Greetings!
Last year (June/July), I started hankerin' for a beachcat and had every intention of following through! Unfortunately, some other things came up and it fell to the backburner. Now, I'm ready to get back to it and finally bring that dream to fruition.
I'm blessed/cursed to work for a school district, and have a week off in late March. I'd love to vacation somewhere with good conditions and rent a variety of beachcats to see if any of them grab me. At this point, I have 0 experience beyond minimal time on monohulls, so I'd like to start with something fairly simple and stable, then build up as I gain more comfort/experience (in short, start with something like a Wave and progress to something without training wheels).
My question is, where could I go to make this a reality? I'm in Charleston, SC and, frankly, there just isn't anywhere around here renting beachcats. I'm not averse to driving to Florida and hanging out there for a few days, if it meets my criteria.
Thanks!
Edited by palmettostater on Jan 29, 2016 - 05:23 PM.
Beachcat Vacation for a Beginner?
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Posted: Jan 29, 2016 - 04:22 PM
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Posted: Jan 29, 2016 - 04:28 PM
Most beach cat rentals in South Florida are at Hotel Resorts and they normally only rent Hobie Waves and Hobie Getaways, if you are looking for a more performance cat I would suggest joining a local Catamaran club and see if you can crew with some of the members. -
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Posted: Jan 29, 2016 - 04:51 PM
It's the same in Myrtle, unfortunately. Nothing's ever easy! -
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Posted: Jan 29, 2016 - 05:32 PM
Hey palmettostater,
With zero beachcat experience, resort rentals may not be the best idea unless it's the only thing available because they may have anyone on staff that really knows the boats. You wouldn't have any way of knowing if the boats were rigged correctly or not.
If that's all you can get to, then go for it, you have to start somewhere. We did have someone posting on here last summer that was in charge of a rental operation on the East Coast that included beachcats but I can't remember their name. Anyone?
It may be further than you had in mind to travel but if you want the ideal place to try out a beachcat with soft, no surf, and as much help as you want. Take a look at http://www.KeySailing.com in Pensacola Beach, FL.
Good luck,
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
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Posted: Jan 29, 2016 - 08:19 PM
I had a work conference at the Westin in Hilton Head and they had 2 beach cats for rent. I think both Prindle 16's. If you are willing to go further, Dunedin causeway near Tampa has a few choices, and I consider a good training ground. I stayed at the Islander Resort in Islamorada and they had a few to rent there as well. But that's probably a 15 hour drive. The getaways and Hobie waves really dominate the rental fleets, I think places like to qualify you a little before they rent you a more performance based boat. But the wave and getaway are blast regardless. If you do make it to Florida you are welcome to try out my Hobie 16 and Gcat 5.7. March is a windy month to get your feet wet. Feel free to pm me -
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Posted: Jan 30, 2016 - 12:12 PM
You guys are awesome. Thank you for your help.
If a Wave/Getaway is my best option, I might as well just drive two hours north to Myrtle. I'm still absolutely floored that we don't have any sort of rental place in Charleston! This is such a water-loving city. You'd think we'd have something! -
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Posted: Jan 31, 2016 - 09:03 AM
There is a Hobie dealer, Ocean Motion, in St Simon's Island, GA that rents Hobie 16s. March might be cold though. I have visited the DR and Jamaica and rented Waves. Rigging is always lacking, but I still had fun. You need to call the hotel, and maybe ask them to take a picture of the boats (the front desk probably doesn't know what they are).
Regarding Pensacola Beach, I was there last week on business and spied a whole bunch of Waves lined up. This address might be the business mentioned above, and if you zoom in, you see other cats. You can search around for other businesses, and if one does not have cats, they might know who does.
524 Quietwater Beach Rd, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561
https://bit.ly/1nW6RLi
Edited by yelkenli1 on Jan 31, 2016 - 10:09 AM.
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Ted
Hobie 16
South Carolina Lake sailing
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Posted: Feb 01, 2016 - 10:42 AM
real Beach cats have fallen out of favor with most rental places due to the a. costs of keeping fiberglass boats and sails in good shape b. the learning curve and fun factor for renters and c. liabilities of renting performance craft to novices.
That's why they are scarce these days.
the rotomold boats are fun in a breeze, and will get your feet wet
In Dunedin they do NOT rent beachcats anymore. Only 17'and 18' Windriders. They are FUN in heavy air but not very similar (in controls) to a beach cat
There are some G-cats and others for rent in LongBoatKey (about 1 hour south of tampa) -
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Posted: Feb 01, 2016 - 12:08 PM
If you want to come down to Jacksonville Florida, I can get you on a Hobie 16 off the beach or a Nacra 5.2 on the St John's river
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Kenneth Purdy
Hobie 16
Nacra 5.2 (2)
Banshee
First Coast, Florida
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Posted: Feb 01, 2016 - 09:37 PM
si_beachcats - Paul T of Sea Island Watersports, GA
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Posted: Feb 04, 2016 - 10:38 AM
Sorry for the bad info on Dunedin, I was down in the area for work in June and it sure looked liked they had some for rent, I'm glad you didn't make the trip on my info. St Simons sounds like a good bet. If you come to Florida sounds like Key Sailing is a good bet or take me or klppurdy up on our offers. -
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Posted: Feb 04, 2016 - 10:58 AM
I think my best bet is trying something here in SC. There are some places up around Myrtle renting Waves and Getaways. After I've done that a few times, I'll seek out someone with something more complex.
All you responders are awesome. Thanks for your help! -
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Posted: Feb 05, 2016 - 04:48 PM
We have lots of cats on the beach here
Locals (some have overnight permits for 2nights a week)
locals and non locals who day sail (or park without a permit - uncool)
training - we have local Robby Daniel who trains often off our beach. Everyone from sailors like us, to pros and Olympiads
There is 1 gcat at the rental shack but it's not for rent. It's owned by the rental shack/owner but he doesn't rent cats anymore. too many people flipped or got stuck in shallows when he did (i just called him to verify this) -
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Posted: Feb 05, 2016 - 04:49 PM
Great plan
