better?

Are the Hobie "Toy Box" trailer boxes better, or the ones you can get through Murray's. I'm talking ease of use, toughness etc... I have a chance to buy either one used and have never dealt with any of them before so am looking to tap into some of the vast experience here on the forum. Thanks for your opinions.

I'd look for one that was made out of fiberglass rather than plastic (Sorry Hobie). They may be a bit more expensive but they'll last much longer and will not break down as fast as plastic in sun light.

I have a fiberglass box that I got second hand for $200, it makes sailing way way simpler. Everything is right there ready to go.

I was going to say the exact opposite of Hobie Dude. The Toy Box from Hobie is pretty tough. It doesn't degrade that quickly when exposed to UV despite what some may think. I saw an old prototype at Lake Mojave a few weeks ago and it was still going strong. (You should be covering your entire boat when not in use anyway, which would cut down UV exposure dramatically if you're worried, but I've never seen a brittle one or anything like that.)
The glass boxes are good if you can find them used...but new, the Performance Cat boxes are around $800!!
Most people like the way the sails slide into the Hobie boxes without getting snagged on rough glass. (I sell both styles BTW)
Call any of the dealers around you and maybe you could meet them at a regatta and save yourself some shipping.

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I find either to be too expensive. I made my cat tube/s (actually 2 of them, one for me and one for my buddy) from 12" dia 0.25 " wall PVC pipe capped with 0.5" PVC flat stock used for the ends. If you get a full 20' pipe section (~$130.00) you also get a foot of flang that can be used to make two 6" slip on end caps. For the cap ends buy 30" x 30" X 0.5" PVC flat stock (~$65.00) and some PVC cement ~$5.00). To attach the tubes to the trailer, four 2"X36"X1/8" galvanized steel straps (~$30.00) and 4 suitcase latches (~$20.00). With the above you can build 2 tubes for ~$250.00. I can provide pictures if interested.

I do agree that the fiberglass one's are expensive, that's why I waited until I could find one for 200 used. Hell, my whole boat is probably not worth what those Murray's boxes go for.

My ony experience with the plastic ones are actually with the guy that I bought my fiberglass box from. He purchased a second used H18 with magnum wings and fiberglass box just so he could put the fiberglass box and wings on his H-18. After about two years he never got around to it and sold the box to me.

The plastic box that he did have looked well worn/ loved. It did hold up just fine for the amount of sailing he was doing anymore. I just know that if he was offering me his used palastic box I would have turned away, and he said that if he was doing more sailing, the fiberglass box would have been on his trailer.

Just my two cents

If anyone wants a PVC tube sail box, there's one on the beach that's been here for 2 years. It needs new hinges and hardware and has about 500#'s of sand in it. I think it's 10" diameter. Come and get it.

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Read through this.

http://www.catsailor.com/forums/showfla ... #Post64483

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