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PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 9:07 am 
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I currently crew on a Thistle class from time to time but I am a speed freak. so I have decided to go and get myself a Cat. Problem is I don't know a whole lot about the HobieCat. I want a high performance model not a beginner boat that I can race today and go take friends out on at the beach tomorrow. A trapeze system or wings are desirable. Thistles have neither. I have been looking at the FXone, the Tiger, 18SX, and the Miracle20. I know that the 18 fleet is the largest but those also seem to be the most expensive. I also like the fact that the FXone is set up for single handing. Most of all I want to go fast and fly the hull! Anyway any help on this dilemma would be most appreciated.


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 9:47 am 
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The biggest thing I can think of that would help you decide what boat to get would be Location. if you have fleets or organizations near by that can be an influencing factor. Yeah an H20 would be an awesome beast to sail, but if your local club is all racing F18s then you're left to hopefully race with a time correction. Secondly is parts. trying to find replacement parts for anything besides an H16, Tiger, Wildcat, and to a lesser degree H18 may prove very difficult. Trust me, you will break something. And a final notes on price: for F18 boats older Tigers you can get them for as little as $4k which is a great way to get into the modern high performance classes if thats what you want.

In general if you want a high performance spinnaker race boat get a Tiger, but its not a boat to quickly rig and putz around with friends as easily. If you want something thats good for hanging with friends and sitting out on the wing, but doesn't have all the modern amenities of a race boat then get an 18SX. Maybe someone else will have a different opinion, but I dont really see a 1 size fits all boat for what you want in a Hobie.

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 05, 2018 10:24 am 
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Location: Jersey Shore
Roderick123 wrote:
I want a high performance model not a beginner boat that I can race today and go take friends out on at the beach tomorrow.


As mentioned in the previous post, your location will dictate to a large degree what racing class(es) are available. For sure the H16 is the most popular catamaran racing class worldwide, but some areas have strong groups that are racing other classes. If you want to race (assuming you're in the US), forget about the FX-1. It never took off here and there are only a handful of boats in the country and zero one-design racing. Same goes for the SX-18, there is no racing class (don't confuse that with the standard "SE" H18 which does have a decent size racing class in some areas of the country).

Just about every Hobie has (or can be fitted with) trapeze wires, and any of the fiberglass boats will be substantially faster than a Thistle. It really depends on how much you want to weigh racing class against performance/fun/function. They can all be sailed off a beach. The H16 or H18 are a good compromise of performance, fun, durability, and reasonably easy to sail (pretty much "do it all" boats). The Tiger, FX-1, Wildcat, H20 are all performance racing boats, so they take more skill from the sailor and are less friendly for just cruising around. The Wave and Getaway are entry level boats that are fun in a breeze, but pretty sluggish when the wind is light.

sm


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 9:08 am 
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Quote:
I also like the fact that the FXone is set up for single handing.


It sounds like you've just started thinking about what you want to do, which is great, and welcome to the Hobie world! Both Tiberious and SRM offer great advice, given what little we know about what you want to do. I suggest this: maybe it's a 2-stage decision or a migration path you should think about. Entry level boats can still be fast and fly hulls while high tech racers are faster but often more expensive and harder to sail. If you find yourself getting into racing you can move from the first boat to the second, which is what I think SRM was getting at.

If racing is the primary consideration, I'd start by finding out what the folks sail where I want to race. If you're not sure what the main focus is then maybe learn by doing.

I sail a Hobie 16 single handed most of the time. I can move it around the beach by myself and I don't have to worry about dagger boards when I'm coming in hot and distracted, or pay attention to lots of strings to pull with a spinnaker. You can find them cheap, there are lots of spare parts around, and there are many racing fleets. But if you put more than 3 people on it you're in each other's way. They are fast but not as fast as the bigger, high tech racing catamarans and I think a spinnaker is too much power for it where I sail (Great Lakes) though people do disagree.

If you're taking out lots of people a Getaway with wings is lots of fun. I've pitchpoled one, so you can get them moving in heavy air. They are more indestructable than fiberglass boats. Hobie 18s are fun and not too expensive but too heavy for me to move around the beach by myself. They don't make them any more, so numbers could be dropping off (fleets, replacements). I'd be afraid I couldn't hold down a 20-foot cat by myself on a windy day.

If you want to go fastest and highest tech there are foiling models out there now that are like expensive sports cars. I really want to ride on one (but not own it).

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 06, 2018 6:30 pm 
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I know the title includes Hobie and this is a Hobie forum, but you might want to consider posing this question at multihull anarchy. I suspect you will find a LOT of folks would recommend you take a look at an A Class cat-since you are a speed demon.

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PostPosted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 4:35 pm 
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Location: Rockford, IL
Also NACRAs. Fast boats, and fairly common. There are other cats around, but not as common.

