A Hobie 16 to teach myself the ropes???

[Tetepare]

I miss my P16 so much, even though I sold it 20 years ago. My buddies also all had cats, and we'd be in wetsuits sailing early in the season; we loved sailing when we heard Small Craft Warnings.

I could put it up on one hull and keep it there forever. I loved the acelleration in a stiff breeze, and the rig would sing. And I hated getting becalmed at 6pm when the thermal breeze died...paddle or scull for miles.

We pitchpoled a H16 with three of us onboard (all piled as far aft as possible) in 40kts. The cooler exploded on impact, throwing beer all over; our wetsuits got shredded as we flew through the rigging.

The greatest days were those hot summer days with 25kts of air. But aside from that, even with wetsuits it would be cold. And w/o a wetsuit my bottom would be chewed up by the hull.

The end came when one of the gang bought a 38' monohull. I bought a 30' monohull to have somewhere to sleep at night, and soon realized being warm and dry is kind of nice. And then the other guys bought larger monohulls, and the cats got used less and less.

I still dream when I see the brightly colored sails of a cat screaming around on a perfect day...

[Kite]

Thanks everyone, I've been reading all the comments. The Hobie 16 decision is becoming concrete in my head - 16 to 1160...

[thomm225]

Not sure where you are but if the winds are usually up a bit, rake the mast back to the max. As long as it doesn't interfere with the main block and you can still get under the boom during tacks, your good.

These days they are raking way more than we used to on Hobie 16's back in the day.

For lighter winds you should be able to rake less though for a bit more power.

But if you aren't racing, I guess it doesn't matter much........unless you just want to point better.

See example of that rake here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QO0LkUDALNk

[Be Free]

Originally Posted by Tetepare

I miss my P16 so much, even though I sold it 20 years ago. My buddies also all had cats, and we'd be in wetsuits sailing early in the season; we loved sailing when we heard Small Craft Warnings.

I could put it up on one hull and keep it there forever. I loved the acelleration in a stiff breeze, and the rig would sing. And I hated getting becalmed at 6pm when the thermal breeze died...paddle or scull for miles.

We pitchpoled a H16 with three of us onboard (all piled as far aft as possible) in 40kts. The cooler exploded on impact, throwing beer all over; our wetsuits got shredded as we flew through the rigging.

The greatest days were those hot summer days with 25kts of air. But aside from that, even with wetsuits it would be cold. And w/o a wetsuit my bottom would be chewed up by the hull.

The end came when one of the gang bought a 38' monohull. I bought a 30' monohull to have somewhere to sleep at night, and soon realized being warm and dry is kind of nice. And then the other guys bought larger monohulls, and the cats got used less and less.

I still dream when I see the brightly colored sails of a cat screaming around on a perfect day...

+1 on the Prindle. I learned to sail on the P16 and sold it about 15 years ago. All the kids were grown and moved out and my knees were getting tired of "trapeze burn". Moved over to a larger mono but I still miss the thrill of balancing it with one hull just kissing the water or literally sailing circles around the monohulls.



I also pitchpoled it with three on board. Oldest son on the tiller, me on the rear trapeze, #2 son on the front trapeze. We were both as far aft as we could get when it went over so it was a long drop into some pretty cold water.


Good times!

[Kite]

Originally Posted by Be Free

+1 on the Prindle. I learned to sail on the P16 and sold it about 15 years ago. All the kids were grown and moved out and my knees were getting tired of "trapeze burn". Moved over to a larger mono but I still miss the thrill of balancing it with one hull just kissing the water or literally sailing circles around the monohulls.



I also pitchpoled it with three on board. Oldest son on the tiller, me on the rear trapeze, #2 son on the front trapeze. We were both as far aft as we could get when it went over so it was a long drop into some pretty cold water.


Good times!

what is trapeze burn?

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Kite

what is trapeze burn?

Maybe he meant "trampoline burn?"

Going across the "tramp" on your knees a few time or 40 times if racing maybe can get your attention.

See racing video above......

[Kite]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Maybe he meant "trampoline burn?"

Going across the "tramp" on your knees a few time or 40 times if racing maybe can get your attention.

See racing video above......

