Just returned to the Hobie fold after 20 years - bought Hobi

Hi,

Having previously raced Hobie 14s, 14 Turbos and 16s in 1980's and 1990's I was lured away to race Hurricane 5.9s, Prindle 18.2's and a Prindle 19. This led me in the end due to family into Yacht racing.

Perhaps it's a mid life crisis or something but I've now just bought an old Hobie 17 with jib kit to have a play with during the Winter months and on none yacht racing days.

I've seen a post on this forum about converting a standard 17 to a Sport. I don't remember the Sport from when I used to race Hobies. Were the Sport a later model? Is the only difference the "boomlet" and mainsail cut?

I also see a thread about converting an SE sail to Sport. How is that done and how beneficial is it other than losing the really low boom? Is there anything else to be done to convert to Sport? I see Sport kit list shows jib blocks on front beam (looks same as the Hobie 16 I think had). Is this kit available rather than having the current arrangement I have with jib blocks about 2 thirds of the way back along the tramp?

Thanks.

Looking forward to getting out on the wing!

It sounds like your boat is not actually a 17 Sport, but a 17 that had an aftermarket jib installed.

The Hobie 17 is a uni-rig catamaran and the 17 Sport is Hobie's version of a two person, sloop rigged Hobie 17. It is kind of an odd ball boat that didn't really fill a need other than to create yet another option for buyers and dilute the Hobie 16 & 18 classes to some degree. They basically took a single handed platform that had some nifty features and just stuck a jib on it and called it a two person boat. The problem is that the platform doesn't handle all that well with more than one person on board. The low hull volume and low crossbars cause the boat to sit very low in the water with a lot of weight on board.

Anyway, the main difference between the 17 and 17 Sport is obviously the jib. Along with the jib comes a bow spreader bar and therefore a totally different forestay system. The bow spreader is needed to prevent the hulls from failing when sailing with the jib. The jib sheets to fixed cleats that are riveted to the front crossbar.

The 17 Sport also does not have a boom, it has a boomlet. On the original models (early 1990's) the mainsail on the Sport was made specifically for that boat. It had a Harken boomlet with an adjustable outhaul/traveler. The later versions of the 17 and 17 Sport use a universal mainsail that works on either boat. There is a short boltrope section sewn to the clew of the mainsail and the boomlet can be slid onto this bolt rope so the boat can be sailed without a boom. This boomlet has a fixed outhaul position which is not adjustable. When sailing with the boomlet, you lose the ability to adjust mast rotation.

Those are really the only differences between the 17 and 17 Sport - jib & boomlet. Otherwise, there is no racing class for the 17 Sport however the standard 17 still has a reasonably strong racing class in some regions of the US. Production of both boats was discontinued in the early 2000's.

sm

Hi,

Thank you for your response and information. Much appreciated.

My boat has the furling jib kit and bow spreader bar so I guess the main difference is the mainsail and boomlet.

Thank you once again.

Post some pictures! Welcome back, I am sure that you will fall in love all over again!

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_________________
Steve
2017 Hobie 16 "Cayman" sails 114795
1985 & 1973? Hobie 14 "Sea & Ski"