Good Beginner Boat ?

[Nic Pittman]

just getting into sailing. considering buying a hobie one Holder 14' is this a decent boat for a beginner?

[Boracay]

Is it expensive, is it in good condition, is there a trailer, where do you plan to sail it?

[rebel heart]

learn to sail on a dinghy!

Rebel Heart - Sailing, cruising, liveaboard blog and website - Eric's Blog - why you should learn to sail on a*dinghy

and if you can score one, get an optimist. those things are a blast.

[cburger]

A small daysailor with a jib. O'Day made a daysailor model that is an ideal sail trainer. I bought a used one with great running outboard for $500.00 in the early 90's.

[barnakiel]

A s/h Laser for the beginner, or whatever is easily available and easily re-sell'able in your area.

b.

[shipofools]

based on the description, I think it would be a great starter boat to learn on.

"In 1982 Coleman purchased Vagabond Sailboats, which became a division of Coast Catamaran under the direction of Ron Holder, former Vagabond president. What became known as the Hobie (originally, Vagabond; currently, Hobie One) line of mononulls soon was being produced at the Hobie Cat production facilities in San Juan Capistrano and Oceanside (later wholly in Oceanside when the San Juan Capistrano mould facility closed in 1987 and joined the rest of the family down the coast)." From talking to dealers, the last production year was 1995 which coincided with Hobie Cat's introduction of The Wave catamaran.

Open, wide and stable, this 265 lbs craft may be just what you've been looking for. The Holder 14 was designed by Ron Holder and flies 107 sq.ft. of sail. Originally, it was known as the Vagabond 14. In 1984 Hobie started production of the Holder 14 and in 1986 it then became known as the Hobie One-14. With hull weight - sail area ratio in combination with a pretty well-defined chine aft make the Hobie Holder 14 a very stable and dry mono hull boat."

[shipofools]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

learn to sail on a dinghy!

Rebel Heart - Sailing, cruising, liveaboard blog and website - Eric's Blog - why you should learn to sail on a*dinghy

and if you can score one, get an optimist. those things are a blast.

Rebel Heart,

Got to offer a different view. Learn to sail on a small catamaran, and you will gain a deep understanding of sail trim, weight placement, performance, and be "tainted" forever.

Cheers,

[Ex-Calif]

The hobie one looks ok but if you are trailering you might want to think about something with an unshrouded mast.

Here are some shots of my brother and I rigging his force 5. You basically push the mast sections together, slide the sail over it and stick it in the hole.

15 minutes from trailer to sailing if you stay at it. That's my 12 y/o sticking her in her ear.

Not saying a force 5 but something with this rig. Very easy.

BTW - I think he bought it for around $500

[roverhi]

The Hobie is a good boat for warm weather sailing. It's essentially a board boat so you are going to get wet no matter how careful you are. If you want to anything but just sail the boat, look for a sit in boat like the O'Day reccomended above. If your desire is mainly to learn to sail, the Hobie is a good choice.

There are a ton of boats in the under 20' size range that come on the market fairly inexpensively. I could buy a Rhodes 19 complete with trailer and outboard for under $2,000.

[David M]

For a beginner you want a boat with a fair amount of stability and feel. A Laser would be fine if you restrict it to light airs at first or get the smaller rig for that boat.

A Hobie 14 would be okay. Learning to tack them correctly can take a while.

[rebel heart]

Originally Posted by shipofools

Rebel Heart,

Got to offer a different view. Learn to sail on a small catamaran, and you will gain a deep understanding of sail trim, weight placement, performance, and be "tainted" forever.

Cheers,

I'll race an optimist against anything under 6 meters!

[shipofools]

Originally Posted by rebel heart

I'll race an optimist against anything under 6 meters!

Weta Marine - High Performance Family Trimarans

http://www.nacra.us/F18/F18_I.html

[Ex-Calif]

He said he'd race. He didn't say he'd win - LOL...

[rebel heart]

Whew, those wetas sound fast! I'll still gain time on you when you turtle!

http://www.catsailor.com/forums/ubbt...=201663&page=1

in 10-12 knots, we were doing 8-9 knots upwind

[barnakiel]

Yep. An Opti is great ... if you are small frame ;-)))

Yep. Something more stable than a Laser might be better in the early stages.

But I would not start learning on a cat if my target boat were to be a mono. And vice versa.

b.