I'm trying to decide which would be better for a beachcat for me.

I recently bought a 1983 Hobie 18 in great shape. Then a friend said he is thinking about selling his Nacra 5.8.

HOBIE 18: I was all excited about the H-18 until I found out that it might be one of the heavy ones. I read that 83 was the cutoff but in speaking with a Hobie rep, he was under the impression that it was 82 so my 83 would be one of the lighter ones. The H-18 is in really great shape. It looks like it has been really well cared for. Everything is there, in good shape, and works fine.

NACRA 5.8: The Nacra is all there. It comes with 2 sets of sails, one newer, one used a bit but was original of high quality for racing. It has 2 sets of dagger/center boards. The non-skid has pealed off. It has some minor gelcoat cracks and looks like it needs a wax job real bad. I tapped on the hull and it feels thin, the Hobie rep felt it might be "an eggshell" and not layered glass/foam/glass but rather just glass, but admittedly he wasn't sure. I think that it is a 1984. It needs a bit a TLC.

BOTH: Have good tramps, permanent registration trailers, cat boxes, and beach wheels.

ME: I've been sailing for years and racing monohulls. I'm not that strong and am really concerned about the weight of the cats on the sand. I've sailed cats before and loved it. I'm concerned that I'll wish after a season that I had the Nacra. I live in SoCal and will be using this as a beachcat and racing some. I don't really care if I class race or handicap. I want to be able to sail this with my son or friends who might not have a great deal of experience.

THE QUESTION: Should I buy the Nacra from my friend and sell the H-18 knowing that the Hobie is in perfect shape or what? What are your thoughts?

THE DILEMA: I already bought the TheMightyHobie18 and would have to buy the Nacra 5.8 before I sold the Hobie.

Color me confused, I read your post twice, and I am still confused.
You are thinking about buying a Nacra because someone else told you the Hobie you have is heavy ?
What is it that you percieve you Gain by making the swap ?
What is it you lose by keeping the Hobie ?
I've sailed both, they are both nice boats, parts for the Hobie are much easier to find. A class to race in is much easier to find. It is a no brainer to me, but hey, I don't walk in your shoes.

Stephen
H-18

I sailed a H-18 for 15 years and never once regretted it. I raced casually and there were always several around to race against. Sure other boats beat me but no matter what I buy that will happen (Unless you're a rock star!). I would stick with the Hobie since you already have it and it needs no work and go sailing. Learn to sail well and you'll not be disapointed.

Clayton

It is obvious that Stephen owns a H-18. I have owned both and sailed both and my only choice would be the nacra 5.8. My reasons are
Boomless rig
Solid mast
no roller furler
travler system
mainsheet system
rudder lockdown system
more positive bouyancy forward
Harken standard equipment

In my opinion the 5.8 out performs the H-18 hands down. They are both very fine boats, and I am sure either one will give you and your family years of pleasure.

You said you already bought the Hobie 18...have you actually sailed it yet?

It sounds like your main concern is the weight of the 18 with regards to moving it around. Have you actually tried moving it yet?

If anything, I would invest in a nice set of beach wheels. Either of these cats can be moved realatively easily on flat ground with two people and a set of beach wheels.

You've already got what you claim is a good boat. Personally, I'd sail what I have at least for a little while rather than go through the hassle of buying another and then trying to sell the other.

sm

Both are great boats. I sailed and loved my H-18 for many years.

That having been said - I'd go for the 5.8.

The main thing is that the hulls of the 5.8 offer more buoyancy in addition to the boat weighing less. If you sail heavy, or want to take additional people out, this extra freeboard really helps. One thing I hated about the 18 was the drag the hull lip produces and the slapping of the beams and tramp by the waves. The 5.8 is faster, and is fairly robust as well. The 5.8 platform is easier to keep stiff, and the traveler works better.

Early 5.8s are not foam cored (forget which year the switch happened), you easily see what you have looking into the inspection ports. While the foam cored hulls might be preferable, the solid glass hulls are still robust and might get a price break by mentioning it - but I wouldn't use that alone as a reason to walk away from it.

The only other factor to consider is whether you want to one design race - the 18 might be easier to find a class event for. But, don't kid yourself - the 18 is also a dead class boat and it may be just as hard to find OD action with that (depends on your area). If you're going to end up on open class anyway, again go for the 5.8. If you're only after recreational sailing, I'd still go for the 5.8, unless its condition is far worse than the 18 you have.

If you can not afford the beach wheels, use PVC pipe as skids.

Both boats are fun and durable. The weight issue with Hobie 18's is minimal. The change came in 1984, I don't remember the difference but it was minimal. Probably less than 10lbs difference. I believe the 5.8 weights is less by a greater margin than any of the Hobie 18's but I am not sure. I would stick with what you have for the following reasons

You already own it
You know what you have
It doesn't need any work
It will fufill your wants/needs that you listed.

I wouldn't switch because of the following

You have to buy it and sell the one you have
You don't know what surprises are awaiting you with the boat
You said it needed some work

Please note that while I sail a Hobie 18 on steriods, statement would have been the same if the boats were reversed. Point is, go have some fun, the difference in the boats is minimal for what you are wanting to do, but it sounds like one of them would require some money and time to bring up to snuff.

