There is a statement on another blog that indicates rumors of a new F-18 from Hobie. Does anyone who may know more know any more? Inquiring minds want to know!

Understand that this is a Hobie Cat Europe design that we have done some re-engineering for structural and manufacturing reasons. We changed the way the hulls attach to crossbars, the way the shrouds anchor to the hulls and the width (we made it a bit wider).

Ok, so I have to be honest. I have not yet sailed the T2, but Jacques has and he related a few of his findings to me. That plus specification comparison should give us a feel for where the T2 fits. We have yet to sail these all side by side.

It is definitely faster than a Wave. Has more volume for carrying crew and is more forgiving for pitch poles. And it is a sexy looking boat! I love the Wave, but it is really function over form. The T2 has nicer lines and a more traditional looking balance of sail over hull size.

The weight is close to a Getaway, but the sail area is smaller. I look at the hull shape and modern sail plan as an advantage. You should also be able to double trapeze on the T2, so top end... I believe the T2 will be faster. Light air? A wash or possibly Getaway.

A Hobie 16 it is not. Heavier, less sail. It is a LOT less money and MUCH more durable though.

One thing we struggled with are the replaceable keels. The keels are not on a horizontal plane, so adding wide flat wear strips causes disruption in water flow, so we opted to change that to a shorter keel-width wear strip at the rear of the keel. The boat sails more smoothly without the wear strips in place.

I can't wait to give it a spin and actually sail them side by side, but just looking at the lines of the T2... its going to be a success!