Hobie Cat Upwind Performance?

How well do Hobie Cats (H16 specifically) perform upwind compared to mono-hull boats?
I always thought they did better than mono-hulls, but was recently in a debate about it.

Lower but much faster pointing angle. VMG "Velocity made good" over a course is faster on cats for sure. We go further / lower but so much faster, so we can get to the weather mark faster.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Unless you are going upwind or close to upwind in a narrow section of the ICW against the current. Sometimes VMG is negative on one tack...

I assume this is compared to Monohulls... they would have a similar result.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

The only time a cat is at a disadvantage to a monohull upwind, is against current, in a narrow channel, in light wind, and that just due to the extra time required tacking.

Not if they are able to point high enough so they don't need to tack...

Displacement monohulls tend to sail at roughly the same speed upwind vs downwind, about 8MPH for a 25ft boat. As the wind builds, a monohull still just sails at hull speed.
A hobie 16 may be able to sail at 12MPH going upwind, but it will not be pointed as close to the wind as the monohull. Downwind the Hobie might be able to sail at 18 MPH.

So when people say cats aren't very good at sailing upwind, they mean that cats designed in the 60's without dagger boards are only slightly faster than monohulls sailing upwind, even though they are twice as fast sailing downwind.

Newer cats with dagger boards can point just as high as a monohull. However it is faster to point a little lower.

That said, Monohulls are super easy to tack, you can stay drier, and you can haul a lot more beer without sacrificing performance. I got a 24' monohull for these reasons. If anyone wants one I am looking to sell it.