Possible move from H18 to another cat

A cats are a dream to handle solo, both on and off the water. Easy to right. Also consider F16s, or a Taipan 4.9 if you could find one. My Stealth weighs 230 lbs all up, and I can right it solo with a righting pole, I'm 160 lbs. I love the responsiveness of lightweight boats!

Dave

Hobie 17 is basically the solo version of the Hobie 18. It is lighter and has a more simplified rig. A good balance of weight, performance, durability, and cost/parts availability. (Ford Mustang)

A Hobie Wave is an option if you want super simple and easy but they are at the bottom of the performance spectrum. (Mo-ped)

A Hobie 14 is good for lighter sailors. They don't have the top speed of the larger boats, but in many ways, they can be just as exciting when the breeze is up and they are very light and simple to rig. You can also find them for very low prices. (Go-Cart)

An A-Cat would be tough to beat from a light weight standpoint, but the flip side is that they are not designed to take any type of abuse from a beach handling standpoint. Don't let them touch the ground, don't drive them into the beach, etc. They are also quite complex and will take a while to rig. Parts availability, you're either looking at very expensive replacement parts or custom building your own parts. (Formula 1 Race Car)

sm

mystere 5.0
nacra 5.0

Looks like Europe is waaaaay ahead of US for cats

http://www.eagle-cat.com/en/eagle-15-catamaran/

Found that here but most are not available here used. Shipping from Europe?
http://www.nauticexpo.com/boat-manufacturer/sport-catamaran-1661.html

Edited by goodsailing on May 27, 2015 - 10:19 PM.

I don't think that a 16 ft cat will make your life a lot easier. May be an A cat or a wave, but they might not fit your budget or expectations (repectively). What about sailing elsewhere, with an easier access to water an paying for mast up storage. That would make a world of difference, you coulld take a few days off and try it out.

Looks like Europe is waaaaay ahead of US for cats

Not ahead of us, it's just that there is an active market for new performance cats
there is very little intere$t (and sales) of new high performance cats in the USA

Edited by MN3 on May 28, 2015 - 09:18 AM.

Get yourself a SuperCat 15 or 17. We have a friendly little group that sails them on the Potomac and Rapahanock. You will be welcome.

Edited by gahamby on May 30, 2015 - 11:35 AM.

I noticed that there is a Taipan in TX for sale in the classifieds. Looks nice.

Dave

Looks like someone wants to buy my H18 so I'm thinking now about cat that doesn't have daggerboards. Do SC have boards? Would inflatable be out of the question. I'm not as concerned about sailing, as I am about ground handling, and tasks to rig. Lets face it, if you want excitement you can take a little boat out in conditions it wasn't really meant for. The bigger and more forgiving the boat, the bigger the conditions must be to have fun... if you know what I'm talking about.

I wouldn't own a 16 ft or above cat if I didn't have a mast up storage option. I keep my N5.5 during part of the spring and summer in a lake about 1 hr. away, or sometimes a better one about 2.5 hrs away, paying a monthly fee, to sail mostly on weekends. I try to do vacations late in summer and sail a full week or more, after which I call season off and I store it pretty far away (for free..) during autumn and winter. If I could store it home, I really doubt I would ever go day sailing and bring it back the same day. I would rather sail a laser.. sometimes I miss sailing Laser II, that was big fun actually. Better than wave or a H14 for my taste.

goodsailing wrote: Would inflatable be out of the question.

Not at all and it solves a lot of your problems.
www.smartkat-sailing.com

goodsailing wrote: I'm not as concerned about sailing, as I am about ground handling, and tasks to rig.

You sound like a prime candidate for a Hobie Wave. 250 LBS, 10 minutes to rig, exciting only in winds over 20 MPH.

sm

Edited by Dogboy on Jun 08, 2015 - 07:43 PM.

Lets face it, if you want excitement you can take a little boat out in conditions it wasn't really meant for. The bigger and more forgiving the boat, the bigger the conditions must be to have fun... if you know what I'm talking about.

sunfish are a hoot in real wind
so are waver runner tri's

Any boat you will get out and use is better than one sitting in your garage. Sunfish, lasers, etc are much more fun to sail than sitting on shore watching someone else sail. A Wave would be a good cat option if you want easy to handle on land and potential for fun on water.

I love my H18 but always have help on the beach. Would hate to solo muscle it up and down a beach, that would keep me from sailing it.

I agree with Andrew on this one. Nacra 5.0 or Mystere 5.0. Both are very similar boats, no boards, no boom, reasonably light and easy to rig. Both will handle you single handed or with a crew. Get a gin pole setup and you can step the mast solo relatively painlessly (you can do it without a gin pole setup but I have never been comfortable doing it). Next on my list would be a hobie 16. I'm not a fan of the wave for 'sport' sailing. It's a good little boat to learn on and for the family but doesn't have enough sail area and is too heavy to get yourself into any real fun... I mean trouble. 🙂

I think both the SC15 and 17 are boardless, and fairly simple to rig. Old enough to be fairly inexpensive to buy. Still good parts availability and support from Tom at Aquarius.

