Hi, Grob,

I noticed you're in the U.K. I was just in London the week before Earl's Court Boatshow opened. I was curious to know if the Rave is on display there.

I'm a Rave owner (since March, 1999) but I sailed a catamaran years ago and I come to this cat forum because the crowd is knowledgeable, lively, and empathetic.

In a nutshell, I weigh 150lbs (10.5stone) and without a passenger the front seat my Rave will liftoff when I've attained 12mph (10.4knots). I'm one of the smallest Rave owners. The boat is a slug while hullborne; slower than a Hobie 16 though they seem to have the same Portsmouth. The Rave is extremely durable and bulletproof. Contrary to some rumour it foils on more points of sail than the fragile Hobie Tri-Foiler. The Rave handles extremely well in very little or a lot of wind. It's odd looking but is a dream to sail.

There is a lot of drag due to all the foils and hulls surface area on a Rave. The central hull reaches it's max hullborne speed quickly and that polyethelene central hull also deforms a little while moving through the water.

Even so, with the typical approach of daily summer afternoon thunderstorms and the long season during the year I can foil a lot here (to either coast from Orlando). Quite honestly, though, most of your time in the Rave will be hullborne. It's a Dr. Jeklyl/Mr. Hyde boat but once you've flown it is extremely addictive and the funky kayak shape and the high density polyethylene plastic and the slug speed while hullborne is worth enduring just to get to that next liftoff. It handles a chop and rough water with a lot of stability. If you have a chop, though, you're usually in enough wind to be foiling above it. The Rave is not a surf puncher.

So far, there are only two types of Rave owners: (1) buy the boat and discover it's too much trouble and they then sell the boat after a season or two, or (2) buy the boat and covet the experience. Some, not very many owners at all, are buoy racers but most Rave owners seem to prefer to go out and fly alone. Almost all Rave owenrs here in the States are rather successful, a bit eccentric, and way over forty years of age.

If the cat guys will tolerate my presence I will try to stay out of their way at the distance regatta on June 7th up in the Florida panhandle. I think it's the "White or Wheat" regatta. Fifty miles. I know the Rave can do extremely well if the wind is up. It's a real hoot to watch her fly and it's easy to maintain flight once it's up.

There is a Rave forum at http://forums.confluencewatersports.com/viewforum.php?f=14
You can pull all my past comments there for more descriptive experience of Rave ownership and a ton of comment from other owners.

You have a lot more air a lot more of the time in the U.K. than we do here in Florida. I would think there would be much more air time in a Rave on your side of the pond.

(I just finished a book on Nelson that I picked up in Greenwich. I hope to be there again in the spring.)

--Dean Hubbard

Dean - when are you headed up to Sante Fe? I'd love to go for a ride sometime.

Steve.

Thanks for the info, I don't know if the Rave was at Earls court as I didn't get there this year, although it was at the Southampton boat show, because thats where I first saw it. It is imported into the UK by an outfit based in Wales.

All the best

Gareth

Hi, Steve,

(1) I felt guilty about not sending you a Christmas card and, (2) I was trying to find your e-mail address over the weekend because I was wondering if you were going to White or Wheat in Navarre! I had an address book crash during the holidays and I have been trying to reconstruct the selected elite to be entered into the new book. Lucky you!

I don't know when I'll be up at Lake Santa Fe again; probably not until March at the earliest. I will definitely give you a call when I plan the trip.

I've been watching the temps around Gainesville lately to see if Doran or Hollis may be getting some sailing time but it looks like it's been colder than usual this time of year. Those two have been testing a new way to change the incidence of the foil by allowing the beam ends to rotate in order to get a liftoff sooner than the present design.

write me off-list at: rdhubba@yahoo.com so I can re-enter your address and phone into my book.

Mary says "hi".

--Dean