I'm looking at getting an FX-1. Just wondering what some of your thoughts are on this boat. Good, bad...

If you are planing on sailing alone, I would choose an A Cat, I made the conversion a few years ago and cannot imagine ever wanting to sail anything else again. If you are alone there is a big difference in handling 75kg or 140kg, the rest of the specs are similar, the A is a foot longer, 20 cm narrower and has only one sail, but there are options for an asymetric if you want one. An fx would not stand a chance around the cans. I will be receiving on of these in 4 weeks. http://www.messmer-seiler.ch/scheurer/

regards

Daniel

I sailed an Fx-One for a couple of years and I was very happy with the boat.
But in the end it's just where you want to use it for.
- just cruising : excellent boat, you can rig it for 2 and use the spinny and even a jib.
Mind that the Fx-One is not a catamaran to be beached, the hulls are to be handled with some care.
- racing : in Europe there are some sailors racing the beast alone. Racing is a lot of fun especially with the spinaker. The A-class is a bit bigger (and has it's own class), but no spinaker fun.

There are very few sailors in Europe racing the FX-1. Last European championships I'd say there were about 15 FX-1 compared to 150 Hobie 16. With the SCHRS ratings, the FX-1 is not very competitive in mixed fleets. If you wanna race single handed - go for the A. If you want a tough boat, the FX-1 suits you better. If you wanna use the 1-up or 2-up versatility, check F16.

I can just about guess why you are looking at the FX-1. The boat is intended to be sailed solo with a spinnaker. The boat you are looking (I am guessing) is set up for two up sailing with out a spinnaker. If that is how you intend to sail it you may want to reconsider. Personally it think the hulls look awefully small to put two people on it and expect good performance. Though the I admit the boat looks pretty cool. If you intend to day sail you may be alright but for the price I believe you could find a boat much better suited for that as well. If you want to race solo there is Nacra F17 just around the corner in Lakeville who just loves the boat, and another racing on Lake Waconia and another on its way to CRAW. You won't find any FX-1 racing in this area, certainly not at any of the Hobie events.

This shows how "looks" can be deceiving.

I sailed and raced the FX-one both singlehanded and doublehanded, although I never owned one.

I always thought that it felt better with two-persons onboard. The hulls are actually very volumious below the mainbeam and with 2 people on board you could press the leeward hull in a little deeper and get it to stream along better. Also that 4.15 sq. mtr. jib would really make the rig easier to set and power along.

I sailed it about 150 kg (=330 lbs) doublehanded most of the time.

I find the FX-one generally a well build and well finished boat. I'm not too hot on the overall design as I think the mast is too stiff, too much volume under the mainbeam and that sort of things but the build quality is dependable and it looks nice.

So I place it generally in the good segment of the cat scene.

When getting a spi for it, just go to a 3rd party sailmaker and have it custom made. I never cared much for the Hobie One-design spinnakers and I really don't believe the FX-one is about to form a OD class in the USA.

Wouter

(just don't get me started on the alternatives to the FX-one !)

A few people are looking at a buying FX1's in my area. The singlehand, and spinnaker are my two greatest draws to this boat. I'd like an A-cat, it is a very appealing option but I do all one design racing at the moment and would kinda like to stay that way. Even though right now nobody has one for me to race against. Somebody has to be first, and I really don't have $25k for an A-cat either.

B Carlson- I'm guessing you know exactly which boat I'm looking at.

The FX-1 has not achieved "critical mass" in the US, despite having been around for at least 5 or 6 years.

So, at least for the shorter term (which may be forever), your option for racing is going to be handicap. On Portsmouth numbers, it rates slightly slower than the NACRA F17 (68.6 vs. 66.7 - for comparison, an F-18 rates 62.4).

No singlehanded one-design catamaran is dominant in the upper Midwest, with the exception of the NACRA F17 in Michigan. That's a long drive for you, Karl.

The FX-1 costs about twice as much ($13,500 MSRP) as a good, used H-17 and half as much as a new A-cat. The F17's price is going up because of its carbon mast, but the dealer in Michigan has a couple of used ones for under $10K.

I know: decisions, decisions. I'm having the same angst over buying a new singlehanded boat. There just aren't that many options in our area.

Interesting question. What single handed race boat??

I think you should also consider the kinds of regattas in your area. (Assuming you can play with the new toy in their sandbox)

Single handed with a chute really wants a big course. Otherwise.. you work your rear off in the hoists and take downs. So... if you are on a normal sized Hobie 16 course... you could be worn out by the third race of the day. If you are on a Nacra 20 course... you are a happy camper.

Its just one more factor in that decision!

My choice was easy since the growing racing fleet in the region was A cats and I found a boat to purchase.

Still miss the chute... thus the new boat name... Downsized!

Good luck

I find the presented situation intriguing.

Afterall it is well know fact that the 3 established singlehander cats in the US are A-cat, Inter-17 and the F16's. FX-one is nowhere compared to these three classes. Certainly each class has a particular area where they are strongest but nevertheless all three classes have established themselves in the US market. The FX-one did not. I would seriously advice to consider one of the above 3 classes first. Afterall it is alot of hard work to establish a catamaran class.

