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wild thang #600
07/10/01 07:23 AM
07/10/01 07:23 AM

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Has anyone had any experience with the "wild thang" linked on this home page ? I have a Hobie 18 and live in the Mountains of NC where the winds on our mountain lakes can be come and go during the late summer.
<br><br><br>

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Re: wild thang #601
07/10/01 09:31 PM
07/10/01 09:31 PM

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Hi,
<br>Dick Koogle, a pretty darned good cat designer, and I designed these units that will fit on almost any catamaran. My reason for the design was to turn an old boat into a good coach boat for my Rick White Sailing Seminars. This made for a very stable platform from which to do video, instruct and move marks around. I love it.
<br>It has turned a piece of junk Hobie 18 (junk because there is no way the hulls would hold up, if I should ever have to sheet in the mainsheet) into a great powerboat.
<br>Advantages:
<br>* Easier to launch off a beach than a conventional powerboat -- cat tracks work, although it is much heavier than a sailboat due to the platform and engine
<br>* Small engines can make it move fast -- radar clocked at 24.7 mph with an 18hp Nissan 2 stroke.
<br>* Pulls water skiers up fast with small engines. Normal boats have to get on plane, as does the skier. But Wild Thang is a displacement boat and only the skier has to get on a plane.
<br>* Rides excellently in small chop.
<br>Disadvantages:
<br>* Won't handle big seas
<br>* Highly susceptible to heavy crew weight -- does not perform well when overloaded
<br>* Can be wet in bigger chop
<br>
<br>So you see, it is great for some things, but not the best boat in the world for overall performance. But, it is a great way to salvaging an already dead boat.
<br>We have not ever really attempted any big marketing on the idea, but still have sold around 22 of them over the past 10 years.
<br>We build them on order. Takes around 10 days.
<br>
<br>Sounds to me, however, that you also want to sail. Won't work. You need to take off the mast and the rudders for it to mount.
<br>However, I did conduct with this boat at a seminar the first year we used it. And the following week I won the Div. 10 Championships for Hobie 18 with the same boat. That was without the engine! [Linked Image]
<br>Thanks for asking.., sorry the answer was so long!
<br>Rick White<br><br>

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