srm wrote:
This question/topic seems to come up every couple years. I would say it is HIGHLY unlikely we will see any new beach cat designs from Hobie, especially in the US. If anything, they are continuing to reduce the number of offerings available (T2 was recently discontinued).
Personally, I think the Pearl would be be an awesome choice. It is a proven platform (Hobie Tiger hulls, crossbars, mast). It has a roller furling screecher/hooter which makes handling less complicted than a traditional spinnaker. Kick up centerboards for easy beaching and a clean deck. And it would fill the void as a one design spinnaker class catamaran of which there really are currently none (NACRA 17 maybe). Anyway, I’m sure we’ll never see it here in the US but it’s fun to dream....
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Yes, I think you are right on both counts. We're unlikely to see that, and the Pearl does look pretty awesome and the best of the current range for what I'm saying. And after reading this I did a search and found out that, yes, this topic did come up a few years ago. I found this topic:
Why not the Pearl? from 2012. It starts out with someone asking a question similar to mine at the top of this thread.
So, I guess if in six years Hobie hasn't seen fit to bring it over it's unlikely to do so now. And it's part of this larger trend, I guess remarked on on this thread:
Is Hobie Sailing Dead? Well, not dead, but certainly shrinking and a lot less vital than even in the 1990s when I got into it.
So, I'll just put my 2c for maybe bringing something like the Pearl over and promoting it to the new generation. X-games exposure for a short raid would be awesome. Reality TV seems made for something like the Worrell 1000, and running that as a one design even happened once previously, I believe.
It's interesting that the world's largest dingy manufacturer (RS Sailing) is entering the beach cat market, not leaving it. (Which goes back to my original point that Hobie has morphed into a very successful kayak company at this point). They've gone from one original model to two new models in a the period since people were asking about the Pearl. My local dingy dealer sells Hobie Islands, lots of Weta's, and tons of RS boats of all types. Hobie certainly has a lot more unique intellectual property (possibly protected by patents) with the various Mirage Drive variations. Maybe that is why they are focused there, it's a more unique and protectable niche.
Still I'm sure the sales of Mirage Drive boats took off with the popularity of the show about the kayak fishermen in Hawaii, most of whom used some Hobie or another as their platform for fishing.