Nacra 5.0 or Hobie 16?

The Nacra is an easier boat to sail and can hold more people, and won't pitchpole, so better for casual sailing.

But if you are into racing and there is a big H16 fleet around where you are then you want a h16.

I'll agree the 5.0 is a better boat from the racing stand point (unless racing other H16's, then it's a mute point). As far as just flying hulls and having fun? I've got three sons just a few years older than you (20, 21 & 23). Get a 1980 or later H16. Trust me, the girls will think it's

cool

.

is it easier to fly a hull on a H16? Isn't the 5.0 lighter than the 16?

as for the

girls will think it's 'cool'

aspect, i agree the hobie is more aesthetically pleasing. especially those banana-shaped hulls. what makes the H16 more fun?

speaking of hulls, what is the composition of the hulls in a 5.0? fiberglass-foam sandwich?

The H16 is a pretty tough boat and can take a good beating. You will go plety fast to satify your need for speed... even in an old design.

Trust me... you will be racing almost every time you are on the water. Any time more than one boat are near each other there is a race <img src=

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Also, for casual sailing you need to think if the availability and cost of spare parts. For the H16 it is very good. I'm not sure about the Narca.

Good luck in whatever you choose.

is it easier to fly a hull on a H16?

Maybe not easier, it just seems like the H16

wants

to be on one hull at about a 30 degree angle.

Isn't the 5.0 lighter than the 16?

On paper 36 pounds lighter, don't know about 5.0 variations but 80's H16 may vary as much as 45 pounds from the 320 pound minimum.

as for the

girls will think it's 'cool'

aspect, i agree the hobie is more aesthetically pleasing. especially those banana-shaped hulls. what makes the H16 more fun?

See the above...

wants

to fly a hull.

speaking of hulls, what is the composition of the hulls in a 5.0? fiberglass-foam sandwich?

Yup.

Get the Nacra! it's a 'real boat' of the 20th century. It will handle so much better, and wont fall over when you least expect it.
The Hobie is a dinosaur.

Double trapped screaming reach! <img src=

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/> You have to experience it. <img src=

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Quote

Can we count that as two votes for Hobie?

NOT!

hahaha that's amazing... not gonna lie, that makes me wanna go Hobie in a heartbeat.

From the replies it sounds like the Nacra is a more stable, forgiving, and overall-better-designed boat, but that the Hobie is more fun in an almost unpredictable and - shall we say - flirtatious way?

Berny - you sound like my friend who told me the Nacra is a more

modern

boat. How does it handle better? I've never sailed one so your input is appreciated! thanks

Does the Nacra like to fly a hull like the Hobie does? How is the overall thrill of the boat? Is there more adrenaline involved with a Hobie 16?

again, thanks for the replies! I'm going down on friday to look at the 5.0, and the price has been lowered to $2200. this includes a trailer, new tiller extension, reenforced keels (from dragging on the beach i suppose?), and good sails. sounds like a really great deal! basically, i have to make a decision which to go with really soon because this 5.0 is the only Nacra available in florida and after friday the seller is moving away for a few months!

and i should ask a few other things...

Does the Hobie sail better in 3 to 5 foot seas? It just seems like it would with those curvy hulls that would seem to slice through the wake with less resistence than the straight hull design of the nacra.

also, i hear how easy the Hobie is to trailer because of how easy it is to stra[ it down right near the pylons. Is it more difficult to trailer a Nacra? I'll be trailering 90 minutes on the highway to the coast to do most of my sailing, so trailering is important to me too.

basically guys, I'm tryin to get the most bang for my buck. i gotta year left in high school, and then - depending where i go - might not be sailing at all (except when i come home) for 4 years at least. after college though? hell yeah

Will,

I really don't think you can go wrong with either boat. In my opinion, I think the Nacra is slightly beefier and I do prefer the feel of the helm of the Nacras (very nuetral...i.e. doesn't tug at you...and responsive). The H16 certainly has the popularity and you will probably find parts and information easier to come by for the H16 although all the factory parts for the 5.0 are still available from Performance Catamarans.

With regard to flying a hull - they both will fly 'em high easily. The H16 has a little more of a reputation for punishing those that fly the hulls and have their crew weight too far forward. If the bow goes under a wave, the shape of the top of the deck tends to trip the boat on it's nose. Usually you will loose your footing in the deceleration and you'll capsize. All catamarans, including the 5.0 up to the 130' monster G-class cats, are capable of such a pitch-pole but some are more susceptible than others.

