Hobie 16 versus Hobie 18 Magnum

Hello,
I am new to Hobie Cats and have been scanning and searching for a couple of months now for a decent older hobie. Up until now I have been sailing an older 470 and want to add to the range. I mostly sail with my brother-in-law but sometimes like to take others along like my kids or brother or nephew. The trouble with the 470 is that it really isn't meant for more than 2. 3 is very uncomfortable.

I have looked at some hobie 16s as well as a couple of 18s. Recently I saw a listing for an H18 magnum. Right now I am leaning towards H16 as a good, "easy" to rig, inexpensive boat that should be able to handle at least 3 people on. The 18s I looked at weren't in the best condition and seemed like they would be much more difficult to manage from a rigging/unrigging/launching/docking standpoint. We would have to rig and unrig and trailer each time we sail.

Here's the pros and cons that I am seeing right now and I wanted to see if anyone could lend additional "real-world" insight to help guide me.

H16:
pros: lightweight, easy/quick to rig, can handle 3-4 people, less expensive, parts more available, more out there so more people "help" out learning the ropes
cons: stability, safety?, ability to point, speed, older models lack double trap, more prone to the dreaded pitchpole

H18:
pros: larger more buoyant, more room (especially with mag wings), 4 people should fit, daggerboards make it point better
cons: heavier, harder to rig (don't know if I could do it myself with just the kids), harder to right, parts less available, more expensive, daggerboards make it harder to beach or sail to ramp

2 maybe 3 on a 16. if your looking for a boat to take friends out on buy an 18. never 4 on a 16

FOUR ADULTS ON A HOBIE 16 MAKE FOR A VERY DULL DAY
TWO ADULTS AND THE 16 IS THE BEST CHOICE BY FAR
A HOBIE 18 MAG WOULD BE THE CHOICE FOR CREWS OF FOUR EVEN WITH THE DAGGERBOARDS WINGS ARE GREAT TO HAVE
GARY
HOBIE 21 SE
THIS SUMMER IS WAS CAPTAIN OF A HOBIE 18 MAG AT EDISTO BEACH IT SEEMED VERY SMALL COMPARED TO MY BOAT VERY VERY SMALL
I HAD FORGOTTEN HOW CRITICAL CREW POSITION COULD BE WHEN TACKING WE CAME AROUND AND THE BOWS WENT STRAIGHT UP

I think the getaway would also fit the bill, gets a little sluggish with 4 adults but the kids like the front tramp and doesn't pitch pole or go over unless pushed. Not quite as fast as the 16 and certainly much slower than any of the 18's but the rig is simple even for a solo sail and can be rigged and unrigged quickly.

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06 getaway -- always remember, man with both feet in mouth have no leg to stand on.

I agree with Gary. Definitely get the 18 and bigger like a 21SE. If you are going to sail solo you need 16 and possibly an 18. Generally with minimum 2, which is always more fun than 1, I can rig the 21SE in less than 45 minutes, with 3 it is getting down to 35 minutes. Therefore, if you are going to sail with freinds and family bigger is always better. The 18 would be better if you are always going to sail with somebody. The 20 or 21 if you are going to average 3. I have yet to find a faster boat than the 21 SE, but I am sure the tigers are faster, but with 6 adults you can mostly still outrun every boat on the lake..... My Tornado is faster than any cat I have been on, but the 21 SE with wings with 5-6 adults is the most fun you can have in the summer.

Thanks for all the great advice. Turns out we just weren't able to find a H18 in good shape. I also didn't see any of the larger boats. The only Getaways I could find on the used market were a bit out of the price range I was looking to spend. I think I need to start a little "next Hobie" savings fund. Sounds like from this forum it will only be a matter of time before I am looking to trade up or add to the fleet. So, I ended up choosing option 1, the H16. Our general theory is to take both boats if we are going to be having others along and that will get us up to 4-5 people we can have along and have fun with. Of course, the Hobie crew will be sailing circles around the 470. So we can load 3 on the H16 to "handicap" the race -haha. Thanks again. Always get great advice and info on this forum.