Hi to All, My names Moe I currently live in Dubai, UAE and I am intrestead in purchasing a catamaran, after reading many posts on the internet and renting different sailboats to try out and feel. I fell in love with a Hobie 16 is what I can see myself sailing off the beach with the wife out untill sunset or take my little daughter out with us when the the winds are calm and see her playing on the tramp wuth her mother.

I quickley learn thoughts like this makes up addicted to the sea in a different way, my sailing experiance is very limited with these type of sailboats yes I have sailed toppers,and lasers but thats when I was 15 years old so I am trying to get as much experiance over the summer for when my family comes back frin vacation I can surprise them with a new sport we can all enjoy.

finding a new Hobie 16 here in Dubai, UAE is a nightmare as most people are out for the summer and everyone tells me its hard to find a 2nd hand Hobie. I also fear prices are going to be very high in this part of the world.

Hobie dealer is charging: $13700 USD for a new 16
Still no 2nd hand ones for sale of any year but I recone they will vary from $3000+

JamieZX can u tell me your experiance in sailing and owning a hobie in this part of the world.

nice place for information
thanks
moe

Unfortunately I've only been here a few weeks and most of my experience has been sailing in Texas. I have been hoping that I'll have a chance to get over to the Doha sailing club but so far I have not.

Sorry I can't be of more help.

Is that the area where Hobie 17 Sports are popular? Raced with two people? It's somewhere over there in the Middle East.

A good freind of mine has just moved out to Dubai, I know he has joined the local sailing club and is also looking to buy a H16. I'll contact him and see if he has any tips. If you come across Mark Synnot say hi from me!

Gareth
www.fourhulls.com

Jamie ahh I thought you would of been in Qatar longer let me know how the sailing place in Doha is.

I Belive most cats here are of 16-18, as you might know the world cup was in 1998 so some boats are still around, Like the one I saw a few days ago belongs to the sailing club I think the people that borrowed it damaged it so I was there trying to convince the club to sell the slightly damaged boat to myself and they should buy a new one for next season. summer is just to boiling hot for most people to sail

Gareth I am a member of (DOSC) thats the Dubai Offshore sailing club in Jumerah,, there are only 2 sailing clubs here other ones (JASC) both are about 10-15 min drive from each other. can ya ask him were he is we might meet up for sailing or boozing

thanks
Moe

Mark is a member of Jebel Ali Sailing Club (JASC) apparantly he is there most evenings as he hasn't bought a cooker yet! I beleive he is borrowing a boat from the club at present, when he is racing you'll probably find him at the front of the fleet. Which probably means they won't carry on lending him boats for long!

Gareth

The sailing instructor at JASC, Pete Watt, might be able to let you know about avaliable boats there.

It is quite tricky getting hold of boats in this region. If you're after new stuff, Mike White of ULO marine in Abu Dhabi can help you out as ULO are the regional Hobie agents, but they are pretty damn expensive - 2,000 USD for a new set of sails for example...

Another option for 2nd hand boats is to approach the Cresent Moon or Dharan Sailing clubs in KSA. From the guys there, they have big fleets, but not many sailors, and the boats are generally in reasonable nick. You could probably get a recent-ish boat in good condition for 10,000 dirahms, which works out as only a bit more expensive than Mike's sails!

Our fleet in Bahrain is of 70 and 80s vintage, and I suspect my boat is older than me...

Imp thanks a lot aye thats what I meant by the Hobie dealer without bringing up a name I agree with you its too expensive to source anything threw them. Do u have contact numbers in KSA I can call up to look for a boat to purchase from Dahran or Crecent ?

If all else fails I guess I will bite the bullet and buy a new cat from ULO by the end of the summer.

Boy I sure wish I could get out there with you guys and hit the Gulf but I'm pretty much stuck in Qatar right now; and even if I could get to UAE or Bahrain it'd only be at the airport for a layover. SIGH. Hope y'all have fun though!

think there's a hobie regatta early september in oman?

don't have any contact details for the CM club. dhahran is on the rya site, http://text.rya.org.uk/middleeast/tcs/default.asp?tcId=1420282
but not sure how current that is. I'll see what I can dig out if any of them are over this weekend.

Finaly after 4 months,, and almost giving up I have managed to buy a used Hobie 16 off a good person,, I called him in advanced and went to see the boat with him,, its not new but in running condition the owner was nice enough to give me an extra sail, boat cover sail bag, 2 harnesses extra bits and peices,, I sailed it from JASC to DOSC on a low wind around the palm island and made it home safley.. a few things needs to be changed (one hull had a crack and took in a lot of water) I dont know if the owner forgot to tell me or he didnt know of the damage if this was a monohull it would of sank... overall I am very happy and pleased boats in for repairs and will finish in a few days cant wait to take it out again.