I am in the market for a new to me boat. There are two I'm interested in. The H17 is local, maybe 45 minutes away. The price is great. There is a port forward of the front crossbar, there was a problem earlier. The Tiger looks immaculate, but it is 7 + hours each way. The price looks great too.
My experience has been on H16's, H18's, H21SE and Hobie Tandem Island. How do the H17 and the Tiger compare to sailing these other boats?
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Todd Elozory
H18
H21SE
Hobie Mirage Tandem Island
Catalina 22
Thonotosassa, Florida
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H17 vs Hobie Tiger
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Posted: Sep 07, 2022 - 09:45 AM
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Posted: Sep 07, 2022 - 10:48 AM
Sounds to me like you've got some brand loyalty going on. You have to consider boards or not, the differences in sailing characteristics are pretty obvious but where you launch, and sail have to be taken into account. Boards are obviously problematic but will sail closer to the wind. The other thing is the size of the boat. The 17 is good for solo and occasional crew when there's more wind. The Tiger is more of a two-person boat and has a lot more power. Both have boards, but the Tiger's more likely to get you in trouble. If I was in the market for another boat, my first choice would be a Nacra 570 if I had someone to sail with on whitecap days. My second choice would be a Nacra 500, which I've owned before and can vouch for as a great single hander. And don't forget the earlier versions of these two, the 5.7 and the 5.0 which have the same hull shapes and much easier to find in the used market.
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Bill Townsend
G-Cat 5.0
Sarasota
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Posted: Sep 07, 2022 - 02:43 PM
It really depends on what you want to do with the boat. These two are completely different animals. I would focus on rigging time and sailing necessities. The H17 can be rigged in about 20 minutes, and that includes making yourself a cocktail while rigging. The Tiger will probably take about an hour to hour half to fully rig and typically requires two people. It also depends if you are going to race the boat, which has a bigger/better fleet.
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Scott
Prindle Fleet 2
TCDYC
Prindle 18-2 Mod "FrankenKitty"
Tornado Classic "Fast Furniture"
Prindle 19 "Mr. Wiggly"
Nacra 5.8 "De ja vu"
Nacra 5.0
Nacra 5.8
Tornadoes (Reg White)
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Posted: Sep 07, 2022 - 03:32 PM
Although I no longer own a Hobie Tiger, I did own one for over a decade. Let me dispel a few myths and start by a few facts. I am in my sixties and weigh right around 190lbs. Rigging .... I was able to fully rig the boat myself in just under an hour. I did not remove my rudders between trips and jib always stayed on the forestay with a jib sock over it. Other than that, everything else, including spinnaker was rigged up to sail. Sailing ... it is a great light air boat especially solo! I would solo my Tiger up to 10 knots without any issue. Above 10 knots I would find myself dropping the traveler and cranking on the downhaul. I was still good up to 15 knots but sailed more attentively and cautiously. After 15 knots, it is a great two up boat. I have been out in 20+ knots solo several times (all not by design). Sailing then becomes a bit survial mode but again, survival mode is definately doable. Tiger v H17 ... not much of a choice for me as the Tiger is more versitile and a lot more fun overall. Dagger boards MIGHT be an issue if you are sailing off the beach. Other than that, the performance far exceeds any drawback; real or perceived. Lastly, one of my best cat runs was me on the tiller, two friends hiked out on the wires, hull out of the water and doing 15 knots. Awesome!!
p.s. - the only reason I sold the Tiger is we found out that two up on the F16 is only a whisker less performance than the Tiger.
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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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Posted: Sep 08, 2022 - 12:42 PM
The first question you need to ask yourself is if you will primarily be sailing solo or with a crew.
The 17 is a great single handed cat, but really loses performance with a second person on board, espicially if sailing the SE model (without jib).
On the flip side, the Tiger is a double handed boat and will be quite difficult to rig and sail without crew in any decent wind. So they are very different boats in that respect.
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Posted: Sep 08, 2022 - 06:12 PM
I would quite disagree that a Tiger is difficult to rig without a crew. If by crew, you mean a six foot step ladder then OK. I use the trapeez wires to stabilize the mast side to side and crank it up with the trailer winch. The whole boat rigged by myself (see above) in less than an hour. As for sailing the boat in a decent wind also see above.
In the end, the Tiger only weighs about 50lbs more than the H17. Moving either around would be about a wash.
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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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Posted: Sep 08, 2022 - 10:25 PM
Thanks for the input.
I used to sail solo a lot on the H18's. At 6'-4" 235 lbs. I was able to right solo without any buckets or bags. With the H21SE I've only flipped it a few times, unable to right it without assistance. My Grandson is getting bigger and I love it when he asks me to take him sailing. The sailing will be primarily on Lake Thonotosassa just east of Tampa. Recently in the news. https://www.fox13news.com/news/a-walking-miracle-brandon-man-survives-after-gator-latches-onto-his-head-in-lake-thonotosassa
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Todd Elozory
H18
H21SE
Hobie Mirage Tandem Island
Catalina 22
Thonotosassa, Florida
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Posted: Sep 09, 2022 - 08:19 PM
At 235lbs the 17 is not the right boat for you. I think the ideal weight is like 180, maybe less. -
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Posted: Sep 09, 2022 - 10:54 PM
Agree a 17 is not made for us bigger people. Getting under the boom is a pain and forget about sailing it with crew, except maybe small kid.
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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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