You are bringing up the common "which one boat" question when you have several conflicting goals. I've now got a Getaway, which is fun, but not a racer, but is great with a bunch of people on it. I can also single handle it ok (especially after I had reef points put in the mainsail). I've owned a couple of Hobie 17s which are fast single handing boats, but terrible social boats. Not enough floatation. I had thought of getting a Hobie 18, but don't have the confidence I could right it alone if I capsized while soloing it, which is about 50% of my sailing.
So...I'd decide on the one single thing you want most from the boat, and buy the best boat for that, realizing it won't be great at the other things. How much you want to spend is, of course an issue and may set some limits.

BTW, I owned a Thistle for a couple of years, fun boat but its heeling over freaked out my kids who had always sailed on cats.

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PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 12:32 am 
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Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Hello

I’m new here and also in the same situation.

After completing basic sailing lessons in which we had use of a Hobie wave? I am now in love with this lovely little beasties.

I too am looking at, well hopefully getting one.

1. Not for racing
2. Not for more than 3 people
3. Mainly 1 adult & 1 child
4. For the ocean, I’m in Auckland NZ. Something that will handle chop.
5. Something I can island hop with, but must be able to handle open sea state.
6. Not too large and heavy as I would at some stage be sailing single handed.


Thanks


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 12:35 am 
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Joined: Sun Mar 25, 2018 12:20 am
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Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Hello

I’m new here and also in the same situation.

After completing basic sailing lessons in which we had use of a Hobie wave? I am now in love with this lovely little beasties.

I too am looking at, well hopefully getting one.

1. Not for racing
2. Not for more than 3 people
3. Mainly 1 adult & 1 child
4. For the ocean, I’m in Auckland NZ. Something that will handle chop.
5. Something I can island hop with, but must be able to handle open sea state.
6. Not too large and heavy as I would at some stage be sailing single handed.


Thanks


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 12:36 am 
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Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Woops double up, sorry.


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 12:16 pm 
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Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 10:25 am
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Location: Jersey Shore
Fat Daddy wrote:

1. Not for racing
2. Not for more than 3 people
3. Mainly 1 adult & 1 child
4. For the ocean, I’m in Auckland NZ. Something that will handle chop.
5. Something I can island hop with, but must be able to handle open sea state.
6. Not too large and heavy as I would at some stage be sailing single handed.


Hobie Getaway should fit your requirements. It will be easy to learn on and hone your basic skills. Also has the capacity and seaworthyness you’re looking for. If, after a few years, you decide you want more performance, consider moving up to a fiberglass boat.

sm


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PostPosted: Sun Mar 25, 2018 4:41 pm 
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Location: Benicia, CA
I don't think a Getaway is suitable for island hopping down in those waters. There's no cabin if it gets really bad for the child. I'd look at minimum 24 foot boats with enclosed cabins. Yah, that's a whole lot more money-especially if you stay with a multihull, but open ocean is pretty nasty in that latitude and weather can come up without warning. A Corsair 24 or Gemini 105 type. Best bet is to look around at what is being sailed where you live and get to know the owners....join a yacht club. You know the drill.

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PostPosted: Mon Mar 26, 2018 6:56 am 
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Location: High Point, NC
You may be overlooking the most obvious choice - a Hobie 16. You can still buy them new and there are a plethora of used H16's all over the world. They are fast, will fly a hull (easily) can carry 2 or 3 people but can be single handed. Some of the earlier ones had sails equipped for reefing, and such sails can still be acquired. You can likely find a nice used one for under $3500. That's a lot of bang for the buck.

........

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PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 5:13 pm 
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Location: Auckland, New Zealand
Ok thanks for the replies.

Island hop means that, while staying within the Hauraki Gulf! I looked at the Weta, but doesn’t look like the type to carry loads(gear).

There’s heaps of videos about the H16 doing just that. They seem to stack up well against the rotomolded versions:

Wave. Capacity 362kg
T2. Capacity 240kg
Getaway.Capacity. 453kg
H16. Capacity. 362kg

Prices here start at about $2000-4000 for one from the early eighties. Funny I’ve never seen a newer one up for sale.

My son sails and has full wetsuit and thermal underlay boots, gloves etc... as do I so we can actually sail all year round. We just wouldn’t be camping July/August/September. Too wet and miserable. But sailing not a problem.

Astus really doesn’t do it for me, price vs finish doesn’t add up.


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 5:37 pm 
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Location: Jersey Shore
I would not put much stock in those capacity figures. A Hobie 16 with 800 Lbs on it will be completely or almost completely submerged. A more realistic maximum capacity for a Hobie 16 is about 400 Lbs.

A Getaway will have a much higher capacity than a H16 due to it’s much higher volume hulls. It also likely has more than double the deck space due to the forward trampoline.

Not trying to sway your decision one way or the other, but the Getaway seems like a better fit given your amount of experience and the info provided in your initial post.

sm


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PostPosted: Tue Mar 27, 2018 6:05 pm 
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Location: High Point, NC
Some guys from the club here go down off the NC coast each year and sail out to a barrier island, camp and then return the next day. One member takes his Getaway and it seems to do the job very well. He typically carries two or three people plus gear.

..............


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Hobie Fox 20
Hobie Tandem Island
Hobie Adventure Island
Windrider 17
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Weta Tri


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