I just got an excellent Hobie 16. 22 years old and just like new. I sailed it at Hatteras in Pamlico sound many times in the last 10 weeks. It is a great boat but for my situation I am making a few changes. I sail out of a canal into the sound. I put an electric motor just behind the mast and the battery in a cooler rack. The motor is pushed down for use and comes up between the tramp lacing just under the boom for sailing. This works great to getin and out. The motor pushes it 5mph and goes a long way on a small tractor battery. Only problem is I would like to go in and out the canal with the sails completely down. The jib falls in the water when lowered on the water. I am thinking of putting a net between the hulls to catch the jib. Another possibility would be a furling setup. I would like to try the net first. Another problem is the main. When down,it and the boom lay across the tiller. I am thinking of running a rope from the top of the trapeze wire to the back end of the boom. The line would be be tied to the mast base when sailing and be hooked to the boom when the sails are lowered. The boom would be held up and the sails could be held off the deck then motoring. I would like this boat to be easy to control in a canal situation.
I was very impressed with the boat. I had it up to 17mph on a GPS in maybe 20mph winds. It sails into the wind better than any sailboat I have ever been on. Pamlico sound has a wide varity of steady wind speeds with small waves. You can pick how hard you want to sail by chosing your day. Any suggestions for better sail handling would be appreciated.
Also I found it hard to latch and unlatch the main sail at the hook at the mast top. It seems like it would work better if the hook was farther down the mast. It would make the angle of the cable required to latch and unlatch less forward and I would think easier. Again, in a canal I want to get the sails up and down fast and with no trouble.