A little over my head...

Well, here goes nothing, I am trying to learn how to sail, the parts of a sailboat, the things I would need and how to sail. Since I have a huge interest in Hobie's 16 and 18(my god father had one when I was growing up.)but as it seems, I got in way over my head. Could you guys help me find a way to not be so entirely screwed? (I'm in Boca Raton, Florida.)

By the way, I DID and am googling what I can.

_________________
If the grass is greener on the other side, Take to the water!

I'd do almost anything to learn to sail. crew your boat, mow your lawn, date your daughter ^_^

Brett,

Have you already bought a boat and if so what is it? Learning to sail is not difficult though at first it seems like it. The best thing is to find Hobie sailors in your area and ask them to let you crew. They will usually be happy to help someone get into the sport. This forum will provide a lot of good information as well.

I was told that you could learn all you need to know about sailing in 20 minutes and the rest of your life you spend trying to go faster.

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Howard

You may have seen these:

http://www.hobiecat.com/experience/learn.html
http://www.hobiecat.com/support/pdfs/sailguide.pdf
http://www.hobiecat.com/support/tech/righting.html
]http://www.hobieclass.com/site/hobie/ihca/downloads/hobieu/HobieU.pdf - big file

No, I am yet to buy a boat, I was about to buy a Hobie 16 but i noticed some cracks in the starboard hull and I didn't know how much it would be to fix that, monetary and time. I am thinking about getting a Hobie 18 though.

As far as finding anybody that sails a Hobie I've been trying in Boca, Even resorted to Craigslist.org but am yet to get any hits. Any suggestions on how to find somebody?

_________________
If the grass is greener on the other side, Take to the water!

I'd do almost anything to learn to sail. crew your boat, mow your lawn, date your daughter ^_^

Go to the closest yacht club and offer to crew, go to the beachs that beachcat sailors are known to frequent during the weekend and ask them to take you out, look up the closest hobie fleet to you and call them and ask for help. Most sailors are totally cool and would love to teach a newbie - I would never turn someone down.

ALso, it dosnt have to be a hobie that you learn on. Any old sailboat will do for getting the basics.

That is one of the HUGE problems, Everywhere in Boca Raton with a place that sails they have like a freaking mega-yacht of a sailboat and they hire the crew. other than that the places people meet that do sail are ritzy places that you can't get in without a membership.

I've never seen anybody with a hobie in Florida so how would I go about finding a hobie fleet?

_________________
If the grass is greener on the other side, Take to the water!

I'd do almost anything to learn to sail. crew your boat, mow your lawn, date your daughter ^_^

Florida is the cat sailing state!

Look these guys up:
http://www.cat44.com/

_________________
Sail Revolution
Join us on our new FB Page!

Actually, there are probably better boats to learn on than the Hobie 16 or 18 from the standpoint of a total beginner. The Sunfish and Laser are two of the classic beginner boats that have been around forever and can usually be found used at low cost (and there are many other similar boats). Small dinghies are generally simple to rig and fairly easy to sail. They'll let you know right away when you screw up, but they're easy to right from a capsize, and they aren't too fast to be dangerously out of control. If you definitely want to stay with a Hobie, the Bravo would be closest to a dinghy.

You can learn to sail on a cat, but it will be more difficult than a simple monohull. Not saying it can't be done, but there are easier boats to learn on. Learning to tack can be tough. Also, make sure you don't go out in conditions that are over your head - these boats can overwhelm you if you're not ready for it.

sm

According to the Hobie Class Association, there are only three active Hobie fleets in Florida. And they're all up in the Pandhandle.

I did find this: http://www.cat44.com/

The closest dealers are:

NAUTICAL VENTURES
1880 GRIFFIN ROAD
FT LAUDERDALE, FL 33004
Phone: 1-954-926-5250
E-mail: [email protected] Map

LIQUID SURF AND SAIL
2750 SW 26TH AVENUE, SUITE D
COCONUT GROVE, FL 33133
Phone: 1-305-860-0888
E-mail: [email protected]

I suggest visiting them. They may know of some other active clubs in the area.

A catamaran is a personal water craft that uses sails for power; they are not really a good boat to learn to sail on. I would call the local Red Cross and ask when their next sailing class begins, you will learn on a Sunfish or the like and you will learn real sailing. Those skills will allow you to sail a catamaran, and will also allow you to understand the "issues" of catamaran sailing. You may end up buying a used "board boat"; a year on a Sunfish is never a bad idea.

_________________

Frank, sailing '02 Getaway in Wichita KS. Lake Cheney
(Hobie 17 RIP, storm of '05)

Also you can try catsailor.com alot of Fl. people there.

_________________
Rich Vilvens
F-18 5150
[email protected]
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/f-185150sailing/

You'll have to scoot your way around a bit to find where stuff is.
Try Hank and his merry gang at Nautical Ventures, right on Griffin just east of I-95. A wealth of useful information. I have dealt with them for years.

Fleet 44 is not that big, with good folks, who usually do club racing on a Sunday morning off the south end of Ft Lauderdale beach. Not much time to teach, I suspect.

Go to a local sailing club, must be some in your area. Google sailing clubs, South Florida, there are tons. I know there is one at the east end of the causeway on the way to Hutchison Island.

The best I can come up with is probably Chuck's Watersports, at the south end of Delray Beach. They can set you up with a rental, Wave or Getaway, and they're a nice bunch. Plus on the weekends, a bunch of privateers often sail out of there and you may be able to hitch a ride.

At the north end of Delray beach, where the private boats are moored, you should run into Elias, the guru of the Nacra 5.5's, he knows everything about cat sailing. A retireee, he's there every day, very knowledgeable and helpful.

If you are prepared to drive to Rickenbacher Causeway, Biscayne Bay, there is a another great rental operator there, who will help you out with some hands on stuff. I haven't been there in years, but I hear good things about his cats and his location and his service.

If all else fails, come up to Ottawa, Canada. Little nippy right now at minus 23 Celcius, and four feet of snow on the ground, but we know that in three short months, we'll be pulling our cats down to the beach for another season of sailing. Good luck.

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

Miami Yacht Club is catamaran friendly and is not the "mega-yacht" yacht club. They're right off the MacArthur causeway on Watson Island in downtown Miami, so not the easiest to get to.

Catamaran Assoc. of Biscayne Bay (CABB) is another resource - John MacKnight is the commodore and is a Hobie 20 sailor. I don't have an e-mail for him, but he is JMAC on catsailor.com.