PS...I get lost when you guys say the bannana hulls are 'aesthetically pleasing' - really now. <img src=

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Jake has pretty much said it all, and I say this as one who LOVES Hobies! I've never had a Nacra, but have sailed on some, and think they are great boats. The one thing I would've thought the Hobie would be better for is surfing, but not having tried it on a Nacra...? Let us know what you get.

How is it that no one has taken this guy to task about the

baby boomer

comment?
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not that I have been around a long time BUT... if you want to race on your budget, get the H16 (only because there are so many). If you don't, get the Nacra.

PTP - haha yeah i was waiting for someone to react to my baby boomer witticism. both my parents are boomers ('51 and '54) so i know the species well <img src=

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Brian_Mc - would you care to elaborate on some of the Nacra experinces you've had? How were their (the boats') personalities different?

just a quick question again - does the nacra have daggerboards? on craigslist i saw some 5.0 daggerboards for sale, but last i checked the 5.0 uses keels instead of boards right? correct me if i'm wrong.

Mate, the Hobie has a big following because it was marketed well early on. There are lots of older boats around and usually good fleets racing in most areas. They have a cult status which tends to overlook their bad behaviour but really they are a dog of a boat. Sit too far forward and they pitchpole, too far aft and they'll fall over backwards. They're a bit like balancing a ball on your nose, it can be done but it's mostly a big pain in the ar$e.

By comparison, the Nacra will do most everything better than the H16 and will in general be a nicer, easier boat to sail.

This is the same trick they always pull. Note that nobody actually writes that the nacra 5.0 will just as easily pull two people to the trapeze and scream along ! But they still give you the false impression that the Hobie 16 does this more easily.

I know both boats rather well and honestly the Nacra 5.0 is a better design in the way of handling and performance. It will also take a spinnaker better is you ever decided to go that route (which I espext you will considering your teenage need for speed credentials)

The Nacra 5.0 is a more refined design that cuts through the water better and it will be a stiffer boat then the Hobie 16 because of the way the beams are drectly connected to the hulls and the usage of larger beams. The pilon design of the Hobie is not the best setup in the way of stiffness.

Additionally the raised trampoline on the Hobie starts hurting my feet and butt after a while. On the Nacra 5.0 you are sitting and standing on the more flat hulls and so you won't have the same here.

The Nacra 5.0 has skegs (no daggerboards or asymmetrical hulls) and these are better for upwind performance then asymmetric hulls. Actually the difference between skegs and daggerboards in the way of performance is surprisingly small.

If the nacra 5.0 is young enough then you'll also have mast rotation control, a loose mainsail foot and better downhaul control. All these will allow you to trim the mainsail better and that can make a noticeable difference in performance.

Most older Hobies (the ones that are second hand) have sliding (main and jib) traveller cars instead of ball baring ones. The nacra will have ball baring traveller cars and that works alot better especially when salt and dust collects in them. In my experience older H16 main traveller cars jam up easily. When I worked for the sailing school as instructor I often kicked them across with my feet. But these boats were often old !

And I can go on.

But basically in the way of design the nacra 5.0 is just alot better. The forte of the H16 is the strong class following it has world wide and the general availability of cheap second hand parts. But if you are not really interested in racing then the nacra 5.0 you mention sounds like a really good deal. And I personally would go for it.

Wouter

No ! The nacra is noticeably better here. The lip on the side of the Hobie hulls really do slow it down when it has to punch through waves. The more narrow and rounder deck on the bows also allow the nacra to put its bows under and continue sailing.

Nonsense. Again they make a big deal out of really nothing. In my experience standard length tie-downs (with the ratchet tensioners), costing 3 bucks a piece, are long enough to wrap around the hull of the nacra 5.0 and thus tie it down to the trailer. But I know alot of people just do the wrap around the beams themself and that seems to work very well also and has the advantage of not touching the hulls.

No.

My vote goes to the nacra 5.0 unless you want to tap into the H16 racing cirquit.

