Hooked by a Wave! What next?

Hi folks, this is my first post here...I have been doing a ton of researching and reading old and current threads. This is a fantastic online community!

Well, like many other noobs here my story begins with...I went on vacation last week...(mine was Cancun), and they had some Waves on the beach at the resort...and I tried one, ad I loved it, and now I want a Hobie Cat!!! Once the wind and the surf picked up that boat was a blast!

So now I am pouring through threads here, craigslist adds, youtube videos, trying to figure out which boat I want.

Here's a little about me. I grew up in a sailing family, my Dad and older brother use to race hobies in a club in Michigan back in the 80's...but I was kinda too young to go out with them and I always thought the Hobie looked scary. I'm sure I sailed with them but my memory is vague.

I currently own a Catalina Capri 18 that I sail on our local lake in Oregon with the Family. It's a smallish mountain lake with variable winds about 2 miles long and .5 miles wide. Ussually a day out involves launching from the marina, running down wind to the end of the lake and tacking back up to the marina...rinse, repeat until we are out of beer, sunburnt, or both

There isn't much of a Hobie fleet to speak of, maybe a few boats here and there. There's a local yacht club that runs weekly regattas, nice folks, mostly older with a variety of boats. A few years ago I got a wild hair and bought a Thistle and raced against them and had a lot of fun. That was a cool boat and I miss the sporty feel and acceleration.

My wife likes to sail, but gets intimidated quickly, and we have 3 daughters 3, 4 and 5. They enjoy going out on the Capri18. I also enjoy single handing, and going out with other sailors and have a few buddies who I think would be psyched to fly hulls on a Cat.

So which boat? I know I don't want a beater project. I am not very handy fixing stuff, and I don't want to constantly be making upgrades to the boat. I did that with the Thistle and it was fun, but I'd rather just sail. So I am factoring a budget of about $5k for a boat that is in great shape and ready to go.

Here are some of my thoughts on boats that I've researched:

Rotos- I will be dock launching and landing the boat, and our beaches are kinda rocky, and the rotomolded hull seems like a smarter choice for durability since I am likely to crash into the dock and hit a bunch of rocks any time I beach it.

Bravo - Looks fun but not really looking for a dinghy class boat

Wave - Was fun on the Gulf of Mexico in 20 knot winds but the wind on my lake is unpredictable, and it's a 45min-1hr drive up to it, so I can call the marina to check on wind speed and it can be totally different by the time I drive up there. The Wave seems pretty boring in light winds, but maybe one with a Jib sails better?

Getaway - Honestly this seems like the practical choice for me and my family, able to singlehand, but also capable of carrying all 5 of us safely. I especially like the idea of a boomless rig with the 3 kids.

Fiberglass - Just seems more like a real Hobie. I like fast, but I am also a bit nervous of how powerful they are.

H16 - These look like a great way to get started, but also kinda wild in shifty gusty winds, and limited in capacity.

H17 - Kinda ruled out just cause it's limited capacity

H18- I found a really cool looking refurbished '81 H!8 about 5hrs away that I want to buy just cause it looks so awesome, it looks brand new in the pics. New Gelcoat, re-anodized mast, spreaders and boom, new tramp, all new sails, running and standing rigging. They are asking $6k which seems high for an old boat but I am sure it has a few thousand in sails and new rigging. Seem like a good idea? I'm a little intimidated by the 18, and probly wouldn't be able to solo it for a while. I am also thinking maybe the 18 would cross my lake in about 3 seconds before I am tacking again. BUt it would point up wind better to make it back up the lake to head in...

Kinda ruled out any bigger boats.

Last thing I'll add is that set-up time wont be much of an issue as I'll likely pay the marina fee to store it in their dock lot on the trailer. I've read a bit on launching cats from a ramp, and I'm not sure if there is a good beach by the dock, if there is it's definitely kinda rocky.

