I've sailed cats only 3 times before. One of them was a hobie 14 (jibless) - and I wasn't too impressed as it was sluggish and had trouble tacking. However, I will soon be trading my cruddy sunfish in for a catamaran, and I am highly considering a hobie 14 turbo (with jib) or a hobie 16. They're both about the same price ($850), and appear in good condition. Which should I get? I'm inclined to go with the 16', as I would like the extra passenger room and the opportunity to sail a bit harder. Is the 16' too much for a beginner to handle?

Anyone in the market for a sunfish?

nah you'll be fine with the 16! go 16! all the way.

How long does it take to set up one of these things, from tied to the trailer to ready-to-sail?

How many people do you think can sit on a hobie 16?

Any good literature on hobie sailing I might want to check out?

Hey utahsailor, where do you sail? How much for the sunfish? I just got back from 2 weeks at Bear Lake.

Bear Lake? Awesome! I moved to UT 2 years ago, and I've seen pics... it looks lovely. Need to go up there someday. Where do you live?

I live in Sandy (just south of Salt Lake City) and I usually take the Sunfish up to Little Dell reservoir or East Canyon reservoir in Morgan county. If I'm feeling adventurous and it's a weekday, I'll go to Jordanelle - but that gets pretty crowded on the weekends. I want to get a cat before I go on longer tours on Great Salt Lake, Bear Lake or Utah Lake.

The Sunfish is a late 70's model, not in pristine condition but definitely seaworthy. The sail has a few patches, there's a minor scrape on the side of the hull but nothing that affects travel. I was thinking $750 for the boat + trailer. I'll miss her

Bear Lake can look just like the Carribean--bright torquoise.

Check out this photo:

http://www.ustaipan.org/image_htm_pages/t49ejp4_7-03.htm

It can also get quite breezy!

Rgds,

I'll have to go there before fall. What kind of catamaran do you have? Would you recommend a hobie 16? Or would you wait for another brand?

I sail a Taipan 4.9 with spinnaker (F16 class) and have sailed the Hobie 14, 16 and used to own an 18 (#135, I think it was). There aren't any Taipans in Utah yet, but a couple folks there have expressed interest.

I go to Bear Lake every summer, so you'll see me up there next year. There are a few avid cat sailors scattered about. There's a town called Fish Haven on the west side of the lake--my cabin is on the water side of the road right at the Fish Haven sign. The water level is a bit low due to the drought. But the up side is that there is miles and miles of nice sandy beach to sail off of nearly all the way around the lake. Another nice thing about Bear Lake is that it is, in fact, a natural lake that has been there for eons rather than a reservoir that was just created a couple years ago (like Jordanelle). So it offers a different kind of beauty.

Your area has plenty of nice reservoirs to sail on. Deer Creek always looks like it has a good breeze every time I go by, but I guess that's probabably an hour or so from Sandy. I never cared for sailing on Great Salt Lake, though--it's kinda weird floating so high and the brine shrimp gave me the creeps. I've never sailed Utah Lake, but it looks pretty big from a distance.

The Hobie 16 is just fine a your first cat. In fact, if you learn to sail it well, you'll find the newer designs that much easier to manage. In terms of cost, parts availability, etc, it's a great choice. Having said that, one of my favorite cats for off the beach fun sailing that is fast, forgiving, and easy to manage is the Nacra 5.0 (I used to have one of those too)--probably a bit hard to find there though. I've seen lots of cats up around Bear Lake just parked in fields neglected (Hobies, Prindles, Sol-cats, G-cats, and even a Supercat)--sad, and probably some good deals to be had. Regardless of which cat, prepare yourself for some serious speed compared to the Sunfish!!!

As you may already know, just about the only place in Salt Lake with decent rigging supplies and with knowledge about sailing is SidSports--I think its on about 39th South, just east of State Street. They'd be a good resource for getting your boat rigged properly. If you get an old, neglected Hobie, for example, it would be very wise to replace the standing rigging (all the wires that hold up the mast) because the cost is not much compared to the added safety and peace of mind in knowing your mast isn't going to come crashing down.

I'm going to assume the Taipan is extremely fast, new and expensive - probably not the best choice for my first cat anyway! Maybe someday... I can always dream.

