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Hobie Cat

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Hobie Cats are small racing catamarans used for racing and personal use. Compared to other small sailboats, Hobie Cats are appealing because they offer high performance at a relatively low cost.

History

In 1967, Hobie designed the Hobie 14 Catamaran. Hobie wanted to make a boat that you could easily launch into the surf from the beach, sail, and bring back through the surf. In 1969 Hobie released the Hobie 16, the most popular catamaran ever and the most competitive catamaran class in the world. Over 100,000 Hobie Cats are sailing around the world.

Sailing a Hobie Cat


The boats are considered by many to be overpowered by design due to their light weight, efficient hull design, and large sail area. On the other hand, many seek out the Hobie 16 for precisely these reasons. They can reach high speeds over 17 knots (20 miles per hour) due to efficiency gained from "flying" a hull. When flying, one of the boat's hulls is lifted out of the water due to the angle of the boat. As well as reducing drag from the water, this also takes advantage of the hulls' asymetric design, each hull being shaped to provide a sideways upwind force. With both hulls down, the hulls' sideways forces cancel each other out. The Hobie 16 is surprisingly stable when flying a hull as increasing tilt causes wind to spill from the top of the sail, thus reducing turning moment. Conversely, reduced tilt results in a more vertical sail, thus increasing turning moment; so the boat is self-stabilizing to some degree when flying a hull.

Catamarans are inherently more stable than monohulls but some Hobie cats such as the 16 and 14 have hull designs that don't have a lot of buoyancy in the bows which results in some spectacular "pitchpoles". Most frequently a capsized boat will lie sideways with the sail and mast floating. The hollow aluminum mast is designed to be sufficiently buoyant to hold the boat at 90 degrees from vertical even under extreme conditions. But if the mast leaks, the boat may "turtle" (turn completely upside-down).

Righting a Hobie is a required skill in high winds. Righting is the technique used to lift the boat such that it is ready to sail again. If one imagines a small catamaran sail boat lying on its side, one hull will be floating at the water line and the other hull will be supported about 8 ft above the water. By casting a line over the top hull, standing on the lower hull, and pulling, the sailor can pull the Hobie back into position to continue sailing. This task is easier if the sailors first rotate the bows into the wind by moving their weight forward; the wind can then help lift the sail from the water. Righting is more difficult when there is no wind to help, or if waves are large. Most racing Hobies have a permanently fitted righting-line under the trampoline, held out of the way when not in use by a system of pulleys and bungee-cord.

To counteract their tendency to capsize, sailors have the opportunity to use a "trapeze" system whereby they wear a harness and attach themselves to cables suspended from the mast. Thus suspended, the sailor places his/her feet on the edge of the boat and sits out over the water, providing more torque to hold the boat down. When the sailor's body is parallel to the water, they are providing maximum torque.

It is possible to sail a Hobie 16 (at very low speed) without even hoisting a sail, relying only on the shape of the mast for propulsion.

The Hobie 16 is one of the few small sailing boats that can be rolled end-over-end.

Hobie cat rudders (one per hull) protrude quite some way below the hulls. To prevent damage from the bottom or underwater objects, they have a spring-release mechanism that allows them to snap to a horizontal position. Hobie cats draw very little water and can sail in as little as 4 inches of water when lightly loaded and with the rudders up.

Current and notable past models

Different models range from 14 feet in length to 21 feet, and beams range from 6.8 feet to 8.5 feet, mast heights range from 20 to 33 feet. The most popular model, the Hobie 16 has been available for more than 30 years. It measures 16' 7" in length, 7' 11" in beam, and has a mast length of 26' 6". Sail area is in the neighborhood of 218 square feet (20.25 m²), depending on style and configuration, total weight is around 320 lb (145 kg).

Rotomolded Boats: Bravo, Wave, Getaway

File:Hobie Bravo, Wave, and Getaway.jpg
Wave on the rocks with Bravo and Getaway behind.

This series of boats is created of rotomolded plastic and is intended for casual and new sailors.

The Bravo is the smallest Hobie sailboat at 12' and is intended for one person but can carry two. The relatively narrow beam (53") compared to its 19' mast leads to considerable heeling, or tipping of the boat compared to other catamarans. The Bravo has the distinction of being able to furl its sail around the mast.

The Wave is intended for one to four passengers, but is easily handled by one with its 13' length, 7' beam, and 20' mast. The Wave was designed by the Morelli/Melvin Engineering firm, and has as proved to be extremely popular with beach resorts and rental operations. It is often praised for being rugged and easy to sail. While described as slow and underpowered by catamaran standards, it has a Portsmouth yardstick similar to a Laser (dinghy) that is often considered to be a performance dinghy. Although marketed as a recreational sailboat, an owner-controlled racing class has organized and held regattas since 1998.

The Getaway is marketed as a "social boat" and is designed with room for up to 6 people, more than Hobie Cat's other boats. The boat has a trampoline both forward and aft of the mast, and is the only rotomolded Hobie to come stock with a jib and have an available trapeze. At 16'7", the Getaway is the same length as the Hobie 16; the beam is 7'8" and the mast is 25' tall.

Hobie 14

The Hobie 14 was the original catamaran designed by Hobie Alter. The general shape and design of the boat is very similar to the later Hobie 16. They share many of the same parts; with the sails down, they are hard to tell apart without a tape measure. The 14 was originally designed to be sailed as a unirig with just a main sail. It is possible to convert a standard 14 into a Hobie 14 "Turbo" by adding a jib, trapeze and dolphin striker. No longer manufactured by Hobie North America, the Hobie 14 is still produced by Hobie Europe and Hobie Brazil.

Hobie 16

File:Hobie 16 Race.jpg
Hobie 16's during a race with sailors trapezing.

