Hobie 16 in the Race to Alaska

Hello cat sailors!

We are sailing our Hobie 16 catamaran 750 miles from Port Townsend, WA to Ketchikan, AK in the 2024 Race to Alaska. We are “Team Tips Up” on the r2ak website. With just over two months to go until the start, we are here seeking for any advice you may have. We want to do this great boat and community proud, and push ourselves and the boat hard all the way through to Ketchikan.

Two specific questions we have:
—> What rigging/parts should we consider replacing now? Any breakdown will be a big deal, so we want to replace, service, or inspect everything on the boat now. It’s a 2011. What are the most common failure points you’ve experienced or seen others experience? We’re generally trying to keep the boat class legal (except the pedal drive… )
—> What spare parts would you recommend we bring during the race? If anything does break, we want to be able to keep going. But we are very weight limited. Our team weight is 290, and we are planning to start with 30 pounds of food and water, plus 30 pounds of gear, including our pedal drive. Total weight capped at 350, hopefully less.

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2011 Hobie 16 from West Coast Sailing

I would suggest to replace all standing rigging (shrouds, forestay, bridles) and shroud anchor pins. If you purchase from Murrays, you have the option to up-size the rigging diameter to 5/32” instead of the stock 1/8” diameter. The larger diameter is something like 40% stronger.

For spares, I would think a decent length of high strength line (thinking Spectra or similar), some shackles, rudder pins. Probably also some tools like pliers, wrenches, and screw drivers, a sharp knife, maybe even a small hand drill (thinking brace and bit), and some machine screws and self-tapping screws. I’d think a little bit of quick setting epoxy could come in handy for field repairs. And of course, zip ties and duct tape can often prove invaluable.

sm