Yeah... that is often tossed at the Hobie 16...

I never campaigned a Hobie 16... But... I know of no data that says a Hobie 16 wears out faster then say a Hobie Tiger...

If you want to argue that the hobie pylon platform is flawed... i would just point out a new A cat designed by Melvin which looks just very much like a Hobie 16

Do Hobie's wear out faster then Tigers or Vipers? I don't know. The world of public opinion may not be all that reliable! just saying.

The history books show that most of the Olympic Tornado's suffered from oil canning and competitive boats got trashed after big events in breeze ... Eventually builders systematically got better until marstrom built a premium boat and made the Reg White's obsolete.

I would love to see some data on the competitive life of a hobie 16 and the other recreational boats.

Comparison to the Marstroms will happen at these trials and if boat build lifetime matters... Marstrom probably wins.

That reminds me something: AFAIK only Hobie has an active dealer in South America (Brazil). Does Nacra have a dealer here? Does any other manufacturer do? I'd really like to know - and perhaps could help.

Nacra have at least 2 dealers in South America (Chile and Argentina) to my knowledge...there may be others...

A cat design is by Mike Drummond, I don't think melvin had anything to do with it. The A cat frame is also one piece carbon fiber as the pylons would be also, so with the exception of looks they are nothing alike.Bad comparison, but it appears your just trying to get your post count up, so fire away with the mis-information.

One of the frequent critiques of the Hobie 16 is that the the hobie 16 pylon platform design looks dated! A carbon version of the same basic design in 2012 must be noted...

Face it Todd... Hobie can make a very strong case for the Hobie 16 with spin as instantly getting more countries into the Olympic game. Surf city even noted that Nigeria has a Nationals...

Don't be surprised if despite all of the negativity... they are a strong contender in the room.

Hobie 16.

Why would anyone want a boat that made pitch-pole a household word?

Don't we want to at least see a boat that can be driven to the limit and beyond instead of one that limits sailing ability?

The H16 is easily the most expensive boat on there.

And that kind of ignorant statement is why you won't find many Hobie racers on this forum.

Denial is ignorance.

Maybe someone should do a poll on whether the H16 is more prone to pitch-pole than any other boat on that list. Never mind waste of time. We know the answer.

Maybe your right. Nothing would be more entertaining then the whole fleet peter panning at the top mark. Then it would be a righting competition. Brilliant!

Commodore, Tampa Bay Catamaran Sailors

Let me guess... you don't have a lot of Hobie cat sailors in Tampa..

Obviously, you have not seen Hobie 16 sailors in big breeze.. Just because you can't sail one does not mean much.

Every alter cup qualifier that I have run in breeze... 18 knots on on up... I wonder if the big boats will actually beat a Hobie 16 across the line ... never an issue on corrected time. No swimming involved!

I chose the Nacra 17 because it is the only boat on the list that is fully optimized for what the OC wants. The Viper (the next most voted boat) is not optimized for a two person 120-140kg crew, it is designed to work well either 1-up or 2-up, but that isn't what they want. I expect the Nacra 17 would be more "athletically challenging to the elite sailors of the world" that happen to add up to that weight range.

There's only one cat worse than a h16 and that's a h16 with a spinnaker. Absolute pig.

Competive life for a h16 with a crew at Olympic level would be one regatta.

However if I was a betting man I would but a lazy 100 on it getting the nod for the games. Basically because ISAF only seem capable of making stupid decisions.

Can someone explain to me how you get a glued Hobie 16 into a 20 foot container? I've tried doesnt fit.

You seem to be talking about the wrong boat... it's the Hobie 16 Spi not the Hobie 16 - different story

Is the H16 prone to pitchpoling more or less with the spin on? #JustCurious

less

I pretty much agree with this article. http://catsailingnews.blogspot.com/2012/02/olympics-and-which-one-shouldnt-be.html
Nothing against H-16s ( I have one) it's just if we're supposed to be showing how badass multihulls are with the AC and it's world series on high tech multis being at the forefront, then the H-16 isn't the boat. If we are trying to project a more available boat with lot's of used craft on the market then maybe it is, but if you take ANY other Olympic sport, they are using the top equipment in that particular field. Rather it's bobsleds, javelins,skis,running shoes,curling brooms etc. they are using the most high tech in that sport for the Olympics. Why shouldn't we. You can twist it however you want but the H-16 is not high tech. On that note I'd bet it's what gets chosen. In the long run what difference does it make for non-Olympians? I just can't wait for it to be done so all the re-hashing of this in every new thread(Thanks Mark) will finally frickin' end.

Probably prone to pitchpoling less(due to lift of the spin) but flipping over more( due to difficulty bearing away quickly) due to asym. hulls. Just my guess.

Tawd... you noticed!!!

Why force the debate... This crowd is so damn cynical that god and motherhood would be crapped on.

Hopefully people understand that there are real issues that drive this process and NOT some KING picking his boys to make money off of the stupid sailors.

Why would you care about Mixed Multihull and the Olympics??.... because almost every top Cat racer in this country has pursued or won some kind of Olympic medal... EVEN sailors in HOBIE 16s... these sailors show up and win our local and national regattas. Some of them even grew up in the cat racing community....

The Olympics is a worthy enough goal so that sailors spend the time and energy to master the sport. Many of them continue to race cats. When you race against them and get spanked... you know exactly how much work you need and they raise the level of the game.

Better to try to play with the eagles then wallow with the ducks (or something like that) So... we need the eagles!!

Dumping all over the boats (or some of the boats) and diminishing the role the Olympic sailors play in game is poor sportsmanship.

You don't have to be a fan... but don't join the "it's all crap chorus" and diminish the role Olympic Sailing must play!

ps... that is a fair critique of the Hobie 16 as Olympic boat.!

Hey Mark, God -did- Crap on my Mother!

He "Blessed Her" with...ME!

I feel her pain