Ok folks, after some lengthy discussions with Hobie Cat Company, we finally have some hard numbers.

Hobie will make a run of Hobie 18 Hulls if we can get hard commitment from at least 10 buyers.

At this point we are looking at a price for two hulls of $6950.00 plus shipping.

As a one time deal, you can order anything else you may need for the boat, Tramp, Sails, Standing rigging, Rudders, Daggers, whatever, at a 20% discount.

This is a unique opportunity to freshen up your tired old Hobie 18, or to dig one out of a storage yard somewhere and essentially "build" your own "new" Hobie 18.

If you are interested in participating in this unique program/opportunity.
Speak Up NOW.
We need commitments from at least 10 people by the end of the first week in January if we are to get this pulled together in time for a May/June Delivery.

Now that we have hard numbers, we can quantify the true level of interest. I would imagine that at some point, we will need a deposit so that Hobie Cat Company can be assured that they will not end up with a bunch of hulls sitting in the warehouse.

For the time being, I have volunteered to be the liaison between Hobie 18 Owners and Hobie Cat Company as we build interest.

In the interest of keeping inaccurate rumors to a minimum, please direct your questions and interest to me, although, I am sure that at some point you will need to get in touch with a dealer to place an order and make your deposit.

Once we have all the details worked out, and before you actually part with any money, you will all get good accurate and reliable information on how to proceed.

NO part of ANY financial transaction will be handled by me. This will all be handled thru authorized Hobie Dealers Only.

Stephen Cooley
MUST429@aol.com

I don't want to offend you. But why in hell would you want to spend $7000 on such an outdated design?

I mean if your TheMightyHobie18 hulls are toasted part the rest of the boat to other TheMightyHobie18 owners and use your $7000 plus the money you get from parts to buy yourself something more recent...

Because there are a lot of people that still race 18s one-design in the US and AUS. "Buying something more recent" would mean an F18 for most of these people, which is unattractive for a number of reasons - cost, crew demands, no racing fleet in most parts of the country to name a few.

They don't want or need the "latest and greatest".

Exactly! Not everyone desires the newest platform. The best One-Design classes are those that have longevity and a great design to start with. Think Star boat, Laser, J-24, Hobie 16, et al. The TheMightyHobie18 is not a high level "classic" but pretty close to it. I think it is a better race boat than the H16 even.

$7000 plus a donor boat is a pretty good deal. I would guess a whole new 18 would be in the $12000 range.

Not everybody would call the Star, H16 or the Laser "great designs" in 2009 (I dont know the rest of the boats on your list), but I guess that is a very different discussion

How about Tornado? The point is, newer and faster is not always a virtue. Not many designs have lasting intrinsic value. They are quickly left behind when a newer and perhaps better package appears.

The so called "classics" have an endearment that transcends leading edge developement.

The choice is happly yours to make. I have no desire to own another Hobie 18 or J/24, but it certainly makes sense that someone does.

There is the "different discussion" I was talking about


Argumenting on the base of "a great design to start with" does not fly with me as time passes and development makes great strides. What once were a great design dont neccesarily have to be a great design today. I dont agree that certain designs have "intrinsic value" either. It is the people sailing the boat that can give it intrinsic value when we are talking about mass produced models.

Everybody are free to sail what they want, for the reasons they choose.

No offense taken, a valid question.
Lets me see if I can answer that question with a few things that come to mind right off the top of my head.

Maybe because I don't want to spent 20K on the latest technology F-18/F-16 platform that can only "fleet race"at best a few times a year.

Possibly because I like a one design boat that doesn't have to be updated or replaced every few years.

Probably because I like being able to go almost anywhere in the country and race in an established class without having to wait for the race committee's calculator to tell me who won.

Maybe I like a boat with the flexibility/versatility of the Hobie 18.
A boat that I can take out with anyone from my 85 year old dad, to my 5 year old granddaughter and have still fun.
A boat that I can go race with pickup crew off of the beach and still have fun and be competitive.

