I've been visiting this forum every chance that I get. A friend, up in Hastings, wants to give me the 14 ft cat that he has. He was given the cat by another friend, because he was moving to NC and didn't want to take it with him. Well it's been sitting on his yard, on it's trailer, ever since ( 2 years) and he would like to give it to someone who will use it. It's in good shape and the sails have been kept inside. I have always loved the thought of sailing and the beauty of the wind and the water. What I'm really worried about is, am I up to it? I hear replies to posts about whole crews getting hernias and having to pump iron just to keep in shape. I'm 54 years and a gal who doesn't know anything about sailing. I will be a solo sailer, probably most of the time. Seems to me that the raising of the mast and righting a tipped cat would be the most troublesome. Do you need a float at the top of your mast so it doesn't turtle? I'm excited and at the same time a bit apprehensive at the thought a such a unfamiliar venture. I can understand that it would be to my advantage to be as fit as I can. I have had back problems before so I don't want to get hurt trying to have fun. I have no one that I know around here in southcentral Mn that is familiar with cats but I may meet some this summer on the beach. I plan to get the video on beginning sail boating and visit the Hobie dealer up in White Bear Lake. What else do you think I should be doing? Maybe like Popeye and eats me spinich? Thanx for your help.

Tudy

Hi Trudy,

Welcome! Always great to hear that someone is excited about our sport!

First suggestion: learn to sail. Find a good program close by and get all the basics down before worrying about solo sailing. It's like someone giving you a formula 1 racing car when you are 16...you need to learn to drive a Dodge first!

As to fitness, well, you don't have to run a mile in 7 minutes, but you do have to have some upper body strength and the like. You'll get a better idea of what you need when you start to sail.

I don't recommend solo sailing until you can completely handle the boat alone, including capsize recovery.

Sheldon
P-18

Hobie 14's are a lot of fun. If you are going to be purely recreational, I would not worry about fitness other than being a good swimmer, just in case.

Also if you are a recreational sailor, I believe that mast floats are an excellent thing to invest in. Anything to make the boat safe and reliable will make your enjoyment of the lifestyle easier.

Hi Tudy,

I'm a fairly new cat sailor - I started this summer. For me, at least, fitness was not an issue, but of course men have a little more upper body strength. It is more strenuous if you have ocean winds and are trying to race. If it's too strenuous for you, you can learn to depower the boat and sail slower and more relaxed.

But you really do need to learn how to sail the thing, and I think that works best if you learn from someone else. The few times I have been able to sail with someone else, I learned a lot.

I did have experience with a Sunfish before I sailed a cat. Do you have experience sailing any kind of sailboat?

Jonathan

Hi Tudy,

Great to hear that you're getting into sailing! I'm the vice-commodore of the Bald Eagle Yacht Club, which is located in White Bear Lake, Minnesota. We'd be happy to help you as much as we can. Heck, if you wanted to make some regular road trips, or even an occasional one, we'll do all we can for you.

The 14 is a great little solo boat! You'll enjoy dealing with Brad at Hi Tempo, as he's helped out a lot of people like you.

Feel free to get in touch with me, or anyone else in the Bald Eagle Yacht Club. We're here for you!

Regards,

Tim Johnson
Vice Commodore, Bald Eagle Yacht Club
Executive Producer, Rick White's Video Sailing Seminars

Thanx so much for the incouragement from all of you. I've never sailed at all before and am not a real good swimmer ( I guess that is what life jackets are for). I sure am interested in keeping in touch with you, Tim, and taking you up on your kind offer. I will be keeping you all updated with my progress. I guess I'll know more when I actually take possession of the boat. I really do feel a whole lot better, thanks to all the great people on this forum. Your help is much appreciated.

Tudy

I sail my 17 solo all the time.. I launch it from the trailer and retreive it solo as well. The only thing I've not been able to do is right it solo (because my righting lines weren't long enough and I weight 160lbs dripping wet).

Of course, I'm a 22 year old kid... so take it for what its worth.

Tudy,

Welcome to the wonderful world of sailing. Sailing solo on a H14 should be no problem for you. Here's my few words of advice:

Think safety - I always wear a life jacket and carry:
VFH radio
Cell Phone
GPS
Tow rope
Anchor
Knife (attached to lifejacket)
Solo righting pole
I would reccomend the mast float - they do work. People don't use them because they think it slows them down too much or that it makes them look like an amateur.
I would also reccomend going out with someone who sails a cat. The H14 is a great boat but it does have some specific sailing techniques - mostly having to back rudder when you can't make it through the tack. Don't be afraid to ask for help - we're all pretty friendly and don't mind a bit to help with advice or raising a mast. Another good place for info is the old Hobie list, now at http://www.thebeachcats.com .
Good luck,

Dear TUDY,

Welcome to the greastest recreation (sport) on our God given Sea's. If you can't solve all the worlds problems after a good 1hour solo sail.... your missing the whole meaning of life. I maybe assuming alot here, I will guess the boat is a Hobie 14????