Seem like I have the bases covered? I know all boats are a compromise...I guess I want a bit of everything. Keep in mind that I plan to keep the Capri 18 at least for now, and the Hobie would be a second boat just to spice it up for fun. Though I could see myself not wanting to sail the Capri anymore after feeling the speed and power of the Hobie!

Any input would be appreciated!

You would enjoy the Getaway. It's powerful, but not too powerful. It has room for family and friends. Reasonably tough and won't be hurt by beaching on gravel or bumping a dock. Don't get carried away though - plastic boats are very durable but not indestructible.

From what I've read, righting the Getaway single handed might be difficult, so you'd probably need some plan for that. Not sure how people do it (I have a Wave, so no Getaway experience).

You're right that the Wave is not great in light wind and I've been put off getting the jib because people say it's marginally useful at best.

I flipped the Wave on a botched gybe in Cancun, had the sheet locked and didn't change positions and went right over backwards. Was pretty funny actually. My wife was watching on the beach. I had told her that she should come out with me cause there was no way we'd capsize that boat. Ha...whoops!

Getting it righted was harder then I expected. They gave me no instructions do I just had to figure it out. Took me a bit to realize I needed to use the righting rope and then it came over. I can imagine the Getaway being much tougher.

Well, I found out last night that one of my friends in the yacht club has a Hobie 16! And he's psyched to have me onboard as crew!

That changes my strategy quite abit. I think the smart thing would be to sail with him and learn the ropes. Then eventually get a 16 to race against him in the club!

I still kinda would like to get a Wave. There is a smaller resivor closer to town that's not as popular for sailing because it's shallow with lots of motor boats and jet skis. But it's only 15 min vs 1hr up to the main lake where I dry dock my Capri. Might open up the opportunity for some quick after work sails.

I've got Wave and really like it, but I feel that I am quickly outgrowing it and have been watching for a bigger cat (Nacra 500 or similar). With that said I find it hard to get a crew on the Wave and anything bigger may require crew at all times and setting up a bigger boat will also require assistance and take a lot more time to rig.

I can set up my Wave, solo, from trailer to water in less than 15 minutes and I dont need a crew. I have a jib and spinnaker for the Wave and I always use the jib (yes, I think it makes the boat faster regardless of the nay-say-errs) I dont use the spinnaker too often as it's a lot to deal with single handed, however I do plan on making a launch tube for it so I can single hand it.
The wave is best in winds above 15mph and I've had it in gust up to 30+mph single handed and it's all smiles.

As the kids grow up the Wave would be a great boat for them to learn on and they can sail circles around you when you're on the Catalina. I'm usually the fastest sailboat on the water until bigger cats come out to play.

It's a tough decision and it seems that there is not the perfect boat available.

Make sure your friend with the 16 knocks it over(gently) so you can see about righting. You won't have fun on a cat unless you know you can right it.

_________________
Rick Wattengel
H18 "Puka-Luka"
Fleet 119-Lake Erie's Finest

5 people on it? You need a Getaway. I had a Hobie 17 when the kids were little, but it was too small for the 5 of us from the get-go and way too small as they got bigger. Low volume hulls.
You can single hand any boat, but the Getaway is easier than many. Doesn't capsize as easily as a 16. I don't have any experience with an 18, but I think it might be a handful to handle in a blow. And I've heard they can be hard to right on a capsize.
But seriously, with a family or a lot of people, the Getaway is hard to beat. Lots of space with the forward tramp, the boomless rig makes tacking easier, and simple setup.

_________________
Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks

I recommend the H16 of H18 if staying in the Hobie family. These boats are higher performance and more exciting than the roto boats (which I also have enjoyed at the resorts). They will also be lighter weight and easier to handle on land. I have a H16 and race against H18s, sometimes with crew and sometimes not. And though it is a challenge, have single-handed in high winds (against two 18s single-handed!!)

I grew up on the 16s, and these can be easy to learn - your kids will pick it up easily.