I'll grant you the Original Hobie 18 is a bit dated, sedate, heavy or whatever other disparaging adjective you may choose to attach.

However, I'll stand up for the "old gray mare" and say it is a very versatile catamaran, fun to sail in almost any circumstance or condition, from single handing to day sailing to family outings. And yet, is still a very good racing platform with a strong fleet and competitive sailors.

I've raced the F-18 platform, and while it is fun and exciting and challenging on a level a step or two above the original Hobie 18, it is not a boat I can be competitive on with my wife, or my daughter, or inexperienced crew.

So, there are a few reasons I would spend the money and make the effort to "restore" a Hobie 18.

I hope I was able to make my case without offending anyone, and yet still explain why there are so many people out there that think the Original Hobie 18 is a design worth saving.

I'm not here to try and convince anyone to go back to the original Hobie 18, just to let Hobie 18 owners that peruse this forum know that there is life in the old girl yet.

Respectfully,
Stephen

Point taken.

Albeit when I said "something more recent" I was not thinking F18 or F16, I was thinking more in terms of an old nacra with sound hulls for a couple of grands. Heck, for what you are going to splurge on hulls you can buy a fleet of those

I haven't seen a TheMightyHobie18 in years, so for me it's a completely dead class, I guess it's not the case everywhere.

Good example why we love the One Design "Old Hobie's" http://www.havamega.com/index.php/component/option,com_geda/Itemid,71/

Just bought a 2000 H-17 to "upgrade" my 1986 H-17.
Caleb Tarleton
H17 6446

In the end, Hobie was presented with a business case that would give them some margin of profit if ten or more hulls were ordered. Emotional attachment to the 18 is one thing but profitable numbers talk to the accounting department.

The bonus here is the 20% discount on additional parts. Sounds like a good time to stock up.

Good work Stephen.

It is interesting to note that only "old" Hobies seem to have any life after death in a class racing environment. I certainly have my issues with Hobie as a benevolent manufacturer, but you have to recognize the existance of viable fleets and championships for virtually all of them.

Nacra has always been a leading edge force and while the Nacra 5.2 was a breakthough design, where can you race them now except in a mixed fleet. Once strong Prindle fleets have dried up. Sol Cat...who even remembers them?

This is not to condem these other manufacturers, only to enhance the topic being discussed.

What will you do with an Infusion or Capricorn in few years? We all hate handicap racing...right?

Apparently the NACRA North Americans only had I20 and N17 classes. Didn't they make 5.0, 5.2, 5.5, 5.7, 5.8, 6.0 and lets not get into the Prindles.

F16, F18 and A-Cats are great and thriving but there is an obvious obsolescent factor that can't be ignored.

While I like the idea of new hulls for my 18 I would prefer they be of more modern composites and design. I continue to look for a boat that is as durable as the TheMightyHobie18 while integrating the design elements of current boats. I find this option to be very interesting but wonder if it is really worth the money. The discount is certainly worthwhile!

In Hobie Div11(Mid-Atlantic) there is an average of 6-8 TheMightyHobie18's attending at the smaller events and +10 boats at some of the larger events ..... there is approximently (15) different TheMightyHobie18's total competing in the area.

NACRA's ???? ... none in several years

P19's ... mine sits in my backyard because .... there's none active in the area anymore of the once local fleet of 10+ local boats .... most have been sold south.

Question: Why doesn't NACRA include a "Dead Boat Society" class scoring on portsmouth handicapping for all the old boats at their "nationals".

I will not ... or can not afford a new +20K boat currently in this economy just so I can compete in a "nationals".

But there is still excellent competition/racing in the TheMightyHobie18 class in my area!!!! Very tight/close compitition!!!

And the TheMightyHobie18 is "tough as nails"!!!! I finished the "Down the Bay" once after 150miles w/ the wind gusting to +43mph ... sailing downwind +80ft up onto the beach scattering volunteers left and right before enough hands could grabbed the boat to stop her.

