Hobie 16

[Time Theory]

I know this is a long shot but what the heck. I need assistance on how to rig a Hobie 16. Although I am familiar with monohull sailboats, this Hobie, has me stumped. Truth be told, I am intimated by the boat. This thing has a traveler on the Jib?? To me that is crazy. The boat is so tinder you can capsize it at will. Then to right it after capsizing is a feat upon itself. It takes two people to right the boat. Very difficult for a single hander. Feedback, Advice, anything at all would be of help.

[KeepInTune]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jMCzeY9kpo

Search and watch Joyrider TV on YouTube. He'll tell you everything you'll need. The Hobie 16 is a fantastic boat and a blast to sail.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Time Theory

I know this is a long shot but what the heck. I need assistance on how to rig a Hobie 16. Although I am familiar with monohull sailboats, this Hobie, has me stumped. Truth be told, I am intimated by the boat. This thing has a traveler on the Jib?? To me that is crazy. The boat is so tinder you can capsize it at will. Then to right it after capsizing is a feat upon itself. It takes two people to right the boat. Very difficult for a single hander. Feedback, Advice, anything at all would be of help.

The Hobie 16 owner's manual has very detailed information on how to rig the boat.

https://media.hobie.com/digital_asse..._gb_201503.pdf


It is a performance boat, so yes it can be exciting (...or intimidating).

With the right technique and rigging a single hander can right a Hobie 16.

I suspect there are many here who have sailed Hobie 16's who can help. There are also a bunch of online forums specific to the Hobie 16.

Like many, my first sailboat was a Hobie 16.

[Time Theory]

Originally Posted by KeepInTune

Search and watch Joyrider TV on YouTube. He'll tell you everything you'll need. The Hobie 16 is a fantastic boat and a blast to sail.

Thank you for the information. The one I bought is a 1986. Man oh Man it is scary fast.

[Time Theory]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

The Hobie 16 owner's manual has very detailed information on how to rig the boat.

https://media.hobie.com/digital_asse..._gb_201503.pdf


It is a performance boat, so yes it can be exciting (...or intimidating).

With the right technique and rigging a single hander can right a Hobie 16.

I suspect there are many here who have sailed Hobie 16's who can help. There are also a bunch of online forums specific to the Hobie 16.

Like many, my first sailboat was a Hobie 16.

Thank you so much for the information. I greatly appreciate it. I cannot imagine having this being your first sailboat. Talking about trial by fire. The Hobie is insane compared to what I am use to, which is the Flying Scot. In my humble opinion, if someone can single hand a Hobie 16, they can sail anything, The Hobbie is so crazy fast it is frightening.

[leecea]

The Hobie forum is very active (at least it was a few years ago).

[catsketcher]

The Hobie 16 is not really a singlehanded boat - it is meant for two, as for travellers on the jib, the idea of jib leads (I would not call them travellers but Hobie guys can) is for upwind they go in and downwind they go out. Heavier air put them out a bit going upwind.

The Hobie 17 is a singlehanders cat, but I think you may have bought a boat a little big for you. The Hobie 14 was the first Hobie cat, designed in the 60s for one person, and then Hobie Alter built the 16 for two, then the 18 for two or three and so on.

So if it is too much for you, consider selling and getting a cat designed for a singlehander. There are some techniques, like blowing the jib sheet on a reach which is pretty much impossible for a singlehander, and Hobie 16s need to jib sheet blown on a hard reach or they can nosedive, which is always fun to watch.

[thomm225]

The Hobie 16 is easy and fun to sail singlehanded.

It's a totally different beast than an old slow and heavy monohull though.

Also you are the ballast so be prepared to move a lot.

We beach cat sailors wanted more power on our Hobie 16 so add a spinnaker or gennaker.

Setup is easy. Check manual online.

I used to set mine up totally alone, and this includes mast raising and securing also.

Photo is of my 15 year old son and his friend about to sail across Pensacola Bay to the beach to hang out all day.

We had 2 Hobie 16's over the years. Also a Nacra 6.0, and a Nacra F17 (I17R).

The Nacra I17R was a singlehanded boat but no easy to handle due to the spinnaker especially a crowded downwind mark rounding before dropping the spinnaker and making all the adjustments to head back up wind.

A Hobie 16 is capable of speed to 26 knots or so.

Jib has two short travelers. One to either side. Self explanatory.

They show some boats in various stages of setup in the promo video below.

