I'm in my early 30's and want to get into sailing. I live in Wheatfield Indiana, 46392, and I'm about an hour from Lake Michigan and also have access to some private smaller bodies of water that are closer.

I have no sailing crew experience, but I've quite a bit of power boating experience on 31' cruiser.

I've been thinking of getting a used 16' to 18' cat, however I do not know really what I should be since i do not know how to operate it...yet. It has been 10 years since I was on cat

I was wondering if anybody knew of any clubs around here that I could get into or someplace else that I could find a someone who would be willing to have me crew with them for a while. I have plenty of time off as i work 4 days on then have days off.

Hopefully I can find somebody to mentor me, but if I can't, I think I'm just going to buy the boat and get some on the water training.

Is an 18 too big to sail solo with just a main? Would I be able to "right it" if I had the correct gear and knowledge? I weight ~230 and am pretty athletic. I really don't want to buy something small, only to upgrade in a short time.

Are there any years from some manufacturers that i should be weary of buying? For example, no Hobie before 1980.

What kindof things should I be looking for besides the obvious such as torn sails, old rigging, and soft spots in the fiberglass?

Thanks in advance,
Adam

Forgot to mention: that I'd eventually like the ability to take someone along from time to time hence my reason for wanting to get the bigger boat.

Hi Adam, I may be able to help. I'm a Purdue student that has been sailing a Hobie 16 for a year or so. I don't sail much during the school year because I have a co-op during the summers in Florida. If you are considering a Hobie 14 or 16, I have become fairly knowledgeable about them. I have bought maybe 6 in the past year to clean up and restore. Any other cat, you should probably ask around here. Send me a PM or find me on the Hobie forums as PurdueZach.



Edited by zaxtvnz on Apr 03, 2012 - 10:44 AM.

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-Zach
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Hello to yous from NWI, Ron I recently contacted a yacht club by me about storage for the summer on land. they wanted to charge me a but load. Your best bet might be to just bite the bullet and take the plunge. There are ways, but mostly you will not be able to raise H16 or H18 mast by yourself. I have an H18 which is a great boat for 2. you can sail it solo also but it might be over kill.

As for Purdue Zach, I'm a student at Purdue Calumet. If you ever need crew or someone else to sail with, i'd be more than willing.

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Nacra 6.0 NA
Ogden Dunes, IN
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I sent you a PM Zach.

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Nacra 6.0 NA
Ogden Dunes, IN
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