i searched and found a couple of threads talking about big guys and beach cats. however, i am asking for some specific expert advice to point me towards the right boat or two to search for and help me narrow my search.
i am 41 and an old blue water sailor who has been away from sailing for years. i took my family sailing on a hobie getaway while on vacation and they really liked it. however, i didn't like the performance of the getaway. the hulls were buoyant enough for the family, but the boat was fairly slow and not very exciting to sail solo.
i am going to sail 50% with my family and 50% alone. i weigh 260lbs and am not in the best shape of my life. with the family we will be 4 persons and 500+lbs. i will more than likely have to rig it each time from a boat ramp (unless i can find a very inexpensive place to leave the boat rigged) with minimal help from my wife. my daughters are both too young to help much at this point. we sail on the tennessee river and two large lakes (guntersville,wheeler) outside of huntsville alabama. there is a constant current of 3kts on the river and some areas are shallower than 3'. i am not however scared of daggerboards as the bulk of sailing will be done on the lake rather than river portion. i'd like to keep my budget under 4k if possible and reasonable. i'm looking for a boat that will be fun to sail, carry my family when i'm not solo, not be an absolute nightmare to rig, and not be impossible to find parts for when things break!!!
i really enjoyed sailing a supercat 19 many years ago, but i have no experience on beach cats other than one day on the getaway and many sails on hobie 16s. i could really use advice on which cats would most suit our needs. i recognize that there are many variables and that everything is give and take. however, i'd like to narrow it down to just a couple of boats that fit our criteria. thanks for the help.
edited by: 2out2sea, Aug 08, 2010 - 12:46 PM
what cat for a 260lb middle aged sailor
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Posted: Aug 08, 2010 - 01:41 PM
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Posted: Aug 08, 2010 - 02:34 PM
the prindle 16/18 is a great family, "big boy", first cat. no boards, simple set up, large payload capacity, adequate performance. a 4k budget gets a real nice boat, parts readily available, easy solo sail, solo mast step on my p-16. sell it for what you paid when/if upgrade. one of my crew is 260 ish and i am 230ish, no problems, even in rough conditions. mine goes from trailor to rigged and loaded for sail in under 30 mins with minimal hep, a little longer solo.
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bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Posted: Aug 08, 2010 - 04:51 PM
coastrat,
thanks for the quick reply. are the 16/18 hulls bouyant enough not to submerge when flying a hull? i haven't even bothered looking at an h16 for the simple fact that i could easily submarine the lee hull even back when i was "only" 215-220lbs.
do you know how the p18 compares to the p19? thanks again for the advice. -
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Posted: Aug 08, 2010 - 05:07 PM
I agree with coastrat. I have owned two hobies and 1 prindle. The p16/18 are great boats. Hobie 18's after 1986 is a fun boat. (too heavy prior) Prindle 19 I have never sailed but I would love to have one
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Posted: Aug 08, 2010 - 06:53 PM
i have had 3 big guys(680lbs) on my p-16 in 20-25kt winds and still couldn't bury a hull. the p-18 is the old design(like p-16, no boards). the p-18-2 and 19 are modern designs(center boards). the old designs are easier to handle all around(family friendly) whereas the newer ones are total high performance. i would definitely recommend the old school for a first cat, learn how to get every bit of speed out of it before you upgrade. good luck
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bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Posted: Aug 08, 2010 - 11:42 PM
Nacra or Prindle ...Can't go wrong. -
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Posted: Aug 08, 2010 - 11:54 PM
the prindle 18-2 and 19 have kick up center boards so solo is no problem. tramp does get a little crowded with 4 way jib system so performance or comfort it is your call. either way, these 2 can easily handle the load. some 18-2 parts are harder to find as they are a little rarer then 19's -
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Posted: Aug 09, 2010 - 11:24 AM
thanks everyone. i like the idea of the p16 being easier to set-up and sail. it will keep the family interested if it's not too complicated. can anyone recommend a nacra? are they too high performance oriented? i do want a decent sailing cat. a large part of the reason i wasn't interested in the getaway was that i felt it to be a poor performer. sure it was simple to sail and family friendly, but was downright boring solo. i appreciate everyones input. it's tough being a big guy and trying to find the right combination.
brad -
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Posted: Aug 09, 2010 - 01:58 PM
Don't rule out a H18 either. It does have daggerboards but you said that wasn't a problem. I personally like my H18 Magnum with wings. Could also find an H18SX that has wings also. It could handle your weight requirements and basically has bench seats which makes my wife (and me) much happier then sitting on the hulls.
You are right the H16 is to small for you. H17 would also be to small.
Lake Guntersville can be a nice lake to sail on if you can get the wind to cooperate. Never sailed Wheeler.
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Scott,
‘92 H18 w/SX wings
‘95 Hobie Funseeker 12 (Holder 12)
‘96/‘01/‘14 Hobie Waves
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Posted: Aug 09, 2010 - 04:03 PM
~~ Scotts right..... I have a 17 & 18 Mag. so I know how both of them sail.... I weigh 185... An 18 would be good for you
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Bernhards Bay. ~~~~~~
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Posted: Aug 09, 2010 - 04:49 PM
Brad, I don't know if you have heard but, chicks dig Nacras!
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Philip
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Posted: Aug 09, 2010 - 04:51 PM
Chicks like this!
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Posted: Aug 09, 2010 - 05:45 PM
Of course that is Andrew's wife after he showed her the trap hraness.
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Posted: Aug 09, 2010 - 06:35 PM
I agree the p18 can handle the weight no problem but putting 4 people can be tricky in space to move around for tacking/gybing. It's hard to put 4 people on most of the boats and still have great performace. As far as Family Comfort the Getaway is probably the best.
I had 3 adults. That's me and my brother and his wife on last weekend and I am easily 2 adults worth myself and we didn't fly a hull but we had it going pretty good and did have the windward hull higher in the water than the leeward. I don't really know how much wind we had, It was decent for us but not really ripping by any means.
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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
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1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
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Posted: Aug 09, 2010 - 06:42 PM
My wife (future) is pissed off at that comment
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Posted: Aug 09, 2010 - 07:25 PM
the only thing that i like better about the nacra at this point is the boomless main. other than that it sounds like the p18 is a good choice for my family with enough bouyancy to have both of andrew's ladies tag along.
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Posted: Aug 10, 2010 - 03:00 PM
Quarath
This is a big advantage of the wings on a H18M or SX when taking spectators out. You can get people up off the tramp and out of the way. Plus they get to enjoy the ride and view without worrying about all that stuff going on to make the boat turn around. Similar comfort result as the Getaway, but a bigger more performance oriented boat.
BTW wings are also a lot of fun when you are solo and on the wire also since you are that much higher in the air.
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Scott,
‘92 H18 w/SX wings
‘95 Hobie Funseeker 12 (Holder 12)
‘96/‘01/‘14 Hobie Waves
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Posted: Aug 10, 2010 - 03:35 PM
This is the big reason I've stuck with a winged H18 all these years. I've taken four adults out through surf when I was the only one on board who sailed "everyone on the wings!".
Last summer took my "mid 70's" parents out with one on each wing and they never had to move, crawl across the tramp, or worry about getting hit with the boom.
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
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Posted: Aug 10, 2010 - 05:10 PM
and you can always remove the wings if you WANT someone to get hit with a boom. -
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Posted: Aug 10, 2010 - 05:33 PM
ok, so the hobie 18 is in the running. question is how hard to rig on the trailer? fwiw my wife is gently nudging towards getting a getaway (groan). "we had so much fun...i don't know if we'll like one that's more complicated..." etc.