Plus lots of close shots of the boat racing which can help you better understand the setup.

Also notice how racers put in max mast rake (for better pointing) so much so you can barely get under the boom when tacking.

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

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Time Theory

Thank you for the information. The one I bought is a 1986. Man oh Man it is scary fast.

Yep, record top speed is about 25 knots!

As posted, the 16 is best setup for 2, but it can be single handed. As the wind picks up it is best to have 2 aboard. The extra body weight is a big help in trimming the boat as conditions get sporty. A friend and I (both average sized males) used to watch for interesting weather to go out an sail the Hobie. In stronger winds, the 2 of us sometimes struggled to keep the boat upright...and were not always successful!

Crew needs to be very aware of weight placement. Not just inboard/outboard, but fore/aft was well. Fore/aft trim makes a big difference in performance. Too much weight forward can also result in a pitch-pole.

Much later in life I acquired another great Hobie boat...the Hobie 33. Incredible to sail. What an epic run the Hobie line up had!

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by thomm225

The Hobie 16 is easy and fun to sail singlehanded.

It's a totally different beast than an old slow and heavy monohull though.

Also you are the ballast so be prepared to move a lot.

We beach cat sailors wanted more power on our Hobie 16 so add a spinnaker or gennaker.

Setup is easy. Check manual online.

I used to set mine up totally alone, and this includes mast raising and securing also.

Photo is of my 15 year old son and his friend about to sail across Pensacola Bay to the beach to hang out all day.

We had 2 Hobie 16's over the years. Also a Nacra 6.0, and a Nacra F17 (I17R).

The Nacra I17R was a singlehanded boat but no easy to handle due to the spinnaker especially a crowded downwind mark rounding before dropping the spinnaker and making all the adjustments to head back up wind.

A Hobie 16 is capable of speed to 26 knots or so.

Jib has two short travelers. One to either side. Self explanatory.

They show some boats in various stages of setup in the promo video below.

Also notice how racers put in max mast rake (for better pointing) so much so you can barely get under the boom when tacking.

Some great Hobie sailing in that video!

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by belizesailor

Some great Hobie sailing in that video!

Very nice video also. Someone did a fantastic job!

[thomm225]

Another fun Hobie 16/beach cat video.

Reminds me of how I felt sailing my Hobie 16 near Pensacola and Ft Walton Beach after being transferred there from Tennessee where we sailed on muddy lakes.

The main H16 here has a spinnaker and spinnaker pole etc. and the nice raising and lower setup for the spinnaker.

You can see these guys are just playing and having fun as the boat is out of balance (for racing) most of the time with the guys way back and the bows way up in the air.

Or flying a hull which again is slow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIZhNviIar4

[thomm225]

Originally Posted by Time Theory

Thank you so much for the information. I greatly appreciate it. I cannot imagine having this being your first sailboat. Talking about trial by fire. The Hobie is insane compared to what I am use to, which is the Flying Scot. In my humble opinion, if someone can single hand a Hobie 16, they can sail anything, The Hobbie is so crazy fast it is frightening.

For many of us, the Hobie 16 was out first sailboat.

Along the Gulf Coast, they used to rent them by the hour like they do with Jet Skis now.

They would give you 20 minutes of training then let you have at it........unless the wind was up then they wouldn't rent to beginners or they would warn them that they would have a bad day

Actually they still rent out Hobie's in some places. Mainly the slower Hobie Wave these days.

https://rockonrr.com/listing-categor...e-cat-rentals/

[thomm225]

But these days the old school beach cats like the Hobie 16 have fallen to the side a bit as the new foiling boats have taken center stage with speeds approaching 40 knots I'm told.

Here is the Nacra 17 foiling version.

It's a few upgrades after my old Nacra 17 (I17R) which was a 2001 model bought new.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQx72Hxtyxc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-MYCvLdejAo

[Franziska]

There is a method to right the fully capsized Hobie by extending the windward shroud by about ft, with a quick release bolt and a bit of extra shroud wire.

You pull the quick release pin, it becomes much easier than to lift the tramp on the windward side then by leaning to leeward. When the wind comes under the tramp you hold on to the windward hull, the boat will come up fast.

Once she's up, you shorten the shroud again by resetting the quick release pin.



Works very well. I have done it tons of time when sailing Hobie.



Still I agree the 16 really is a two person boat even though experienced people can sail her well single handed.