Years ago in the early 2000s I used to work at a scout camp for a summer as a counselor, and the lakefront area had a small selection of boats you could borrow and take out on the lake. My very first ever introduction to the word "Hobie" was when someone used the term to describe a strange looking sailboat that looked like an extremely narrow catamaran configuration with solid fiberglass between the hulls and a sort of indented "cockpit "area. And it was tiny... considerably smaller than a hobie 16.
Did hobie make those or were they just using "Hobie" interchangeably with "catamaran?"
Did Hobie ever make a solid-deck cat?
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Posted: May 02, 2019 - 05:42 PM
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Posted: May 02, 2019 - 06:11 PM
There was the Hobie Monocat, similar to what you described. About 12 feet long and rig sort of like a Sunfish rig -
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Posted: May 02, 2019 - 08:29 PM
Yes, the “Monocat” as stated above. They were only sold for a few years back in the ‘70’s. They had a critical design flaw in that the foam construction did not allow any water that entered the hull to be removed, so they eventually gained up to 100’s of pounds of water weight rendering they virtually unusable.
Another example of a solid-decked cat made by Hobie is the Bravo, which is more or less an updated, roromolded version of the monocat, introduced in the 2000’s and still in production.
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Posted: May 02, 2019 - 08:48 PM
it's really a very impressive how many different water craft they have built:
PDF - https://static.hobiecat.c…ve/media/pdf/monocat.pdf
Edited by MN3 on May 03, 2019 - 11:15 AM. -
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Posted: May 02, 2019 - 09:24 PM
Now that I see it was in the early 2000’s, it was probably a Bravo. Mainsail furled around unstayed mast would be a tell tale sign -
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Posted: May 03, 2019 - 11:04 AM
Haha, well it was in the 2000s but I doubt the boats were less than 20 years old. It was a while ago but I'm almost certain that the third picture from the top that MN3 posted is what I saw, except I think it had a red top.
They look like they'd be hard to keep upright. -
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Posted: May 03, 2019 - 11:12 AM
probably about the same as a sunfish - easy to depower (just let go of the helm and it will turn right into the wind and stop), easy to flip (just don't let go...) and easy to right after the flip just climb up and hold on to the center board - then lean out) -
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Posted: May 03, 2019 - 11:13 AM
in the pdf they state it comes in 3 colors - one was orange (that looks red to me in the pdf)
https://static.hobiecat.c…ve/media/pdf/monocat.pdf -
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Posted: May 03, 2019 - 02:50 PM
I sailed a Hobie Bravo in the 2005 Boy Scout Jamboree at Fort A.P. Hill Virginia. It had a solid deck just as you describe.
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Posted: May 10, 2019 - 01:27 PM
Hola!
I just found this forum and thank you MN3 for posting the PDF for the Hobie 12. I was in the very first Junior Lifeguard program for the State of California back in the early 70’s. The head of aquatics for the State was named Bob Isnor. Bob was a childhood friend of Hobie Alter. Hobie donated several 14’s and 16’s for us to use and test in the JG program. I learned to sail on monohulls and the Hobie Cat made me a multihull sailor for life. We “tested” the 12’s for Hobie before they were released to the public. I can personally confirm the “problems” that Dogboy describes. The 12’s with the molded hard deck were also not very comfortable to sail, especially after playing on the 14 & 16 tramps. The 12’s were a fun little boat but they were like driving a Volkswagon Beetle compared to the Ferraris, (14’s) and piloting the F16’s (16’s). The 12’s we tested all had the yellow orange and white color schemes seen in the PFD. Being allowed to pilot a 16 alone as a grommet was life changing for me. For 10 years I lived on and solo cruised a 28ft modified Piver trimaran while working as a Lifeguard for the State of Californiaa. I also got to “crew” on the Aikane X5 while she was being tested and prepared to break the Trans Pacific record back in the 80’s. I’m 60 now and just picked up a 1980 Hobie 18. I’ll be restoring and splashin her in about a month or so as soon as some baldly needed parts arrive. Thanks again for the PFD. I’ve been telling folks for many years about the 12’s and now I can finally show them what I was talking about.
Hasta,
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Posted: May 10, 2019 - 02:19 PM
Great writeup!
welcome to the site!
y/w for posting the pdf - it was fun looking and getting all the different hobie's together - i never heard of this hobie (nor that rotomolded 15 skeg cat ... that looks fun (even fun to capsize) -
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Posted: May 10, 2019 - 03:13 PM