Physical Demands: You need to be able to extract yourself from water, water depth over your head, to climb up and out of the water and pull yourself up and on to the boat..... that is about it? The setup of the boat (putting up the mast), find some poor sole to assist you. Launching depends on where your launching from - most situations you should have no problems launching alone.

Lots of great suggestions have been posted above.... but here are afew of mine:
One one the biggest things you need to think about is, "what kind of water will you be sailing on? Alot of your safty issues depend on this one question.

History: I've been racing H14's for about 15 years on a relatively calm river in Southern Maryland (Wicomico River, right up the Potomac from St. Marys College). Both my mother and father race actively with us (there both in there early 70's). Dad drives a H14Turbo and Mom drives one of the first Hobie Waves produced (although Mom did drive a H14 many years ago - but well over the age of 54 years young at that time).

So here's my suggestion: 1) Find someone to show you the "ropes" - see if you can go for a few rides as part of the learning process. 2) Choose your sailing area very carefully - find a place where you can sail that will keep you close to shore as much as possible. 3) Wear your life jacket - and it would be nice if you had a neighbor that had a power boat that could assist you in a pinch.

Lastly: I hate to say it but for the H14, deeper water fast is better then shallow water. One of the hardest things you will have to deal with is locking down the rudders fully. On the H14, if the rudders are not fully locked down you have to fight the tiller (helm, you will learn about this). Since this boat is somewhat "Free $$", learn what you can on the H14 - see if you like the sport - and if you do enjoy sailing (which you will) I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE HOBIE WAVE - infact if find yourself feeling uncomfortable on the H14 - please try a Hobie Wave before you judge the sport. I know an email to Mary and Rick and a nice vacation to sunny Fla., and they could surely hook you up with more then a ride or two on a Wave. Also remember, any money you put into a H14 will be well spent - they seem to hold desirability and value - and thereis alot of guys and gals still sailing and racing them out there today!

Remember to keep the Hobie plastic rudder cams fresh and lubricated (white Lithium grease) so the rudders lock down and work properly. Practice climbing onto the boat from the back too, between the tiller crossbar and the trampoline...its lower there. I had to do that last week at Key Largo because of my bad shoulder.

Tudy,

If I recall from a previous post, the lake you'll be sailing on is pretty small - maybe a mile or so across? What are the typical summer winds like? What's the summer water temperature? Are there many other boats that use the lake?

The reason I ask, is it sounds like you've got a nice little lake to start out on as a beginning sailor.

When looking at the risk of sailing solo, a 14-foot boat on a small lake with regular boat traffic can be a lot less daunting than if you were planning to learn to sail on open ocean. If you choose your days well by keeping an ear to the weather forecast and do your learning in relatively light air, you will reduce your risk of a capsize. Things won't be happening as fast, giving you time to sort things out.

If you can, however, search out a helpful sailor in the area that can guide you through the basics, including rigging and launching. Even if it's another beginner, it can be helpful to have the extra hands until you can work out the systems and become efficient enough to sail solo.

Have a blast.

Kevin--The smaller lake with an island and no motor traffic is about a half mile by 1 mile. I very seldom see any boats at all on it, probably because of the restrictions on motors. Otherwise it would seem like a nice lake to sail on because of the wildlife and the island which is beautiful. There is one good boat access area to use on it. The bigger one with lots of boat travel is about 2 miles by 1.5 miles accross. The smaller one is kind of shallow further out. Probably no more than 8-10 feet deep. The bigger lake is much deeper further out. The water temps are warm over the summer months.
Is the Hobie 14 realitively easy to control? I definately would like to sail with someone else a time or two before I try it on my own. Hopefully I can find someone else with a cat to talk to and help me a little. Maybe just hang at the beach on a nice boating day and meet a few of the sailors that frequent the lake so I know some people in the same area that also sail. If I could join a cat sailing club or something, that would be benificial, too. I sure learned a lot about my Miata and had a lot more fun by joining the Mn. Miata club. Sure is fun to hang out with people with the same interests as you. Just like this forum, only in person.
Again, thanx to all for the help, from this newbie. I really appreciate it.

Tudy

Kevin-- Oh, yeah. The wind is pretty much variable during the summer. Any thing from still to gusty. Usually pretty light to moderate wind, I'd say, on average. If I did flip over on the bigger lake I'm sure that lots of people would see it, including everyone at the drive in root beer stand along the lake.

Tudy

The Hobie 14 is a simple boat that's pretty easy to learn. At first you may get frustrated when trying to tack. There's a knack to it, especially on a boardless, jibless boat like the H14, but you'll get it.

From the sounds of it, you've got a nice little lake to learn to sail on. Warm water, light to moderate winds, small size. You'll be just fine.

Your idea about hanging out where other sailors frequent the lake is a good one. You'll find that folks are eager to help for the most part (same as on this forum).