Hi

My club is looking at buying a hobie max cat. I've been giving it a hard time because I see no reference to it on the web or youtube, or meet a person who has see one.

We now been told (not from the local dealer) that hobie have sold over 200 of them in europe.

I thought only in the last couple of years the 49er had gone into the 1000 figures.

I've classed this cat as a dead duck, am I really that wrong. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/confused.gif" alt="" />

Bye

John I don't know the answer but I though that the MAX was a boat that was done by a dealer who modified a stock fX One.

Hi John

I think the hobie max has been designed to be the youth catamaran in France.
The catamaran that has won the selection then, was the SL16.

http://www.adonnante.com/videosea,97,en,date,Navigation-sur-un-patin--

IMO I would go with SL16 instead, as there is a quite active group in france allready.

Let me put it this way.

I think we now have sold some 150 F16's and everybody in the world knows about them and that was after a huge promotion campaign during the first few years of that class. We started only 1 year before the launch of the Hobie Max.

I have only ever heard of the Hobie Max once, outside of the 2002 ISAF trials for a new youth boat, and that was last year when a crew from a neighbouring club brought to a club race of ours. I have not seen it ever again.

I have never seen it in any race results ever (except our own club race) and I do look up race results regulary from all place of the world.

I seriously doubt some 200 of them have been sold. That is like producing on average 35 boats a year ! Contrary to common believe that is a significant production run. The AHPC Taipan 4.9 was typically produced at an average rate of 25 boats per year (now 400 in total) and they are well known, pop up at regatta's regulary the world over.

It would be very weird for a 12.500 Euro glass boat (no resort market) to be sold over 200 times and still be such an absolute unknown and unseen design.

Wouter

No, that is the "FX-extreme"

Wouter

Hobie Max web page

This is shown on the Hobie Cat Europe website.

I saw a Hobie Max at the cat club where I chartered a Nacra 20 while in Holland.

Wouter or Sander, what is the name of the club nearest the offshore windmill "farm?" It's one club North(ish) of your club, Wouter.

Noordwijk?

The Hobie Max I know of is at the Cat Club Velsen often also called "IJmuiden"

This club is some 6km north from my own club (Watersport club Zandvoort) and a couple of sailors do sail over to our club races and sail back at the end of the day.

This crew was one of them. I even know his name, but he came over with the Max only once and left before finishing. I can't remember anymore what caused it. I do seem to recall he had a Hobie 16 before the Max.

Personally I like the Hobie Max (as I do like the Nacra 500) but I just don't believe 200 of them have been build and sold.

Wouter

That's the same boat I know of over there. It's the only one I've ever seen.