The 16 is the most popular Hobie Cat, both for recreational purposes and as a one-design racer. The boat is 16'7" long, 7'11" wide, and has a mast 26'6" tall, but only weighs 320 pounds. As with the 14, it is intended to be sailed from the beach through the surf, and to be surfed back in on the waves to the beach. Instead of daggerboards or centerboards, the 16 has asymmetrical hulls which act like foils and keep the boat from crabbing, or slipping sideways from the force of the wind. Both jib and main sails are fully battened and total 218 square feet. A trapeze is usually used by the crew (and skipper too in higher winds) to keep the boat from heeling too much.

One notable flaw is the tendency for the boat to 'pitchpole' when running downwind; the sail plan and distribution of the flotation of the hulls is such that it can push the bows down far enough to dip them under the water, stopping the front of the boat and leading to a cartwheel or sommersault and subsequent capsize of the boat. Sailors compensate for this by putting their weight as far aft as they can while running downwind. Because of the curved contour of the hulls, in lighter air where pitchpoling isn't a threat, the boat can be steered in much the same fashion as a sailboard: as the crew shifts weight fore and aft, the boat tends to turn into or away from the wind. In this manner, the skipper can "trim" the rudders to minimize the force that must be exerted on the tiller extension.

Hobie 17

This boat comes in two 'trim packages': the Sport has a jib and a small boomlett that is not attached to the mast and is intended for recreational use by two people, while the SE has only the main sail, a full boom, and is designed to be raced by one person. It is 17' long, 8' wide, has a 27' 7" mast and 168 square feet (15.6 m²) of sail area (200 ft² or 18.6 m² with the jib). Both models have swinging centerboards and 'wings', which are made of aluminum tubing that plug into the hulls and covered with reinforced vinyl or mesh covers that can be used as seats, backrests, or provide more leverage when trapezing. Both the wings and centerboards can be seen in the picture. This boat went out of production for a short time, but product demand by loyal Hobie 17 sailors has put it back into production. The Hobie 17 is currently available in both the SE and Sport configurations..

The uni-rig or catboat sail plan allows the 17SE to 'point' well, or sail closer to straight upwind than many other Sloop-rigged catamarans.

FX-One

The FX-One is an import from the France-based Hobie Cat Europe company. Similar to the 17, this boat is designed for single-handed racing. With or without the optional gennaker, this boat is not eligible for the Formula 17 multihull class. Relatively uncommon in North America, the FX-One is 17' long, 8' 4" wide, with a 27' 9" mast and 172 square feet (16.0 m²) of sail area (much more with the spinnaker), and weighs in at 326 pounds (148 kg) with the Formula 17 set-up.

Hobie 18

The 18 is of a similar hull design to the newer Hobie 17, with the primary difference being the extra foot of length and an extra sail, making this a two person boat. When configured for the Hobie 18 class, the boat is equipped with a main sail and jib. Optionally the Hobie 18 may be equipped with wing seats (similar to the 17). The Hobie 18 is currently out of production. Length= 18', Beam= 8', Mast = 28' 1", Sail = 240 sq ft. Weight = 400 lb Hobie 18 Magnum Wing seats (mid 80's style) add 39 lb.

Tiger

The Tiger, another Hobie Cat Europe import, is Hobie Cat's entry into the Formula 18 multihull class. The Tiger has been very popular and successful both in class racing and Formula 18. At 18' long, 8' 6" wide, with a 29' 6" mast and 227 square feet of sail area (452 square feet with the spinnaker). It weights in at a minimum of 396 Lbs (180 Kg) as to conform to the Formula 18 specifications.

Miracle 20

In contrast to the Tiger, the Miracle 20 has 250 square feet of sail area and takes advantage of light winds. The 20 is 19' 6" long, 8' 6" wide, with a 31' mast, and weighs 420 pounds. Some of the early production models had a high rate of hull failures due to a manufacturing defect, but this was rectified in later models.

Hobie 21SC

The 21SC (for Sport Cruiser) was Hobie Cat's first 'family boat'. Intended for casual sailing, this boat has a front trampoline, wings, an outboard motor-mount, and a built-in cooler. Though larger than the Getaway at 21' long, 8' 6" wide, with a 29' mast and 222 square feet of sail, the 21SC was quickly displaced by the more rugged, cheaper Getaway and has been phased out by Hobie Cat.

Hobie 21SE

The 21SE hulls are similar to the 21SC but the similarities end there, the 21SE is a performance oriented boat. It is no longer in production but it had a 10' beam and wings. It also had centerboards instead of daggerboards.

TriFoiler

The TriFoiler is the most unusual of Hobie Cat's boats. Designed by Greg Ketterman, this trimaran has 2 sails, one on each ama, and hydrofoils that lift the hulls out of the water at speed. It lifts off on the foils at speeds between 10 and 11 mph and quickly accelerates to twice that speed in seconds. It foils at approximately twice wind speed and can pull 2+ g's in turns. The Trifoiler is a production variant of the A class world sailing record holder Longshot, also designed and built by Ketterman. Seating for two. At 22' long, 19' wide, with two 18' masts, 320 lb the TriFoiler is the biggest multihull ever produced by Hobie Cat. Total sail area of 215 sq feet (150 sq feet reefed). The TriFoilers high price-tag, fragility, and limited use (only truly useful in winds 10 to 25 mph with low waves) led Hobie Cat to discontinue production as of 2005. Approximately 30 Trifoilers were built prior to production starting at Hobie in 1995 and another 190 were produced by Hobie before halt of production.

Racing

Types

Pre-modern Austronesian

See also: Outrigger boat and Austronesian vessels

Pre-modern Western

19th century

1900s

1930s

1940s

1950s

1960s

1970s

1980s

1990s

2000s

2010s

2020s

Brands

Unsorted

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