Back several several years, Did I say several twice?? I had both a Hobie 18 and 14. Been wanting to get back into a beach boat and was wondering what the CAT of choice is these days.. Just looking for something to play with , A little surfing, pleasure...>>> Anyway from my initial look around CAT's have dried up possibley due to the popularity of PWC's

Feed back is very much welcome.

Dave

Dave

I have a PWC-Personal Water Craft, it's a H16, the H16 is easy to come by, easy to get parts, easy to trailer to the lake and easy to setup once you become familiar with the boat, and you won't drop a fortune to purchase one, $2000 or less. Another good boat is the Prindle 16, not so easy to come by, easy to get parts, easy to trailer and also easy to setup. Thess boats can cost up to $2500 for one in good condition. Do your research, check these forums, there has been a lot posted recently about this subject.

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TurboHobo
H14T
H16
P18
G-Cat 5.0
P16
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Dave,

You'll find that your question has several answers. It's like asking what's better - Ford, Chevy or Dodge. I have a Chevy and a Toyota.

My choice for a catamaran is the Hobie 16. I've had a Prindle 16 and enjoyed it just as much. Each boat design has issues that don't settle with eveyone but it comes down to personal choices. I base my choice on parts availability and support information available on the web.

If you're looking for a recreational catamaran I would stick to the Hobie or Prindle. Price and ease of use fit that category.

You may want to hitch a ride on one of the boats before you make your choice. Make sure you thoroughly inspect the boat you're thinking of buying. Search the forum posts to read about some of the inspection tips.

dont rule out the new hobie roto-mold boat (the getaway) it is a decent recreational boat, and the roto-mold hulls are almost industractable...

Thanks for the feedback. How is this new ROTOMOLD?? How long has it been out? How does it weather streight etc? I have looked at the pictures of the GETAWAY and it seems sharp. I see about 8K with a trailer new. Not too bad.

Dave

the getaway felt a little truck like to me but the park bench like racks and built in coolers show what kind of market it's for

this year i noticed cracks appearing in my plastic kayak, uv degradation i guess, not sure how old it was before i got it but pretty sure it is younger than the frp nacra so while plastic is tough in the short term i wonder if it will out last frp in the long term

Great questions Dave... the answer is:

NO CLUE! i personally would rather sail the box it comes in... but i hear they are great for their purpose... nice, rec sailing with the family... I hear they are even good in big air... but thats all i know....

You should check out the hobie website forums (http://www.hobiecat.com/community/) for more details or contact M Miller there.. he is very active on catsailor.com forums