Wouter

I am pretty new to cat-sailing, actually to sailing as such, started last year - on a NACRA 5.0. The Baltic sea (northern Germany) is my sailing area, and the boat did remarkably well under all conditions, low winds as well up to 7 bft with appropriate waves (by accident ...). Contrary to the Hobie 16 the NACRA is very easy to control - and it tacks without drama! This boat provided so much fun that my girl-friend and me won the prize of our club for the most frequent sailors last year.
I had the opportunity to sail a Hobie 16 last year, too, it is still the most widely distributed boat to rent. I never felt as safe as on the NACRA, these outdated banana-shaped hulls make the boat very unpredictable (at least to me...) if it gets rough.
Obviously the sense of

the beauty of a boat

differ here in Europe from the US. These banana-shaped design are regarded as outdated over here, and you see less and less of them. For good reason Hobie Europe is manufacturing the new designs of Fox, Tiger, and FX One. The Hobie 16 is still available (through import, I guess), but you have to prepared to loose money if you try to sell it again.
At my club with approx. 30 privately owned boats, we still have one each of Hobie 16, 17, and 18 left, but there are 4x Dart 18s, 3x NACRA 5.0 / 500, and 3 NACRA Inter 17 / F17 - just to mention the smaller/ beginner boats.
To cut a long story short: as long as you don't plan to participate regularly in racing in a single class, I see no reason to sail a Hobie 16. The NACRA will provide more fun (for one as well as for two sailors), it's easier to control, and will go in the majority of conditions faster.

The early Nacras were solid glass, with longitudinal stringers, but that construction was phased out around 1984. Wouter is pretty spot-on about everything here; I learned to sail cats on an H16, but when it came time to buy my first, it was a Nacra 5.O. Lots of times I wish I still had it, for its simplicity, shallow draft, weight capacity, and just plain sheer fun. It'll float a lot of weight - I had mine over 20 mph (yeah, thru the water) triplehanded with an estimated 550 lbs on board. The 5.O (and ANY Nacra) will be

wetter

than the Hobie due to water spraying vertically over the bows. Anyway, my vote goes to the 5.O - heck, if I had the $$ lying around - and a place to put it - I'd come pick that one up myself. Good luck, either way.

Andrew, you went 20 mph with 550 lb on board? <img src=

alt=

/> that's incredible. one other thing - why do you spell it with the letter

O

and not the number

0

?

thanks for the invaluable input Wouter, you really just about hit every nail on the head. After your testimonial, I can't see how I could choose a Hobie over a Nacra. I have decided to go with the Nacra 5.0 for the many reasons you mentioned. A few of the things I really like about the Nacra are the boomless main, which means less rigging time and more sailing, and not having to worry as much about an accidental jibe; hull shape, which, from what I hear, is better for surfing and sailing through the medium-sized wake of the florida east coast ocean, which the Hobie has at least a slightly higher chance of pitchpoling in; the lower tramp, which is more comfortable on the butt when i'm not trapping; and a few other things that aren't popping into my head.

I'm still concerned about one thing though, and that's spare parts. What websites have replacement parts for a Nacra 5.0? I might want to replace the standing and/or running rigging after I get this boat. I can't use craigslist for EVERYTHING now... c-list is dandy for hobie stuff, but not so for nacra parts.

I bet Rick White has all your rigging right here! If he doesn't there are quite a few other places that will mail order parts.

Yeah - most, if not all, of the rigging and hardware is available here in the catsailor store (and at good prices too). Otherwise, you can get anything else from Performance Catamaran dealers like Key Sailing or Sailmax.biz

I had a 5.0 and loved it--you will too.

Parts are very easy to find: Catsailor.com online store, Murrays, SailingProShop.com

Many Nacra parts are interchangable between models; some parts can be refurbished with parts from the hardware store (eg the rudder bungees).

Will,

You don't mention price, so is a TheMightyHobie18 out of the question. I spent the last 2 weekends on a fleetmember's h16 and what a rush. It can be singlehanded, can carry 4 adults easily, and can fly a hull with 2 large males on the wire, it also can be setup and taken down by a single person with the right equiptment.

Just a thought and forgive the spelling.
Sam

Is that a typo about sailing with four people on a H-16? Did you mean Hobie 18?

Gavin Colby: Anyone who says the 16 is a dinosaur or a terrible boat probably sails a rival class, or has tried to sail the Hobie 16, thought it would be a push-over and failed. ...
The Hobie 16 doesn't forward capsize any more than a Formula 18.

Colby Interview