For me, speed is important, but so is stability and the ability to take a beating - ease of repair and low cash value in case of accidents are big factors with all the rock shorelines of the local reservoirs. On the other hand, I disliked the hobie 14 I tried because it poledived pretty easily... will that be as big a problem with the 16' in gusty winds?

Do you know if there would be a big difference between a 1982 16' hobie cat and a 1991 16' prindle?

You're absolutely right about the manmade reservoirs. I'm an east coast transplant (from New Hampshire originally) and it's very different to see these enormous reservoirs with clay or rock shores. But I really love it in Utah, there is virtually unlimited choice in outdoor recreation here, except ocean sports.

Any ideas where I could find used cat listings in Bear Lake? A local paper, maybe?

Thanks for the tips! I hope you have some good times with the Taipan!

My experience is 15 minutes for the hobie 14 and 45 minutes for the hobie 16 from trailer to rigged with sail in the water. I've had 500 lbs on the 14, but it is a real dog. I would be afraid to fly a hull on the 16 with more than 300 lb. but you can comfortably cruise with 500 lbs on the 16.
The 16 can easily pitchpole.
Greg
H14, H16

Thanks for your tips. I'm really inclined to go for the prindle 16' now. I hear it's comparatively tough to pitchpole, has huge buyoant hulls that are better suited for carrying extra passengers, and is a bit lighter than a 1982 hobie anyway.

Anyone out there who has warnings against prindles, say your piece now! Thanks!!!

Prindle 16, Hobie 16, Nacra 5.0 or 450--all good choices for a first cat. Sure, there's differences between them. The prindle, for example, has more freeboard to the hulls than the hobie. But just get the one that is most convenient for now. After a season sailing it, you could always sell it for what you paid for it and get something different.

Bear Lake is too rural to bother looking in a newpaper for cat listings (tractors, yes; catamarans, no). I you see a descent looking cat off in the weeds (and this goes for anywhere), go knock on the nearest door and find out who owns it and if they want to sell it. You should definitely be able to find a good deal on something much closer than Tennessee. It's just not necessary to go that far for these relatively common boats. California has a good reservoir of semi-abandoned catamarans and is a lot closer. Post on TheBeachcats.com list to see if anyone knows of a boat. I met a guy named Tom House up at Bear Lake this year. He follows that list. He's got a veritable armada of beach cats and may have one to sell you. He lives in SLC area but has a place at Bear Lake.

The only reason I was considering the one in TN is that it was a 1991, and the auction had it at $750 so it could end up cheap. The downside is that its mast is slightly warped (a red flag, so I hear). But if there's little substantial difference between an 85 prindle 16 and a 91... might as well go for something older and closer.

If you could get me in touch with Tom House, that would be great - he might have some tips on where to buy (and sail) in the area. I'll get on the beachcats forum and post. Thanks again!

Dunno his number, but you could send him a "private message" on this forum--his user ID is thouse.

has anyone mentioned weight? how big and physical are you? how do you feel about being dependent on rescuers? the lightest guy i know that can self rescue a h16 is about 185-190 lbs. he needs at least 10 kn of wind. he's a young buck, tall and athletic. i have a
14 and a 16, love them both. singlehanded sailing to about 10-12 kn, the 16 is a blast. i am 5'8", 57 years old and "spry". if the wind goes over 12 kn my windward hull is harder to keep down than fly. then i'd rather have my 14. its all fun. i'd hate to sell either one.

I'm ~165-170. Just flipped my boat yesterday on purpose and couldn't right it single-handed. 15-20mph of wind. I just now ordered a righting bag from Murray's so hopefully things will be better next time.

The 14 can easily pitchpole if you aren't careful. It took a good thunderstorm pushing me on a screaming reach to do it but it did it. Sucked to cuz I was smoking. My 16 so far hasn't come close but I haven't had her out in the same stuff I've had the 14 in but I'll let you know when I do. The Prindle is a well made boat, the only problems I've heard of is the rudder system. I've heard of Prindle owners swapping to a Hobie design.

It was mostly operator error, but the first time I turned my H16 downwind in big air, I was flying off the front of the boat and the hulls were heading for the mud on the bottom of the shallow lake. The Prindles larger hull volume does make a difference, but you do still have to be carefull in certain conditions.


I've owned a H16 and now have a Prindle 18 and I like the Prindle system better. It might take more time to get it tuned in at first, but it works great after that.

Jack