As Hullflyer noted I do own a H-18. I noted that at the bottom of my post so you could take my words with a grain of salt.

JACKFLASH's words, quoted below, are wise ones, wish I had said the same thing.

hobie 18 = cadillac

nacra 5.8 = ferrari

enough said!!

Cadillac:


Ferrari:

Hmmm, I'll take the Hobie 18 and the Cadillac, please. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

Hi Vespa,

Everyone's advise has been good, both are excellent boats.
The H-18 is the best Beach Cat/Racer designed. The N5-8 is an excellent racer/beach cat. The order of the words is important !!! So I have to ask what type of sailing are you going to be doing ??? The 82-83' H-18 you have mostlikely wieghs between 320-330lbs, the "red-foam boats from mid 84-86'? wieghed from 390-400lbs but had issues if a heavy wieght crew w/ 7x1 mainsheet installed sailed the boat "hard". They had enough muscle and leverage to cause the boat to crack under the gunwales and eventually cause the bow to fold or even tear away (been there, done that!!!)
Ok?

The Nacra while an excellent race boat has some issues with Surfbreaks, mainly the landing. The hull design is fairly straight with plumb bows ... if you come off the wave with the bows pitched down, they have a tendency to drive/dig inro the beach and the boat pitchpoles in the surf, Ugly!!!
The H-18 with the hulls designed with a slight rocker will drive onto the beach but the bows will not dig in. Now if we compare the daggerboards you will notice that the N5-8's are straight, deeper and more efficent ... the H-18's are angled slightly and are shallower/wider, therefore they are not as efficent as the Nacra's ... BUT if you hit a sandbar or any object in the water you want to be on the Hobie, the slight angle to the boards allows the boat to pitch forward slightly dissipating the impact forces just enough to allow the boat to survive with no or minimal damage. The roller furler on the jib is a great help at times allowing the boat to be reefed for winder conditions. Now an 82-83' should have the "old style rudder system" on it if it does you'll want to replace that with the new style system introduced in 87-88'?(I believe).

Both boats are technically members of "The Dead Boat Sociaty" as we like to call it as niether is currently in-production. But there are alot more H-18s around and the class has been fairly stable for the last several years.

If you wish to pleasure cruise w/friends install a set of Magnum Wings on the H-18!!!

Note to Mary: could you find the link to the "Sunkist Commercial" and post that here that was on a thread in Jan?

Watch the Sunkist video from 84'!!! WOOF, WOOF, WOOF!!!!

Please, someone get me a Sunkist while I rig my H-18mag ... Lets go jump some waves!!!! call us AIRBORN

Anyway, you will enjoy the ride ... welcome to the world of catamarans ... you are now offically an Ex-Monomoraner!!!

Sail Flat, Sail Fast
HarryMurphey
H-18mag/#9458, Fleet54/Div11
P-19mx w/spin /#86, Crac

Only in its dreams has an 18 ever weighed that little.

Boats of that vintage weigh 420-430 lbs.

I second that heavier weight for the Hobie 18. The Prindle 18 weighed 330 lbs. No boards, no dagger wells, and lighter mast, hulls, tramp, and boom.

It's pretty easy to weigh the boats. Just get two bathroom scales, load the boat with all rigging, mast, boom, sails, rudders, and blocks, and balance the boat on the scales centered under each hull on a flat surface, then add the two together.

I think I agree with this summation. I've never sailed the Nacra 5.8, but it's gotta faster than the Nacra 500, which I owned. Before the Nacra, I used to sail Hobie 16s and 18s. Didn't want to see them again after sailing the Nacra. The Nacra handled much better than both Hobies, and was definitely faster than the 16.

I've never sailed a 5.8 but after sailing a Hobie 16 and moving to a Hobie 18 everyone has said it is a Cadillac ride, and it is. The 5.8 is faster than a Hobie 18, but put the wings on a 18 and enjoy some comfortable sailing. Take off the wings for racing and in a moderate wind & waves, hang on. Supercharge it with a spinnaker and you can put some miles on them while cruising or have your hands full while racing.

Has anyone else noticed that the Tiger hulls and the Hobie 18 hulls are "similar" ?

Me!

My old 18 was easily the heaviest beach cat I have had. The N 6.0 and 20 are easier to move around. And as tough as my 18 was, it was killed in the end by a 5.8 - not even a foam cored 5.8. That 5.8 is still around...

The bow digging into the beach thing was a feature of the N-20s. The 5.8 and 6.0 actually have a fair bit of rocker in the hull, and the bow is a little rounded at the bottom, whereas the N-20 brings the stem down to a sharp angle with less rocker forward.

I always thought the Tiger hull was similar to the H 18 - except the Tiger hull fixes the evils - no hull deck seam and more freeboard without the curved beams. Stiffer and slicker.

Also, in the end, my H 18 and H 20 were more difficult to right than the 5.8, 6.0, and I-20s I have sailed.

There were wings made for the Nacras, but you'd have to search to find them.

In the end I would own another H-18. But if I was faced with a head's up choice between an 18 and a 5.8 it would be 5.8 all the way...

Nacra 5.8, very fast. H-18, family boat. That said, if there are a large number of TheMightyHobie18's at your club, it could be fun.

As for goin' down the mine on a surf break, that's just nonsense. All cats are all a hassle in surf.