Wave vs 16 ft Hobie

I am wondering about the advantages/disadvantages of the Wave vs. a 16 ft fiberglass Hobie. I will be sailing with usually one other person.

I am relatively new to sailing so want something pretty easy to handle.

But is the Wave too slow?

Thanks,
Ron

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~ Ron

Slow is a relative term. A Wave is fast for a sailboat. Compared to a 16, it is slow. A Wave is a great little boat, very quick to set up, very forgiving, easy to right. Great for beginners and experienced sailors alike.
Now, if pure speed / hull flying is what you want, the 16 maybe your ticket. Esp if you regularly have crew along. The disavantages of the 16, price (if buying new), much less forgiving, set-up time (about 40 min from what I have read). With more than double the sail area compared to the Wave, the 16 is FAST, but can also get you into trouble in high gusty winds (please someone correct me if I am wrong). The Wave can be taken out in pretty much anything. I was sailing this past weekend in 18-25mph winds, and it was a blast! I don't think I would have taken a 16 in those gusty conditions.

Both are great boats.

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Jim

2007 Hobie Wave

To counterbalance the speed aspect, one huge advantage to the rotomolded hull of the Wave vs. the fiberglass 16 is ruggedness, durability, and forgiveness. The plastic hulls are almost indestructable. Dragging them along shells, gravel, launch ramps barely has any effect on them. We scratched our H17 just by tipping it over onto the beach. Scratches in fiberglass are noticeable and require a tricky repair job with some kind of marine product. Scratches in plastic hulls are almost unnoticeable because the color goes all the way through the hull. Unless you've done something severe to the plastic hull, it won't need to be repaired.

Make sure to get the jib kit for the Wave if you go that way. It'll add a little power and make tacking easier. I also like the backrest option. It makes it much easier on your knees, rather than sitting "Indian style" all day. You can sit back and the padding from the life jacket you should be wearing makes them almost comfortable. There's also a spinnaker kit, but I think that's a pretty expensive option, and clutters the "deck" for something you can only use on one point of sail.

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Sea ya,
Chris Larsen
Co-Pilot of the Hobie Getaway
"The Twins"

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That makes sense. I can see a lot of benefits to having the rotomolded hull! I also like the idea of the jib. Does anyone know the price of a jib?

_________________
~ Ron

I can check on the price of the jib componets tonight in the catalog. Funny thing about the jib, I have not heard great things about it. Reduced pointing ability bieng one. But others recomend it. Do a search here, there are many posts on the Wave jib subject.

If you want something faster than a Wave but more forgiving than a 16, the Getaway is also a good option for 2. Same exact length as a 16, but a little smaller sailplan. More room for friends too.

For me the Wave is perfect. When my kids get older and want to go out on larger lakes, then I may consider a Getaway.

_________________
Jim

2007 Hobie Wave

Just looked it up, you would need hardware kit, $260, and colored jib sail is $240

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Jim

2007 Hobie Wave

Having owned both, in my opinion, the Getaway is three times the boat the Wave is. It's also almost three times the price. The Wave is a great starter boat, and great to fun around on for more experienced sailors, but if you want to actually do some sailing with friends and family, then the Getaway is the way to go. If you're only going to go out with one other person, the Wave is fine. Ironically, the have a similar displacement. However, I'd load up peeps, the dog, a cooler, and some camping gear on the Getaway. Maybe four peeps tops and a small cooler on the Wave.

I actually had never heard that the jib kit hinders tacking. I sailed my Wave on Texas City Dike for two summers and it tacked considerably better with the jib. I often tack without the jib as an experiment.

_________________
Sea ya,
Chris Larsen
Co-Pilot of the Hobie Getaway
"The Twins"

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Yeah, my old 14T tacked great w/ the jib, so I can see how that can apply to the Wave. I just recall reading that, it does limit how high you can point upwind, since it somehow disturbs the airflow. I would like to try for myself though. That extra 25sq ft of sail seems like it would help w/ horsepower too.

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Jim

2007 Hobie Wave

The price of a Gateway is only around 50% more than the Wave $4,495.00 vs. $6,595.00.... but definitely needs 2 people to setup and sail (as well as a bigger trailer).

All the information I've gathered from this Forum leads me to conclude I will never bother with a Jib for the Wave... Instead I'll definitely invest in a Traveller Kit, and a 10-hole Forestay adjuster ($11.00) instead of the standard 7-hole one to help rake the mast as aft as possible.

Others feel a Spin'kr is a lot more desirable, but that needs better sailing skills and takes away from the simplicity of the Wave.

I have to disagree on one point: a healthy person of reasonable strength can setup a Getaway by themselves. Cat sailors in Miami also tip the boat over, after pinning the mast in place, then just swing the mast out over the sand and pin the forestays, and tip it back up when they're done. I've yet to try this, but it's intriguing, especially considering the resilience of the rotomolded hulls. I've setup my Getaway dozens of times by myself, even while talking to people about it and showing them how easy it is. I also rigged a block on the trailer mast and extended the main halyard to tension the mast forward, which I tied off somewhere (usually on my truck's nerf bars), so I could fasten the forestays myself. Using a trailer winch can add to the ease of the procedure. I tried the mast raising system in the catalogs and found they were more trouble than they were worth.

_________________
Sea ya,
Chris Larsen
Co-Pilot of the Hobie Getaway
"The Twins"

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You may be right, I've never sailed a Gateway... To me, as a beginer, they look a lot heavier and harder to sail solo.

Having said that, let's not forget that the Gateway also has the same type of hulls as the Wave's (a big PLUS) -- compared to the fiberglass Hobie 16 hulls.

Another big issue is storage/trailering.

I like the WAVE because I keep it along one wall in my garage. I bout some treaded hooks and hang all the rigging, with the hulls side by side on the floor.

I still have plenty of space for (2) cars. No trailers!

I also have to disagree with the price comparison. Our new Getaway was well over $10K with tax. We added the wing seats, which I think is a necessity, but the trailer was the standard, galvanized version, and we didn't get any CatTrax (yet). I believe that the $6595 is just the boat, with no trailer, wing seats, Hot Stick, etc. There's a dealer in FL that supposedly sells the Getaway for that on eBay, but it was over $1K for shipping, and no trailer.

I've also heard that Hobie dealers are supposed to sell within their region, and can get their dealership yanked if they violate their boundaries. I think this is Hobie's way of protecting their dealers, which work on small margins anyway and eliminating the possibility of bidding wars.

_________________
Sea ya,
Chris Larsen
Co-Pilot of the Hobie Getaway
"The Twins"

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