Hobie 16 or 18, which boat to buy?

Hello!

I used to sail a Hobie 14 and 16 and had alot of fun until I went to college (12 years ago) and had to sell the boat.

I want to get back into sailing 2-up. I have the opportunity to purchase a relatively inexpensive Hobie 16 or Hobie 18.

My question is: can I purchase the H18 and still have a decent number of opportunities to race in the North East? I know there are alot of H16's out there, but what about H18's?

Mike

P.S. My 5-year plan is to be competing in Formula18 with a Nacra.

A lot depends on who you want to sail with and how competitive you want to be.

There are many more opportunities to race one-design with a Hobie 16. The fleets are larger and more competitive. However, a Hobie 16 is very weight sensitive and you won't be very competitive much over 330# combined crew weight. It tends to be a couples or a parent/child boat.

It's tough to have an "inexpensive" competitive Hobie 16. You should be looking at a boat that's less than 15 years old ('95 or newer) and sails (especially the jib) thats less than 10 year old. You should expect to pay ~$3,500 - $5,000 for a 16 of that vintage.

There is a solid group of 18s in the mid-Atlantic region (New Jersey / Delaware). The boats are older and you can have a 25 year old boat that's still competitive. The 18 is much more weight tolerant. For racing, you'll either be racing handicap or travelling some distance.

If your plan is to be racing an F18, you should be aware of two things: 1) The cost factor is an order of magnitude higher (including maintenance - you'll be buying a $1000 spinnaker every year or so) and 2) Doing well competitively is highly crew dependent - the crew makes those boats go, not the driver. You'll need a steady, good crew. You can't expect to bring a "pick-up" crew to a regatta and do well.

That being said, Hobie Cat makes two F18 models - the Tiger and the WildCat. You could probably pick up a decent, used Tiger for ~$8,000. A WildCat will set you back three times that.

Where in the North East? HCA Division 11 (PA, NJ, DE, MD) averaged about 8 H18's per regatta this season which I think most would agree is quite good for an 18 fleet. Anywhere else you'd most likely be looking at handicap races.

sm

In addition to the northeast area,
There is an active and competetive Hobie 18 Fleet in the Northwest corner of the country,
There is an active and competetive Hobie 18 Fleet in the Southwest corner of the conntry,
There is an active and competetive Hobie 18 Fleet in Division 5 ( The Rocky Mountain Division)
and there is an active and competetive Hobie 18 fleet in the Dallas area.

just in case anyone was wondering.......

_________________
If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, maybe it is time to water your own lawn.

For clarification, I was referring to anywhere else in the North East Area, since that was the subject of the original poster. As far as I know, there isn't much one-design racing of the H-18 in the North East outside of Division 11.

As MUST5429 points out, there are pockets of 18's scattered around other parts of the country as well (did not intend to imply that there isn't). You can review the seasonal national standings to get an idea of what regattas/areas have the most attendance (although this can be a little misleading since it only accounts for NAHCA members, so actual attendance could be higher if non-members race too).

sm

Thanks for the advice guys.

Now that I am a little more educated on where I can race using what boat - and due to my sailing partner and I weighing a combined 380 lbs. - I'm going to pursue picking up the H18.

P.S. I am in Rhode Island.

Hook up with Hobie Fleet 448 - http://fleet448.org

If you decide to go with a 16, remember the guys going fast upwind will usually take the race. And going fast upwind takes a highly tuned boat. But you'll have an easier time economically bringing a tired 16 to standards than an 18. Here's what you'll need to have a good 16:

1) New sails
2) A single bullet block to rivet onto the front of the mast to distribute jib tension evenly for optimum mast bending.
3) A good downhaul system
4) Adapt with new blocks the jib cleat and traveler system
5) New shrouds that permit heavy mast rake
6) Low profile blocks to allow block to block sheet tension for fast upwind performance.
7) A very well tensioned trampoline, and good hull alignment.
Good rudder alignment, rudders don't have to be expensive but well aligned and you might have to redrill them if they cannot be adjusted (older boats) for rake.
9) Of course you will need a fully functional double trapeze system.

As the other fellows have mentined, having a finely tuned boat for competitive racing is expensive and there is no easy out. Believe me, I had to tune my 1979 H16 to new standards in 1993 and it was not cheap. I'm not sure if I had been better off back then buying a new one. I eventually did.

All,

I picked up the 1983 Hobie 18 today. It needs some gel coat work and all the lines need to be replaced...but hey, it was a steal at $1000 with trailer. Not a single soft spot on the hulls and no hardware needs replacing.

This season will be a learning experience, next season I'll look into getting the boat outfitted to be competitive.

Thanks for the advice everyone.

Mike