My first cat

I just bought my first boat (well I should say my Buddie found it drove 4 hours one way to pick it up for me. I just paid for it he should get the credit for it and to top it off he found me a great boat) It has some flaws but so far I have found all the fixes here. I live close to lake Michigan and will be sailing there. I have never been on a cat except on a large one in Mexico. I am looking forward to many years of sailing. I already have 2 kayaks a canoe and a camper. Any advice would be welcome. Thanks to all for the great community!

Sail tight and fast early, get your first pitchpole out of the way, flip the boat a few times, learn how easy it is to right, and keep sailing like you stole 'er!

You say "your friend found that boat for you?" Well, you need to shoot him. You call that a friend??? Your acquisition of that boat is the beginning of your demise. You're goin down. You are on your way to being a slave to the "Hobie Gods." Nevertheless, all this is worth all the fun you're gonna have.

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Happy Sailing,

David

Standard advice for new Hobie owners: Safety first in everything.

1. Never sail without a life vest on your chest. I love the water and feel as comfortable in it as I do sitting on my couch, but never sail without a life vest. Cheap insurance.
2. If you don't know how old the standing rigging is then replace it immediately. Again, cheap insurance compared to a dismast.
3. Read a book or two about sailing. Much of the info is common sense or you would figure it out eventually anyway over time, but there is always something to learn, and, as Otto von Bismark once said, "Fools learn from experience. Wise men learn from the experience of others."
4. Practice righting the boat so you don't need to "learn to shoot in a foxhole." Capsizes are normal for a 16 and there is little to be afraid of. When you do go over and if you can help it, don't land feet first in the sail, and if you do then do not walk on the sail, but swim off it gently.
5. Many of us have forgotten to put in or tighten the hull plugs. It happens, but you'll be in a heap of trouble if you don't recognize the sluggishness of the boat soon enough. I keep spares in my tramp bag, along with spare rudder pins (it's rare, but pins have been known to fall out if the boat turtles).
6. Learn to backwind the jib to make it through a tack.
7. Read posts on this forum about tightening the tramp lacing to firm up the boat for good performance.
8. Make friends with your local Hobie dealer and Hobie sailors to tap into the accumulated wisdom. Admitting ignorance to them is actually helpful.
9. Hobie factory parts are very often competitively priced and higher quality than 3rd party items.
10. Challenging the wisdom of forum member Matt Bounds will result in you being publicly punked.

You don't say what area of the country you call home,

But, keeping it simple, the best snapshot of advice I would give a new sailor is to get together with other local catamaran sailors.

There is much about these little cats that is intuitivly obvious to even the most casual of observers. The rest will come to you very quickly if you are in the company of others with both a boat like yours, and time on the boat.

Time spent with other catamaran sailors will shorten the learning curve a great deal. Also, it will probably save you at least one or two boneheaded mistakes.

Catamaran Sailors are, generally speaking, as a group, the most friendly and most sharing of sailors you will ever have the pleasure of sailing with.

Stephen

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If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, maybe it is time to water your own lawn.

AND WEAR SUN SCREEN!
Oh yea replace the standing rigging as skipshot pointed out!

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Brad Stephens
[email protected]
(866) 786-5266 <--- Advice HOTline
http://www.sunjammers.com
www.facebook.com/sunjammers

Hey mtbiker1961,

Welcome to the world of cat sailing. You have aready received some great advice. It seems as though we have a lot in common. I have 3 kayaks and one canoe and one camper. I also had only sailed once on a cat (which was in Mexico as well) before my first purchase. I would also assume by your user name, you enjoy mountain biking. So do I! And were you born in 1961? 1962 here. Hey, this is getting scary!

I have looked at the rigging and it looks to be sound. But I will make a closer inspection. You Guys are a great help! And I have a cat sailor with 7 years of sailing experience to put me on the right heading.

PS I see that you can not send private messages. so I will reply to MUST5429 I live in the arm pit of the Midwest at the tip of Lake Michigan.

Hey ET Hobie guy your right that is scary.

Smells like Gary, IN.


I've raced there before. You get a wicked thermal off the steel mill.

Indiana Dunes Beach is really nice, though. Strange juxtaposition of awesome beach and stinky industry.

the only point I have for you is to read read read! Especially in this forum! There is a ton of information to be had. IF you have a question(s) they've probably already been asked before! Use the search function! And Enjoy! Very soon you'll be flying a hull and hooked to Hobies!

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'83 H16 Tequilla Sunrise and Cat Fever

Download HobieU:

http://www.hobiecat.com/support/pdfs/HobieU.pdf

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Arie
H 16 107568