Originally Posted by Mugrace72
Originally Posted by Vladimir
Hobie Wave will make it


Indestructable boat, reasonable speed, shallow draught, cannot turtle, light enough to drag over shallows and off the beach.

Have I forgotten anything...oh yeah, a hard core SOB to sail it.

Hi Jack. You basically summed it all up. I use my inflatable catamaran not because it is a fast boat. It is not. It is not fun boat either. However I can handle it in any conditions, it is light and robust. Very much like Hobie Wave.
It is all about your expectation. If you set realistic goal, which is finishing in 4-6 days, Hobie Wave looks like very good boat. Sure you won't win, however, with little luck you will be in leading group. Just be safe and cautious. It is much easier to be safe on H Wave than on Nacra f17. I owned Nf17 and I did contemplate taking it for a ride. I voted against it. I could foresee many situations when F17 can be plainly unsafe sailing solo, 100 miles away from any civilization, fighting exhaustion, with level of IQ dropping below freezing due to sleep deprivation.
ON HW? It is just vocation in wild paradise. smile Slow and painful,for sure, but with less drama.
You need to figure out how to row the boat. Catamarans are surprisingly easy to row, if oars are set right. I'm not sure if you can attach oarlocks to thermoplastic. Probably, you can get backrests and affix oarlock to them. Backrests are good idea anyway. Also, sculling (youlou) may work well on HW,
http://councill.home.mindspring.com/sbjournal/sculling/scull2.html
anyway, you need to figure out how to push the boat through water using manpower. I know, it is foreign concept for many catsailors. However, it is not that hard to implement.

There are many details, and I'm willing to discuss them all, I just don't want to burden sailing forum with them, feel free to PM me.
Finally. Winner of first Ultimate Florida, 1200 miles race around Florida, from Tampa to Tampa, Warren Richey a.k.a. Sharkchow just published his book
"Without a paddle"
http://www.amazon.com/Without-Paddl...mp;s=books&qid=1277342112&sr=8-5
I completed same course this year, in totally different boat,however our experiences are so much similar. Besides, the book is not about adventure racing, racing is just a canvas, book is much fuller and deeper. I highly recommend it. Anyone trying to understand why we are doing those weird races should read it.

Vlad
a.k.a. CrazyRussian