One other thing, the Hobie FX-one with spi 1-up at 68.6 USPN is wrong. The boat is faster then that. It really is. Pretty much USPN is wrong about most modern singlehanders and as such I would not use this data in comparing the boats to one another. Of course the FX-one 1-up + spi is very rarely raced in US so the USPN committee doesn't have good data on it, we therefor can't blame them for this guess at a FX-one rating.

I personally find it beyond believe that the imported FX-one (from Euro zone) would cost only 13.500 US$ when fully fitted. We have to pay 14.500 Euro's for this fully fitted spi singlehander overhere. Last time I checked the exchange rate between Euro and US$ was 1.36 US$ to 1 Euro. Even after deducting the EU taxes the boat should still be 14.500 * 0.85 * 1.36 = 16.762 US$ ex shipping. Was this quote of 13.500 USD dependable or for a new boat ? Because I most certainly doubt that.

But most intriguing I find the fact that a fully American build, cheaper, faster, truely lightweight, internationally established, most A-cat alike design but with a spinnaker is not part of the considerations !

Right now the VectorWorks Marine is practically converting the US F16 fleet into an US Blade F16 OD class. If asking price of the A's is a concern then the only real options for the US are the Inter-17 and F16's. The first has been covered, the second is totally ignored. Why ?

Crews sailing them have been gethering podium places in the last 2 months spread over the whole USA : New York (2nd), California (1st), Virginnia (maryland) (1st, 2nd,4th) and Arizona/New Mexico (3rd). I'm excluding Florida in this now as that is a F16 hotspot. I haven't seen the FX-one or even the Inter-17 do that. With the Alter Cup boats sold the F16 numbers are passed the US Inter-17 numbers. Next target is to get alongside the US A-cat class.

If a group of sailors is looking to buy into a new class and a new boat then I would try to group deal one with VectorWorks Marine. Most likely to get you a nice group price. I don't think Hobie EU will be sufficiently impressed by a handful US sailors to accept losing money on that deal.

The FX-one is a nice boat, as I wrote in my other post, but for the US scene I REALLY don't see its advantages over the F16's. Especially not since most of the leg work for establishing the F16 class in the US has been done already.

Wouter

We also have a big Hobie 17 fleet in the mid atlantic and (I think) on the west coast as well. But that boat is not being built anymore...

I just had a quick look on the US A Cat site, things like: "2006 A2 used 5 times, all upgrades done by Performances Composites. Boat has two carbon racing sails and one never used, kinder covers, trailer. Must sell 18,000" and "2005 Bimare XJ for sale. 15,500$ Kinder Trampoline, Kinder yard covers and also Hull socks for trailoring. Applied composites mast with adjustable diamond tension, 2006 Glaser sail ~15 days use, McKenzie rudders system, XJ rudder system, spare dagger board. Also comes with beach wheels, double stack trailer. 15,500$" are available and those look like very good deals at a glance.

regards

Daniel

Come on Karl, cut to the chase man, buy a Blade, stack it on your H16 and haul it around to all the Hobie sanctioned events for test drives <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/shocked.gif" alt="" /> You really think CW is going to win that boat? You may be the lone ranger and end up racing handicap

He mentioned that the spinnaker is an important factor. Given this, FX-1, F17 and F16 are the plausible options, although as noted already the FX-1 has neither an existing local fleet nor a reasonable expectation of a regional or national presence developing.

I guess it's all in what you're looking for.
Buy a used H17 for $3K and race against over 30 boats at a Nationals in 2 weeks.
Spend 12-15K on an A or F16 and race against 30 boats at the A Nationals and no more than 10 F16's from what I have seen. Both very cool and very fast. I just want to race against some boats drink rum and tell stories after dinner.
If I could lose 50lbs in the next 2 weeks my 1971 H14 would still be competitive.

Three Nacra F17s in Minnesota, a fleet is forming in Wisconsin, Ohio & of course the largest in Michigan. In the last newsletter, new boats starting under $10,000. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/blush.gif" alt="" />

class info

Noted mark.

Thanks,

Wouter

Including a carbon mast ?

I wanna see that before I believe it !

Wouter

New boat, quote from a dealer on 7/3/07. He does not have one in stock - in fact, Hobie US is out of stock until the next container arrives in a month or two. I suspect the boats coming in on that container will be more expensive.

The choice is difficult in the upper midwest because there's no single class that is regional like the H-17's are a little east of here. I don't want to sail against the same people every other weekend. You don't get better that way. I want to be able to travel a moderate distance (<500 miles) and have significantly different competitors - and a greater challenge.

I could get an FX-1 and clean up with it's "soft" rating for a year or two. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

Then I'd be racing boat for boat with the F17's.

It all boils down to dealer support. The NACRA's have a very suportive dealer in Michigan. Hobie doesn't. Forget about A's and F16's. As far as the upper midwest is concerned - they don't exist yet.

Boatworks (the Hobie dealer) in Syracuse is a big reason why the Hobie fleet there and along the Mid-Atlantic is so strong.

Very true.