Built by Hobie USA ??

Can Hobie USA make the FX One and/or the Tiger in North America?

Is it not profitable for them to do it?
Would it be a "cheaper" boat ?
Would it be a conflict with Hobie Cat Europe?

I just look at my class of boat the FX1 and don't see many new boats coming in too soon at the price they are at.

I had considered selling my boat to another racer and purchasing a new boat to grow the fleet. I would have at even the higher price, but them it would probably be just me and my old boat racing.

Even if the dollar were to recover how often do you see prices go down, never.

So, I need some reasurance that my class didn't just die.

OK Karl, don't put a head stone up yet.

_________________
Mike Hensel
'86 Hobie 18, '93 Hobie 14, '80 Hobie 14(restso in progress)
Wind in your sails, water in your shoes, great day!

We'll make tee-shirts.

"Composite Production in America: we're the new Aus/NZ!"

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Tim
Unofficial Fleet 72 Communications Officer and Div 4 Webmaster
http://www.hobiefleet72.org
http://www.div4.hobieclass.com/

I'm wondering with the current value of the dollar what really makes sense with regards to Euro glass boats.

I know that the the last time I quoted a Tiger on a trailer, the customer and I were picking our lower jaws off the ground. And that was before any accessories.

Brian C

If we were able to buy a boat made in North America, even out of polyester resign, , then could we get a boat that was closer to 15K? ( Or possible even less )

And would local producing save some cost.

Mostly we want bigger fleets. I think affordable boats are the way to go.
Not more costly materials and overseas shipping.

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Mike Hensel
'86 Hobie 18, '93 Hobie 14, '80 Hobie 14(restso in progress)
Wind in your sails, water in your shoes, great day!

There was a time in the not-to-distant past when Hobie USA was considering Tiger production, but the concept died fairly quickly and for unspecified reasons.

It's not like they can just snap their fingers and start making Tigers / FX-Ones.

Do they make the molds, or do they have to buy them from HCE? What about the extrusion dies for the mast and crossbars? How much licensing fees will HCE demand? Can they make the sails? The list is almost endless.

There's a lot of up-front costs that will take a long time to recover.

We reviewed the idea of making the Tiger here a couple of years ago. That was about the time we moved most of the H16 production to our Australia facility. We still build 16s here in Oceanside, so we could do it, but Australia is better suited for this kind of project. Steve Fields is a master at Fiberglass construction.

We still concluded that the equipment and start-up costs were not recoverable. Importation and freight from France was less expensive. That was before the changes in the dollar, but I think we would have similar issues now... and the dollar does change.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

ok this might be a stupid question but...Since the euro boats didn't get dragged into the whole comp tip thing. If hobie US was to start building them would they be forced to put comp tips on the mast?

Good question...

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

And if they did have to conform to the comp-tip rule, they would probbably not be F-18 Legal...

DON'T KILL ME FOR ASKING THIS, but since I belive the Nacra F-18, and F-18 Infusion are made by performance catamaran in the USA, are they less expensive then the Tiger being imported from EUROPE? I am not endorsing another companies product, I am a Hobie owner at heart, I am just curious.

I've got nothing.

Ok. Typing out loud:
How many Tigers and FXone's are being imported? Is there enough to justify building the boats? They are common component boats so extrusions may be in high enough quantities between the two to keep costs down. Masts, beams, and booms are the same. Is the actually building of the hulls expensive? Do a run of one then the other? I'm just grasping at straws. There wasn't many 20's being ordered at the end, but how many was that? Would the FXone/Tiger be more? Would it be enough? The 20 rudder casting "looks" very similar could that be utilized? How about the EPO rudder?

The obvious of why a "locally" built boat would be cheaper:
I'm just guessing here, but shipping has to add at least $500 to the cost of each boat. If not more. If I order a boat, and it comes on the "Hobie truck" to my dealer I save $500 over having it shipped via another truckline. What does it cost crossing the ocean?

Hobie US has to take a cut. (which I know isn't much, but it's there)

The euro is crazy strong right now.

Inflation is rising drastically. Gotta love that $100/barrel oil.

Packaging, or repackaging in this case. Don't the HCE boats come just wrapped in bubble wrap in the container? Who covers the cost of damage? Insurance, the freight company, Hobie US? Or is this not really an issue?

Screw the comptip, there's got to be a way around that for these boats. Which, (not counting someone getting nuked and the surviving a-hole family members sueing), has to add expense to the construction of the boat.




Or am I talking out my rather cute buttocks?

Karl has nothing, OMG.

_________________
Mike Hensel
'86 Hobie 18, '93 Hobie 14, '80 Hobie 14(restso in progress)
Wind in your sails, water in your shoes, great day!

LOL, guess i was wrong.

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Mike Hensel
'86 Hobie 18, '93 Hobie 14, '80 Hobie 14(restso in progress)
Wind in your sails, water in your shoes, great day!

Some classes authorize builders to use their molds. Here in CA (especially) the good glass guys are skeptical when you walk into their shop and start talking about hull production blah, blah, blah. Everyone of them has been burned by the smooth talking "next big class" guy. There are lots of dreamers out there. All of my boat builder friends call these guys "Day F*****s", that's how common this phenomenon is. Having the Hobie name would help jump this initial hurdle.

Aside from the hull molds, there are templates for the glass, foam, sometimes separate molds for flanges and decks etc and jigs for the hardware. The bottom line is that building boats takes a lot of space and a lot of expertise, so just giving the molds to someone to build a single boat would probably cost double what Hobie builds them for. Is the Euro 2:1 yet?

Then, you would have the issues of build quality varying from manufacturer to manufacturer. A small one-off builder would be less inclined to take a hull back if it ended up overweight or had some issue. That gets pricy.

A solution could be to find a socal glass shop that has the technology to build the boats and get a quote. A friend of mine mentioned Columbia yachts has the space, the technology, and a built in workforce ready to take on a project like that.

If I was Hobie, and wasn't into building the boats in-house, that's what I'd look into doing, 'cause I don't think the dollar is going to recover that soon.

We just bought a 55 gal drum of resin, and I'll tell you petroleum prices are starting to hit hard. In the glass business, resin is about 10 weeks behind when fuel jumps in cost.

A lot of variables in that equation.

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Sail Revolution
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There you go Jeremy!!!! Sub out the glass work! Slap a different name on it and call it good.