I want to buy a TriFoiler - any suggestions?

I'm not a sailor by any stretch of the imagination, but I have a brother that is mad keen to get his hands on a TriFoiler, and it would make one hell of a surprise for him if I could track one down.

Everywhere I've looked so far I've come up empty, and was hoping someone on here might be able to help me find one, or maybe just suggest a good place to look.

I'd even be interested in a Trifoiler that was in need of a fair amount of work to bring it up to scratch.

I'd appreciate any help that anyone has to offer. I can either be contacted via this the forum or at david@infopackages.com

David

Since they are no longer made and there were only something like 150 made....you might be hard pressed to find one but this is the right place. Lets find him one guys!

Take a look at http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewforum.php?f=41&sid=7bceda9b0cb726f4a4738e36c745ec13

Keep asking around - there are several guys with these things in their garages capturing dust. They are probably a little hard to find but they're out there.

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I've just registered on the hobiecat community website, and am just waiting for the moderator to confirm my registration before I can post a similar message on their forum.

I've already had a lady in Florida email me about one that she might be interested in selling. So things are looking up.

I'll let you know if, I mean when, when we get hold of one.

Cheers,
David

give me a private message. i know of one i think its for sale/"sitting in a garage" in northern california.

One just showed up on the Hobie Community forums:

Tri-foiler for Sale

PM me & I'll tell you where to send my commission. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/laugh.gif" alt="" />

So far my favorite Trifoiler video is:
Trifoiler Video

It shows lots of iterations of the boat from the First one with Greg Ketterman sailing it (Hobie 18 sail) to Long Shot (speed record boat a few times) and the Production boat with one and two people sailing.

I think that Dan Ketterman is still involved with the group and knows where to find a boat. He works at Hobie Cat.

Later,
Dan

who all has ridden in one, and what do you think about it?
They look EXTREMELY fast and would be fun to ride in I think

I was the test pilot of the prototypes for a while. It was my job to find the weaknesses (I broke something each time I went out). Greg would thank me then re-engineer and fix the problem. I think that by the time it got to Hobie it was very reliable. I could set it up alone in about 30 minutes. He designed a trailer to accomodate rigging.

While sailing it feels like taking off in an airplane when you start getting up on the foils. Once up it just keeps accelerating until you are at full speed. Most of the time I pegged the 40 MPH speedo that I was using. Gybes can be very rapid and it is perfectly capable of tacking.

Later,
Dan

Thanks for all the help guys.

As a direct result of the assistance we've received from the readers of this forum we've managed to locate and buy a top quality TriFoiler.

Now there's just the wait for it to be delivered, and then the fun begins ... trying to master the beast!

Good luck with the TF. I am the proud owner of TF#166. They are A LOT of fun but like exotic sports cars they do require maintenance. There is nothing like the feeling of lifting up on the foils for the first couple of times...feels like you are taking off and going to fly away. Hit me up with some pics and any questions that you run across, I am part of a band of 3 TF's here in west coast central FL. If I don't know the answer I can ask one of them <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

How do you keep the weeds off of them?

Ditto. And what happens if a foil catches a lobster pot line? <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" />

Cleric,

Where do you sail the TF? Its hard to find a good location to sail that has deep, flat water and with little or no sea weed.

JenniferL

I sail my in Sarasota Bay mainly so that eliminates the sea weed problem mostly, not a whole lot in the bay. That really on leave the shallow water and crab pots to look out for. As long as you are up on the foils then you have the ability to move around the pots. As far as the shallows, well you learn to know where to go and I always wear my polarized sunglasses to be able to pick out that little shift in color as it gets shallower. When I take it out on the Gulf side then I have the weed problem but not the shallows. I do not really build up to much sea weed unless it is an on shore wind blowing and it is just piling up on the beach.

Oh yeah, about that lobster line. You do not want to catch anything on the foils when you are going 35+mph. Repairs, repairs, repairs is what you can expect after something like that. If you are not on the foils and moving slowly then I normally just get pointed into the wind and sail it backwards until I am loose from the line.