hey all,
so, I just acquired my first hobie cat the other day, never sailed one before... I was going down the road and saw one sitting on the side of the road, that I noticed had been there for quite a long time, and I stopped and looked at it, and a guy showed up and we got started talking, and he said it got left there and he wanted it gone, and I said all I have is 5$ on me, and he said he couldn't go any lower than 50$, so, yes, for 50$ I scored a hobie 16 that had brand new sails (from a Trac-14) and the only thing wrong was it was missing a tiller handle and center link for the rudders, but, being a boat mechanic, it was easy to fab something up..... so, 50$ plus 30$ at the hardware store got me a fully functional hobie 16 in pretty awesome condition, probably one of the best scores ive had in years....
had it out on the lake yesterday, was blowing solid 15 gusting 25, and my first impressions sailing one of these things were holy F that thing accelerates, doesn't tack or point for squat but, holy crap that is a bot that just wants to go.
now, even with sails that were 50 some less square feet than standard hobie 16 sails, it was easy to see what that boat was all about.
ive sailed for years, had a few fixed keel san juan 21s, cal-20s, sailed laser2s, fjs lidos, v-15s, hobie 33, catalina 42s... after sailing yesterday, it made me realize that reaching across a 1.13 mile wide lake doesn't take much time in a boat like the hobie 16, and kinda made the lake feel small...... seems like 10 miles or so could disappear pretty quickly under a hobies sails
and it got me thinking.............
I live in the san juan islands of Washington state, and I also grew up kayaking the islands, so, I know small boat camping is more than a reality out here in the summer time. if you are unfamiliar with the area I'm talking about, please look it up! we have tons of beach camping sites, state parks, marine parks, and beachside campgrounds with hot summer days, good sailing winds, and long days, granted the water will still kill you in 20 minutes without a wet/dry suit...
I am wondering what the thoughts would be on making my hobie 16 a beach camping machine...
first order of business would be a motor, that is mandatory out here because of the wind being so shifty, you can have it blowing like hell on one side of an island only to go around the corner and have it be flat calm, just to put up a larger genoa, to have it knock you on your ass 30 minutes later when the wind shifts again, kind of the story around here when it comes to sailing... for the most part you can get around with just sails, but, we also have a lot of current and tide, so, a gasoline engine is the only way to go, cant rely on batteries and electric motors, too limited on weight and range... how would that be possible? a 2hp aircooled Honda outboard would probably be the way to go....
next would be storage.... what about putting inspection hatches in the tops of the amas? I'm not talking about bringing everything including the kitchen sink, its a multihull afterall, and weight is critical... more like place to stash ultralight backpacking gear.... wouldn't be able to go away for more than a few days, but, there are also some larger lakes that id like to be able to sail too (lake Chelan, to stehekin which is like 50 miles) but, overall, it would be nice to do more than just day sailing with this boat...
for all you cold water sailors, what is your preference? dry suit or wet suit?
anybody else have these ideas? anybody done anything like this?
my vision is to have a capable boat for relative short distance inland/near shore/protected waters cruising, with everything neatly fitting in the hulls, with an auxiliary power source that preferably drinks gasoline, as I feel id be limited by a battery and electric motor...
thoughts?
thanks!
|