Hi guys. Advice needed. What cat should I buy? I'm old, I sail in Nova Scotia Canada,often there's not anothar boat in sight, often single handed, I want a good chance of getting out of the situatioon myself, had a Hobie 16 but a handful for 1 person in a wind and hard for 1 person to right. But want some performance, get out on the trap. So what is the answer to this balancing act?woodberry@canada.com

What do you mean by "old"? Exactly how old are you? If you are somewhere in the vicinity of my age, maybe I will have an answer for you.

More questions from the old man.
Should I go back to a Hobie 14?
What about a Hobie 17? will I kill myself?
What about a Nacra 4.5?
Any other suggestions?
Hey, Let's get me back on the water, way to go!

Look at the Dart 18 (made in England). There is a large group in Ontario. If you are over 145lb. you should able to right it without special fixtures. Good for one up or two up and does not pitchpole. Lighter & easier to set-up than a H16 too. Check Laser site:
http://www.lasersailing.com/dart18/splash.asp

Hey! does it really matter? Let's get me sailing on the appropriate craft. But put it this way, my physical abilities are decreasing, not getting better. I need all the small helps I can get. Hope to die on the water, but not from stupidity.

Thanks for advice.
What about weight? Dragging 350lb. on/off a beach alone might be a limit. I have a house right on the water (very lucky) but want to be independant, at least I have always been so far.
Again thanks, nobody on the beach her to get advice from.

Dart 18's are great boats for what you are looking for.

In a blow, the boat will sail balanced without the jib. Its boomless and so no worries about accidental jibes killing you when you sail solo. It has a sealed mast with no comp tip leaks or maintenance to worry about so it can't leak and it has foam floatation insede so it can't sink and it was the only beach cat certified by the IYRU for safety. It can be righted by 150 lbs using the jib sheets as a righting line. You really have to work on stuffing the bows down wind...It does not pitch pole. You will never trip over the bows upwind or on a reach. Darts are bit underpowered and rate about the same as a Hobie 16. They carry about 173 sq feet of sail area and weigh in at about 270 lbs if memory serves so they are easy to move on the beach.

Take Care
Dart 18 3845
Tornado USA 827

Consider the formula 16 hp class of boats:

Taipan 4.9 (AHPC)
Stealth (Stealth marine)
Spitfire (Swell)
Jav 16 (Bimare)

These can all be sailed with one or two people; they are very light; they can be righted, rigged and moved around by one person.

For more information check the F16HP web site:

http://www.geocities.com/F16HPclass/

Other boats with less performance include Nacra 5.0, Nacra 4.3, Mystere 4.3, Hobie 14.

Thanks again.
Dealers and info?
What about something smaller?
allabest
Barry

Hi Eric,
Thanks for reply.
But where do I buy one?
I live at the N.E. extremity of north america.
Allabest barry

Thanks for replies.
But what is the downside of say a Hobie 17 for what I want?
keep coming.
Barry

I'm watching this one closely guys. I am looking myself for either a Wave, and H16 or 17. I'm trying to buy carefully.

Gus
Titusville, FL

I was looking at the Nacra and Mystere sites and I found the following boats:

Nacra 500 L=16'8" B=8'2.5" Sail Area 14+3.8m2 Weight 340lbs
Url http://www.performancecat.com/nacra500.htm
NacraBlast L=15'9" B=8'0"
Url http://www.performancecat.com/pressrelease/news_letterold.cfm?ID=25
Nacra 450 L=14'10" B=8" Weight=280lbs
Url=http://www.performancecat.com/nacra450.htm
Mystere 4.3 L=14'1" B=7.5' Weight 230lbs mast 23'6"
Url http://www.mystere.ca/mystere/index.html


To me it is clear that any modern catamaran shorter than 16ft will be much faster than the orifinal Hobie14
I think that the Nacra Blast might be interesting because igt is smaller than a Nacra 5.0 or 500 and seems to be built as strong. If you move on a smaller boat like a Nacra 450 or Mystere 4.3, you will have a boat much easier to control.

There is also the Prindle 16, it is an old boat but it is stable and the main can be setup to have a reefing point. It would probably be the cheapest solution.

I sail a Hobie 17 on Buzzards Bay in Massachusetts. I love my boat, but I think there are many others that perform better for open saltwater sailing. I am very light weight, but the boat tends to bog down with much of any weight on it. The tramp drags in the water because there isn't enough hull volume to keep the it out of it. With the right gear you can step the mast solo, and right it solo. I haven't sailed a Dart yet, but they look better suited for the sea, and Nacra seems to have several boats to consider. If you go with Hobie, I'd think a furling jib on a 16 would be the ticket. Get a gin pole and blocks to step the mast, and either, a Soloright, or Rick's righting pole, and you'll be all set for dealing with those issues on any of these boats. Good luck!

It is very easy to contact the makers of the Taipan, Stealth or Spitfire via email or phone. Check the Formula 16HP web site. It summarizes the class and has all the contact information you'd need as well as photos of all the boats. Also check their forum on this site. You would need to have the boat shipped to your area. (Hey, anything really good takes a little effort.) The Stealth and Spitfire are from the UK and would not be costly to ship--probably less than $500 USD. There are also several owners of each of these boats who are active on the forums and can give you personal experiences which each boat. I know there are "Masters" age sailors of the Taipan in Australia, for example.

Well, Barry, since you apparently don't want to tell me your age, I will have to tell you that I am 61 and my husband is 66, and our current vehicles of choice on the water are Hobie Waves. In you are in the same advanced state of deterioration as we are, I would recommend either the Wave or the Mystere 4.3. Since you are in Canada, probably it would be easier and cheaper to get the Mystere.

With either of these boats, you have great versatility -- mainsail only, main and jib, main and spinnaker, main, jib and spinnaker. (We always sail our Waves solo, with main only, although Rick has a roller-furling Hooter on his for distance races.) You can use a trapeze if you want, but it is not necessary. They can safely handle a lot more wind than the bigger boats can. And if they capsize, they are VERY easy to right (at least the Wave is, because it has the float at the top of the mast).

With the Wave, I can raise the mast myself, and I can move the boat around on the beach (on beach wheels) by myself. It's a simple, safe, boat, takes two minutes to hoist the main and be ready to shove off the beach. Tacks like a dream with main alone. (We haven't sailed a Mystere 4.3.)

Rick and I don't sell boats, but I guess you can tell I am a big Wave fan.

The Dart 16 is a great fun cat, jib can be furled and main reefed in seconds. It is a plastic de-powered version of the Spitfire. I think that it is sold in the States as a "Laser Cat" Report on lasersailing.com/dart16/boat_test.asp

I agree with Mary that the Wave is probably the best and simplest choice.

Only to give another alternative, maybe you could find a used Supercat 15 at a good price.

The SC 15 is very seaworthy (high volume floats) and easy to singlehand without the jib - if you are not lucky enough to find one with a self tacking jib.

Also, it performs significantly better then the Wave.

Cheers,

Theres an 80 year old fella down in Beaufort NC that has two H17's and sails them perfectly fine by himself.

The Hobie Getaway

The best all around cat made. It can be single-handed with easy. I am 165lb and I righted it without a problem. If you want to take people, just load them on. Roto-molded hulls like a Hobie Wave.