So I'm considering the deal ... Thanks Stephen!!! Good Luck at the "Mega" ... Fair Winds

Harry
H18Mag #9458/Fleet54-Div11

Let me make sure I've got it right, you want a boat that
1. Weighs about the same as an A-Cat
2. Costs about the same as a Hobie 16
3. Performs like a F-18 (or maybe a Inter 20)
4. All while remaining as bulletproof as the original Hobie 18.
5. oh yeah, and still has an established class with active fleets and Class Racing from coast to coast. (that one is for me)

Ok, pardon me for being a smartass ! !
I couldn't help it.

We ALL have our own definition of the "Ideal" catamaran.

This thread is not about reinventing the Hobie 18.
There are plenty of people out there that have tried and continue trying.
I believe the latest incarnations of those boats are called The Infusion, The Capricorn, and The Wildcat.

This thread is about the unique opportunity for someone to reinvigorate their Original Hobie 18, flawed tho it may be, still a great boat, still a strong fleet, still a lot of fun to sail and race.

Gotta ask, is there a perfect boat? What will replace it next year?

As an 18 owner and racer, guess I should add my .02.

I have been racing an 18 since 2000 and love the boat. I am on my second one and it is a 97. This is not to say that I do not enjoy racing newer faster boats as I frequently get to do on a Nacra 20 thanks to Zander. Having a "petite" wife/crew the 18 is great for us and she has no interest in a spin boat.

The 18 is a perfect entry level boat and is still capable of holding its own in a mixed fleet. This past weekend ,in 14mph wind, we finished one race in 3rd in a 7 boat fleet beating two A cats, a 570 and a 16. I also have heard many F18 sailors say the Hobie 18 is still their "favorite" boat but had to follow the fleet when everyone started changing boats.

I would like to eventually get a spin boat but it will be when I have different crew and when there are more used ones on the market at a lower cost. Even if I am able to one day get a F18 or F16, I would not get rid of the Hobie 18.

I hope the agreement with Hobie is successful and gets more H18s out sailing and racing.

The need for a two person race boat for a normal weight team that is also non spin seems to be fundamental. In the universe of dinghies... a class like the Albacore is very successful in the two person non spin, market.

The notion that the race classes of the future would be the Hobie 16, F18, and A class should include two separate niches... the F16, for the one up or two up whenever world and the Hobie 18 (at least in North America).

Goran Marstrom would say that his hulls would last forever... replace your beams and alu mast after 10 years and foils as needed and you would have a new boat.

Hobie Inc claims to have stopped production of the fiberglass when their parts inventory hit the point where they would have to make another expensive extrusion order.

I would think the curved front beam is a likely replace item on the 18. Is that a factor in people's upgrade plans?

Where did all this come from? Why wouldn't you want your new hulls to be better than whats available used for far less money? I can still find solid light hulls for less than 1K just about anywhere. I'm a huge fan of the TheMightyHobie18 but after sailing one for 20yrs I need more. I bought the lastest and greatest in '01, the Fox, and quickly destroyed it by beach landing.
What I would buy is new hulls made with new technology that have solid glass keels. Its the sandwich glass on the keels that concerns me about the new clam shell designs. Once you wear thru the outer skin there seems to be no way to repair and get the strength back. New glass doesn't hold to the exposed foam and the strength is gone, or at least that has been my experience.
Price is not the real issue for me, its durability and functionality, I dropped 15k on the Fox used. My hotrod TheMightyHobie18 covers both of those issues and adds pucker factor with the spin. I'm going to have a custom jib made for my self tacker and forget about this hull argument.

Good luck with this venture, hope it works out well for those that take Hobie up on this offer, that said I'm out!

I like the Hobie 18 because I can race one design, add the wings for just sailing around or put the spin on for the long distance race. I love the wings.

I may not purchase new hulls but I can afford to keep the Hobie 18 at annual costs of $400 a year, (includes beach fees).I cannot afford a newer boat until my girls are out of school, and that is many years away. Best cost to fun ratio I know of. Flame away but I also think it is the most versitile cat out there.