I would not put 5 people on any boat at the same time. An 18, or the Getaway might handle it, but the sailing will not be that great. Instead, take turns with one adult and one kid (which might require a lot of skippering by you until the kids can skipper). I have sailed with my family of 4 on the 16. Not much performance, but doable.

As stated above, flip the boat on purpose to find out what it is like to recover.

Having sailed and raced Hobie 18s,17s,16s,14s and Waves, I definitely respect the difficulty of making a decision, but on a small unpredictable lake with little ones, I'm most definitely saying you should settle on a Wave. Notwithstanding the fact that it is the slowest cat, it is only slightly slower and as there are plenty of YouTube videos to back that up. My own experience is if you get your time on the boat, you can learn to sail it back in a squall better than in any other boat. My first capsize, I kept hold of the mainsheet and righted the Wave against the wind (not advisable) in about 15k of wind. It is the easiest boat to set up, to sail, to right and is the most difficult to capsize. It is the safest boat and was made that way on purpose. Top speed so far I've had is 18.28mph. Setup right it can be very fast. I've been in races where on a close reach with other cat classes close by (approaching the weather mark) the boat was as fast as they were (16s, 18s in particular). The boat was designed for safety first, as the resort boat rental community needed a boat that had as close to zero liability as could be achieved. I sail at Lake Mead, perhaps one of the most treacherous lakes anywhere. A squall can appear out of anywhere, in an instant. I've had several experiences over the years on 16s, 17s, and 18s, some of which required rescue. A few castaways overnight in summer, where I wrapped up in the jib to sleep, to wake at dawn and sail the damaged jury-rigged boats back to a marina. This does not happen on a Wave. The only downside to a Wave is it is very boring if you want to move in less than 3k of breeze. So, I keep close eye on the forecasts and don't sail that day. It becomes a great swim raft. As a racing boat, it is better for beginners and is rapidly growing in the Hobie Class Association, currently on a successful trial run over North America. Division 4 (PNW) of the North American Hobie Class Racing Association had a 25 boat Youth North Americans last year which was impressive. In no time your children will be able to compete if they wish and have a great opportunity to race in your regional Hobie regattas. The Wave class by then will have matured. It is the only class I see boys and girls, men and women all ages competing at once en mas these days. That is why it is growing so fast. I know this is going on and on, but one more tale to tell. For practice I like to jump in with the yacht club here and race with them. In under ten it is hard to keep up, but once 10 and up the Wave seems to beat all, including the fast ones. Last regatta it was blowing about 15-20 and it was crazy fun as the chop was mild. However, in a short few minutes at closing of the second race, the wind upped to over 30, and the waves immediately built. Racing was stopped. I kid you not, the wind continued to build and by the time I got half way back to the marina the wind was recorded by the other monohulls behind at gusting to 50. I was very worried, but amazingly the Wave stayed upright over the course of sailing to weather in the most hellacious conditions I've been in this past year. I have full confidence now, because there is no way any other small catamaran could survive those winds. Good luck on your selection.

Oh Geez, just can't finish without saying I'm deeply concerned when somebody with youngsters is getting a catamaran because I've seen so many have an initial bad experience and it scares the little ones and really doesn't impress Mom. The Wave is literally the only boat that can seat a crowd and is more stable than any dinghy or small catamaran. In our local fleet, I take kids out all the time and they have a great experience. We have 5 privately owned Waves here and growing. 2 years ago I was alone. That little fluky lake you sail on will take notice of your Wave. Others may follow. By the way, I'm a transplanted Washingtonian. Go Seahawks!

Since you plan to keep the Capri but want the fun and speed of a catamaran, I say get whatever you want. Safety with young children is top priority and is what the Capri is for. But it sounds like you have a need for speed, and if you can convince someone who is just as nuts to regularly join you then get a faster boat.

I think I see a 16 in your future, and your budget will get you a fine used 16.