Mid 90s A cats can be had in the $3 to $5K range, although somewhat rare.

The Wave is a good choice if speed/performance is not at the top of your list of requirements.

Some good tips....thanks.

I have a Laser full rig and I've owned sunfish. The reason I got the H18 was that I wanted more deck space as the Laser is tough on knees. Plus, being a speed freak I chose H18. But it's the ground handling that's the problem with the H18. So I most likely bought the wrong boat, not that this is a problem as I have a marketable boat that could be sold, plus I've experienced a H18, yet not fully as I never got to hang out on the trapeze...nor did I learn how to right the boat as I never capsized it. No problem either if I'm not having fun. Right? So... the search is on... perhaps.

Not that I won't sail the H18 again prior sale, as I now have people to go with etc.. Or won't go unless I have crew.

So is the Wave that heavy? And, it's hard to find A-cats.

West Marine sent me plans to Grudgeon Bros A-cat, but instead of building A-cat hulls I'm building modified A-Cat hull (longer) for outrigger sailboat.

Edited by goodsailing on Jun 09, 2015 - 10:29 AM.

Don't take this the wrong way, but you are not at the skill level where an A-Cat would be anywhere near appropriate, not to mention it doesn't fit any of the desired criteria you have already listed with the exception of weight. They are fragile, complex, and at the height of performance. An A-Cat will provide you with a whole new set of frustrations and is certainly not a boat that you should be learning the fundamentals on.

Stick with one of the production single handers. Hobie Wave, 14, 17, or any of the other countless boats out there that meet your needs.

sm

The Supercats have a righting system for solo righting, plus their just great boats!

Don't take this the wrong way, but you are not at the skill level where an A-Cat would be anywhere near appropriate, not to mention it doesn't fit any of the desired criteria you have already listed with the exception of weight. They are fragile, complex, and at the height of performance. An A-Cat will provide you with a whole new set of frustrations and is certainly not a boat that you should be learning the fundamentals on.

Stick with one of the production single handers. Hobie Wave, 14, 17, or any of the other countless boats out there that meet your needs.

I agree: Having to lay horizontal on a trapeze on a twitchy acat boat wouldn't be fun at this stage in my life. I do that now on the laser without trapeze using stomach muscles! The reason I don't take the laser out much. The super cats look interesting but are hard to find. I have fundamentals. It's movement on the boat, on any boat, that takes getting use to. (I sat two chairs facing each other and practiced, arm and hand movements moving back and forth from chair to chair simulating tacking to get use to laser etc. Lot easier than doing it in the boat... Being on a trapeze has its learning curve too, that I hope one day to master.

Actually the wave isn't that heavy, only about 250 lbs but its only 13 ft long. Where it really falls down is that it has less than half the sail area of a Nacra 5.0. The N5.0 is considered a little underpowered for a 16 ft boat...

Wave looks like fun...

goodsailing wrote: Wave looks like fun...

Nice, at 58 seconds there is a demonstration of that it is possible to completely pitch-pole a Wave even with two aboard! I was watching the boat on the left nearly lose it and almost missed the Wave on the right slap it's mast in the water.

Cool video, but the wind is honking. If you're looking for a fast, exciting ride, you'd probably be better off looking at a different boat than the Wave, unless of course you have 15kt winds all the time.

If you're looking for a fast, exciting ride, you'd probably be better off looking at a different boat than the Wave, unless of course you have 15kt winds all the time.

I'd prefer sailing 15+ more like 20 so what would be your suggestion if not H18. At 15kts in H18 wasn't so dramatic.. more like pleasure cruzing.

We are having the Raven "Rookie" Race on July 11 in Va Beach, there is a sailing seminar on how to tune/setup/race your boat before the race. It's a great opportunity to ask questions and check out the other boats.

You can leave the boat with the mast up on the beach for the weekend if you want to. Let me know if you're interested and I'll email you the details.

Zach
N5.7 NA

At 15kts in H18 wasn't so dramatic.. more like pleasure cruzing.

I see 3 potential reasons for this;
A) you have 800lb of water in your hulls.
B) you have no idea of how to trim sails.
C) the wind was actually 5 kts.
There was a recent thread where a poster showed an H18 hull well up, with only 10kts wind, & two adults onboard.
Our N5.0 & 5.7 will fly a hull, & can be flipped in 9kts, The Mystere will fly one in 7.
Something is seriously wrong if a noob Cat sailor is bored in real 15kts,(17mph). On any decent water, 17mph equates to solid whitecaps.

[quote=Edchris177]

A) you have 800lb of water in your hulls.

Maybe that's why he find it so difficult to move.

C) the wind was actually 5 kts.

Wind was 14-15 mph. My bad. Only flew the main. Jib was furled. I was block to block, block in center. Full on for outhaul and full on for cunningham heading perpendicular to the wind and the hull did not rise. Is there any more trimming needed? Perhaps with jib deployed would have gotten there. We'll try again believe me.\
OH, no white caps. ?? not sure that would happen at 15kts. 70's boat, perhaps heavier than 80's models.