So, you guys mean crawling on the trampoline when turning. My knees won't be very happy either, but an easy problem to fix with a pair of knee guards, I think - please, correct me if I am wrong. When I fix my dirt bike, I use knee guards too.

[thomm225]

Also the Op didn't mention crew I don't think.

These days there are some very hi-tech beach cats available if you have a crew. Most racers started on H16's then went from there

I had crews on my Nacra 6.0 which was replaced back then by the Inter 20 which was used in the last Worrell 1000 races up the East Coast in the Atlantic Ocean.

Some days were harder than others to get the boats off the beach.

First guy to get thru in video below looked to be Brian Lambert whom I had to race against many times. He has on the red hat. Hard competitor but nice guy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TyFMTh1K7E8

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Kite

So, you guys mean crawling on the trampoline when turning. My knees won't be very happy either, but an easy problem to fix with a pair of knee guards, I think - please, correct me if I am wrong. When I fix my dirt bike, I use knee guards too.

Or a wet suit depending on temperature.......or knees brace fabric

I had two different wet suit one black , one teal blue.

photos from 18-20 years ago so pic with spinnaker most of the way down shows mostly my expensive harness with leg straps so the center part didn't chafe...!but it appears I had on a wet suit that day

Also easy cycling helps the knees.......if your seat is in the correct position and the bike fits you

[thomm225]

One last thing on trailerable sailboats.

If you can find a place to keep the boat with mast up on the trailer, it makes it much easier to go for a quick sail.

In Tennessee, my boats were 45 minutes away, but in a lot right at the lake with mast up and ready to go. I believe it was $200/year for that back then.

This was at the Delta Sailing lot at Arkabutla Lake, MS. They raced Lightnings and Thistles.

BTW a 19' Lightning on the water is a fine looking boat. See link.

https://www.ussailing.org/one-design...s-association/

I also think sailing/racing one of those would teach you about sailing very well also. The have main, jib, spin.

https://www.google.com/maps/uv?pb=!1...wYQoip6BAg0EAM

In Florida, I usually had my none racing boat tied down just above the high water mark and the boat I raced disassembled and on the trailer as some of the races were 25-100 miles away.

[tamicatana]

MUSTO knee pads were my husband/crew’s favorite

[Be Free]

Originally Posted by thomm225

Maybe he meant "trampoline burn?"

Going across the "tramp" on your knees a few time or 40 times if racing maybe can get your attention.

See racing video above......

My bad. Meant to type "trampoline" although chafe from a trapeze harness is not fun either.

[NSfooter]

If you have never sailed, I would suggest starting with a boat better suited to learning from scratch. I have a Hobie and wouldn't recommend that as a beginner boat, particularly if you are teaching yourself. I would go for something more stable, but still responsive such as a Mirror, GP14 or a small keelboat. Almost all of the skills you could learn in this type of boat would be applicable to a larger boat. In a Hobie 16, you will likely spend most of your time trying not to capsize or righting it unless the winds are light. Remember, it's supposed to be fun!

Moving up from any small boat like a dinghy of a Hobie into a cruising cat will require skills which you will not get on a smaller boat. The response times will be much longer, loads on the sheets, halyards, etc will be a couple of orders of magnitude more and this will require more mental rather than physical approach. Finally, as others have pointed out, you will need more knowledge in therms of tides, navigation, boat systems and seamanship.

As quick as you can, try and get some experience in the sort of boat you want to end up in by crewing for someone else.

Good luck!

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Be Free

My bad. Meant to type "trampoline" although chafe from a trapeze harness is not fun either.

Very true but about the trapeze harness which even though I was very tight on money back then I bought a very expensive harness with leg straps but no center strap as I remember because for 30-100 mile distance races the cheap harnesses were unbearable for that long trapped out.

[Ween]

Love this. My wife and I had previous sailing experience before we met. Once married we bought a NACRA 5.2 and sailed every weekend out of newport (3rd/navy beach). came to the point we'd only go if winds were forecast >15, 25 was best. Both on the trapeze, her managing the jib, me the main and tiller. Sometimes switched. Hull flying all the time. Pitch poles, capsize, bruises, fun. Trip from Hyannis to Nantucket sealed the deal. 30 years later bought a Valiant 42. First "real" boat. Never intimidated by it, things happen so fast on the NACRA that the Valiant felt very civilized right away.