A few years ago, ISAF had a trial to determine the new youth boat. The decision fell on the SL16, an upgraded Sl 15.5 that is very popular in France. Hobie EU entry into these trails was the Hobie Max. After the choice went against the Hobie Max we hadn't heard much at all from this design. Certainly I didn't and I do keep a tap on new developments in the catamaran scene.

But then came our Zandvoort Club race of last sunday and what do you know. We see a very new Hobie Max sail up to the start line. In the "Le Race+" version; in other words the performance oriented version with pentex sails and spinnaker. It still has skegs instead of daggerboards though.




Fully rigged with spinnaker and snuffer. I had believed this boat type to be forgotten after the ISAF trials. However I must say that it looks like nice design when seen in the flesh and on the water. Undoubtably the crew was still new to the boat so we couldn't make a good performance comparison.

I checked its specs today and found it to be F16 compliant although a tad to slow to be competitive in a real F16 fleet. source : http://www.hobiecat.nl/pdf/max_gb.pdf. It has a Texel rating in the "Le Race+" version of 114 compared to 102 for the F16, 12 % slower = roughly 7 min per hour racing.

But indeed it looked like a very nice design, indeed. I always had a soft spot for the nacra 5.0, but I feel I now must included the Hobie max as well. Both look like really nice boats for the group of sailors these are targeting. Sailors looking for a versatile boat that is geared toward easy and recreational sailing and occasional racing. Interestingly enough the Hobie Max and Nacra 500 + spi are very very similar in specs and performance.

I admit to calling them "fake F16's" in my enthousiasm yesterday because they look so much like the true F16's but being significantly heavier with less sail area and skegs. But finally the new entry cat designs are really with the modern times in looks and design and that is a good development !

Actually, I hope to see this boat participate more often in our club races.

Wouter

How are they being marketed relative to the H-16? I see they are a little faster on Texel.

slightly bigger spin but weighs about 80lbs more. Whats with the "patented removable keel?"

A Dart 16x recently turned up at our club. Nice little boat, but heavy..

http://www.lasersailing.com/disp/uk/dart-16x/vital-statistics?i=

How did it do in the race?

There are multiple size spinnakers advertised for this Hobie Max, but indeed the biggest of them is not F16 compliant. But still 18.5 sq.mtr is a VERY large spi on a 8 mtr long masted boat with only 4.90 mtr hulls and a 3.25 mtr pole. We are struggling to get 17.5 sq. mtr in the F16 triangle of 8.5 mtr mast, 5 mtr hulls and a 3.5 mtr pole. I want to see a Hobie Max spi measured to believe it to be 18.5 sq. mtr. The other spi's are compliant.

At this time I know absolutely nothing about how it is marketed or how the removable skegs work.

With respect to Tony's question; I feel that I can't say anything about the performance of the boat as I have no idea of the skill level of the crew on board or how well they know their boat.

Naturally, if they had gotten in first then I would tell you guys as then there is no doubt whatsoever. But they didn't. They also didn't pull their spinnaker in the races. This indicate to me that they were new to the boat. The winds were strong but the water was very flat and carrying the spi was the right course of action.

Wouter

I haven't seen a Hobie max but suggest that the "removable skegs" could be similar to those found on the Hobie 15(club/cs model?). Those I have seen are in bright orange! and effectivly make a long endplate down the keeline of the skeg.

You know, I think Hobie did this design right. It doesn't happen with my often but I kind of like this Max.

More info on design details can be found here :

http://www.hobie-cat.net/download/manuels/max_gb.pdf


Today I also remembered that I keep a full excel price listing of a French Hobie agent in La Rochelle France. This is one of the most valuable information sheets I have on the competition. So I figured that it was worth to take a look and see if it also lists the Hobie Max. And it does !

Hobie Max Club (the resort version) : 11.566 Euro's
Hobie Max Race (getting more interesting) : 12.578 Euro's
Hobie Max Race+ (the one that is very interesting) : 15.600 Euro's

As a comparison Hobie Tiger STX is listed at 14.525 Euro's, although it also list the spinnaker as optional with the Tiger (1900 Euro's)

Basically the MAX in the race version (selftacker, snuffer, pentex, etc) is just below a Tiger rigged as an F18.

I hate to inform Hobie though that both a VWM Blade F16 and the Stealthmarine F16 (race version) sell in Europe for just under 14.200 Euro's (respectively 14.165 and 14.189 Euro's). Fully rigged with selftacker, snuffer, pentex, etc. I really didn't expect the "more challenging to build" F16 boats to actually be cheaper.

Texel has apparently measured the first Hobie MAX and here is the Texel handicap data :

Length overall : 4.90 mtr
waterline length : 4.85 mtr
Weight ready to sail : 142 kg (including spi etc)
mainsail area : 14.10 sq. mtr
mainsail luff : 7.47 mtr
jib area : 3.70 sq. mtr
jib luff : 5.15 mtr.

It is rated by Texel at 109 (incl. spin) despite the fact that it has skegs instead of daggerboards. Hobie 16's are at 117.

This Hobie MAX could turn out to be surprisingly fast boat.

Wouter

Wouter, are Phil and Marcus there yet?

Yes, and they have been since yesterday.

They are assembling the boat and I'll see them again in 30 minutes or so.

I must say, a very nice set of hulls Darryl, nice and clean inside.

Wouter