New guy. Thanks for having me.
Bought Sunfish in 1971.
Four power boats since 1989.
Four O/B dingies over the years.
Sailed BVI on 43' as Captain.

We live on the bay in Panama City, Fl and want a back yard beach cat.

We have a 2 1/2' sea wall that the water laps the bottom of, so I'll need to be able to push it up and over. Above that, it's full with white sand.

Normally just my wife and I. Will entertain others as well. All thoughts welcome. I intend to buy used, but could do a new H-16.

Save yourself the 80 lbs and get an F16 instead. And you love the increased performance.

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dk

Blade F-16
Hobie 14
Corsair F-242
Mirage 25 (Sold)
Hobie Tiger (Sold)
Hobie Tiger (Sold)
TomCat 6.2 (Sold)
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There is a lot to be said about weight when dragging boats especially as we get older. With that said a Hobie16 is the perfect boat to pull over a wall. Well maybe a 14 cause it is lighter. We keep our H16 on a deck that can be over 3.5 feet from the water depending on level. Because of the shape of the 16, when it gets about half way up it pivots over and onto the deck quite easily. A flatter boat won't do this. I know from having a prindle 16 in the same place. I have always thought that a set of trailer rollers mounted to the sea wall would make it even easier to push the boat up.

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Pete Knapp
Schodack landing,NY
Goodall Viper,AHPC Viper,Nacra I20
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How much do you and your wife weigh? Once you get above about 330-350Lb combined, the H16 starts to become a bit of a dog. The H18 is a bit harder to move around on the beach (although there are ways of getting around that), but is easier to handle on the water (less likely to pitchpole, overall more stable, easier to tack). It really depends on what you’re looking to get out of the boat.

sm

I too have a “sea wall” along my backyard, though it’s only 1.5’ late in the year when the water is lowest. It’s a b*tch to heave either of the Nacras, (5.0 & 5.7), or the H18 Magnum over solo. Not bad at the end of the season with the dagger boards, mast, boom & rudders removed, but that’s once a year, end of season.
I built a couple of ramps, using 16’ 2X12s. I cut a 6” strip of marine plywood & glued/screwed it to the sides of the 2X12, in effect making “side rails” on each edge of the 2X12-...3” above & below the plank. This substantially stiffened the structure, as we also use it to move the two big boat lifts over the wall before winter.
We use an electric winch, anchored in a concrete pad to do the bull work. You only need to get the hulls barely over the break wall, then the beachwheels make it a one man job to move the Cat anywhere in the backyard. (As the hulls are pointing up, jam the beachwheels under).
There are some photos somewhere on the iNet of a chap who has the same problem, try Googling Nacra 5.2 rebuild, he built a pretty good system.
However, if the water only laps at your wall, & if it’s allowed, I strongly suggest using a modified Seadoo lift. I keep all my cats on these, my record to launch is 7 minutes. Here is how I kept The Beast, a Mystere 6.0XL,
20’ x 10’, (14’ with the wings), & a 31’ mast.
https://www.thebeachcats.…396&g2_imageViewsIndex=1

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Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
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Great info everyone!

We weigh less than 300# combined.

Personally, I would not fight my H16 over a seawall for each sail. Keep in mind that the sails may have to be down during the process (raised/lowered while in the water), depending on wind speed/direction. Anything you'd build to make it easier would have to be very sturdy to weather the storms y'all get and would likely require a permit from the Corps of Engineers and Lord knows what local authority(ies). There are a lot of very knowledgeable beachcat sailors in your area. Folks at Sunjammers in PC (mainly kayak oriented these days), Key Sailing (Pensacola Beach), and Hobie Fleet 178 (http://hcana.hobieclass.com/hobie-fleets/) should be able to help you try out/choose a boat and give advice on launching options. (Local, informed, in-person help is invaluable in getting up the learning curve safer/faster/funner!) The only mast-up storage that I know of is at the local yacht clubs.

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi
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Based mostly on inputs from responders above, I bought the 2012 Falcon F-16 cat that was advertised here. Awesome boat!

Terry drove it up from Orlando, showed me how to rig it, tune it, sail it, and land it. We spent about six hours together yesterday. I didn't have a minute to get a pic. The sun set as we put the cover over it up on my elevated beach.

It's important to note the following comments which helped greatly (paraphrased):

Just make the decision now and get an F-16.
I wouldn't want to hoist my Hobie 16 over a 2' sea wall every time I went sailing.

The F16 is significantly lighter about half). One guy could get it started and with a second person to assist, it goes right up onto the the beach (above the sea wall).

Thanks again to everyone!

Excellent! The Hobie Fleet 178 (FWB) contact in the link I posted above is also an F16 sailor, a helluva nice guy, and an all-around ambassador of the sport. He'd be an great person to know for the scoop on all things catsailing in your 'hood.

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi
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rattlenhum

Excellent! The Hobie Fleet 178 (FWB) contact in the link I posted above is also an F16 sailor, a helluva nice guy, and an all-around ambassador of the sport. He'd be an great person to know for the scoop on all things catsailing in your 'hood.

Thanks again. Therse forums are so useful when people talk straight and give advice. It made all the difference for me.

That is a great choice and a boat that you will enjoy more and more as time goes by.

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dk

Blade F-16
Hobie 14
Corsair F-242
Mirage 25 (Sold)
Hobie Tiger (Sold)
Hobie Tiger (Sold)
TomCat 6.2 (Sold)
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awesome ! enjoy

First day out. 5-10 mph. I was able to lower the boat over the sea wall to the water solo. I used the beach wheels up on the beach to start, balanced the boat slightly bow down, then moved the wheels down to the stern and continued from there.

We rigged all three sails. Setting out between two 275' long docks was scary, but the winds were favorable. The boat is really fast, tracks perfectly straight, cuts upwind effortlessly....

We flew the spin for a while too, just to help get back downwind!

It was great! My wife and I lifted it back up when we finished. Really great boat and great day.

Not to bad for brand new grandparents as of yesterday, right after we beached!!!

https://photos.app.goo.gl/roKT4VbJNpNzf1QJ9

sounds great and congrats!!

She sure is a pretty boat!

For lengthy storage, I would suggest that you move the forward cradles back to around the front cross bar. That is where the internal bulkhead is and how Matt recommended I set up my trailer.



Edited by dssaak on Oct 26, 2021 - 08:05 PM.

--
dk

Blade F-16
Hobie 14
Corsair F-242
Mirage 25 (Sold)
Hobie Tiger (Sold)
Hobie Tiger (Sold)
TomCat 6.2 (Sold)
--

it appears you are allowed to have some overhang from the beach wall.
With that setup, I would construct a teeter-totter, for each hull, you already have a good support structure for the pivot point.
Use a couple of 2x8s (with a 5/4 deck board screwed to the sides to use as guide bars & stiffeners), balance it to be slightly biased towards the water.
This will ensure the boards fall/stay down when the boat is off. Line the 2x8 with a few pieces of high density poly material, to make initial sliding easy.
When done, just slide the boat up the teeter/totter part way, & it will fall into the “up” position, & now very easy to slide the rest of the way. No lifting involved.

--
Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
--

Great ideas! I had planned on mounting the cradles to the sea wall on axles so they pivot. I may go with the boards. I'd still have to lift it onto cradles for proper weight distribution. No big deal.

I think what Ed is describing will not only make it easy to get over the wall, but will spread the load when storing better than cradles at only 4 points of contact.



Edited by gdog on Oct 27, 2021 - 01:15 PM.

And may be adapted to play with your grandson/granddaughter at some point :) (congratulations!)

Quote

And may be adapted to play with your grandson/granddaughter at some point :)