R.I.P. Hobie-20...

Sad day, but not unexpected.

When I was a lad I lusted after the Hobie-16. Ironically, I've never sailed a 16...

But my first beach cat was a Hobie-14 I got after getting out of college. I remember being dismayed at the announcement that 14s would no longer built in the U.S., and I thought "what a shame", as I thought then and now that with a little marketing that boat is the perfect answer to people sailing Lasers.

I moved up to the 18 and remember feeling dismayed when the announcement came that 18 production would cease. I thought "what a shame", because I thought then and still think that the 18 was about the best dual-purpose cat ever made - great for day sailing and blasting around and a good racer too.

I moved up to the Hobie-20 and really enjoyed that boat. Although I quickly moved to the 6.0 (better boat for the heavy sailor), I still have a soft spot for the H-20 for the way it sailed. I also happen to think it's one of the prettiest beach cats (Tornado is my other choice). But lack of updates to the boat and sail plan said to me its time was running out. So even though I haven't sailed a 20 in couple of year, I still feel "what a shame", as I think if some updates were allowed it might have had a longer life.

And no, none of those boats were bought new by me. But I can't begin to total up all the Hobie factory parts I bought through the years fixing those boats up to sail and race. But I understand you need to sell boats to keep the lines open.

Oddly enough, when word came that 6.0 production was to cease, I didn't feel that bad. As much as I really like the 6.0, there was already a follow-on boat from Performance that answered the need being expressed by the 6.0 sailors, and that was the I-20. And as they've been dropping boats, other boats have been introduced as well. Less of a feeling of death, more of a feeling of moving on.

After moving to the N-20, my first impression was that the helm felt like my old H-20 - responsive, light, and lively.

So I guess that's why I feel worse when Hobie cancels a boat, because there's nothing to move to in the Hobie line up. It feels more final. And whether we currently sail Hobie boats or not, we all owe Hobie credit for the revolution that gave the whole thing its breath of life in the first place.

But, like the rest of us, I feel compelled to offer my $0.02 for some things that could have been changed. And I'll admit up front that I'm not a manufacturer/engineer. But, I was always amazed at the number of unique casted bits and extrusions on my 18. It seemed at the time that if things like the mast step were changed to the standard post/ball of the other boats, the boom used the same extrusion as the 20, the hulls were modifed to use a straight beam or one without casted end bits, the tiller connectors used from the 20, etc. the cost would be reduced on those items quite a bit. And that would have helped the economies of scale needed to make the other boats profitable as well. The 16 could have have done that as well (at least the step, boom, and tiller connectors), again adding to the numbers for the bulk orders of castings. As the boats get cancelled the opportunites for that happening lessen and go away. It sometimes seemed that the desire to not ever change things for the sake of the OD class meant nothing could even be done to help production. And again I feel that if the 20 could have modernized a little some excitement and boat sales might still be there.

It's interesting times for this sport. I was thinking about it all last night and realized I don't remember when the official plug was pulled on Prindle. Has it been? Seems to have quietly disappeared. We should have had a wake. In this year alone, Performance has been sold overseas, Hobie quits the 20, and my other boating love, Corsair, has moved to Vietnam. And for all the good and sound business decisions that led to all that, it still feels a little odd as a multihull sailor. I wish them all success.

But this year we have four new F-16 Blades from Vectorworks in our club, joining the the active Taipan we already had. The N-20 has formed a OD class at the local "official" yacht club. So it looks good, at least locally. I hope that Vectorworks continues to step up, what they're doing looks good so far.

We've gotten the word out about the sport and we have people looking to buy (mostly used, some new), sail, and race catamarans. The local Hobie dealer doesn't notice, and that's sad. But they have less and less to offer, and don't want to promote what they do offer as it pertains to the sport.

So, R.I.P. Hobie-20. Welcome to the Dead Boat Society. As always, you'll always be welcome at the X-Boat races.