I raced a Hobie 20 a few weeks ago. one on one drag races. He didn't have his jib up but it wasn't even close. I smoked him. Then when i helped him pull his cat up the beach and it just felt shotty. I haven't been around too many cats but I would prefer a H18 over the miracle. I could be wrong though!
Hey Kevin I'm the guy with the Hobie 20. I didn't realize we were racing but I thought my cat did fine, and as for helping me put my cat on the trailer your memory is failing you. That was the day you lost your mast and had to be towed back in. My cat was back on the trailer and I waited so you could use my cat trax to get your boat off the lake.
The H20 is a very nice boat. I've had one about 5 years and have a lot of respect for the boat. Does everything well and has some super fast points of sail. It was an upgrade from a H18 I had and I can tell you it absolutely kills the H18. No contest. On every point of sail.
-- Daniel Evans
N I20 Miami FL
N I20, N 6.0NA, H 20, H 16 Chesapeake bay
I have a hard time passing up a good deal on a big cat. --
As for the captain he was a perfect gentlemen and let me use his cat tracks and for that we thank you. Talk about the best first post on this site! Welcome aboard neighbor and I hope to sail with you again.
I recently restored a miracle 20 and (with virtually no sailing experience - only sailed 5 times in my life) entered a race with over 120 varied sailboats...I was stunned by how many other sailors were terrified of the M20 - especially the other cat sailors. Th eboat is that strong and I expect that summer 2012 I will put a hurt on most of them - or sink the thing... LOL Be well!
Silver550, where are you located? Lots of Hobie 20s on the Great Plains from Dallas north to Iowa. A couple in Shreveport, LA, and a few more in Little Rock. The 20 is a rocket.
MVD's ride, 1997 Hobie 20 with new factory sails and trampoline:
Beauty.
-- Sheet In!
Bob
_/)_____/)_/)____/)____/)_____/)/)__________/)__
Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA --
I'd have to take a look (and some measurements) at a Hobie 20 to be sure but I think the Hobie wings (there are three kinds) mount on a Hobie 20 the same way as the Hobie 18.
Since the Hobie 20 has straight instead of arched beams, the wings would angle up slightly more than on a H18, but that wouldn't be bad.
You probably know, but the wings in the video are the older "Magnum" wings while the wings available now are "SX" or "comfort" wings which are much longer fore and aft but attach the same way as the original wings.
I was stunned by how many other sailors were terrified of the M20 - especially the other cat sailors. Th eboat is that strong
I have never sailed on a M20, but had heard they are "twitchy" when then wind picks up. So if you are a new sailor, I would recommend being careful as the wind picks up. But that advise also goes for any new sailor on a cat.
The Hobie 20 is overpowered, which means we're often double trapezing at 13knots. In light and moderate winds she really shines. As the wind picks up, the trick is dumping some of that power and maintaining your speed. There's plenty of tunability built into the 20, and often the ability to depower and stay fast is what separates the race winners from the others. Downhaul, mast rotation, and spreader rake/tension are big deals. After you've gained some experience, you'll learn to sheet in tight to depower (don't worry about it now, it will make more sense later). The roller furling jib (not all boats have them), while scorned by some high timers, is a good insurance policy. Never take the Hobie 20 out solo in double digit winds. You bought a rocket! The Hobie Forum, http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/ will have more specific information on the H20. You can go to this website and download the Hobie University pamphlet. You'll find a section in there about tuning the Hobie 20: http://www.hcana.hobiecla…nloads/hobieu/HobieU.pdf