Steven Shelikoff wrote:
... A friend of mine has never tipped his hobie 16,
and he's sailed it for going on 15 years. I've only tipped mine a
couple of times, and only when I was sailing like I was in a Pepsi
commercial, as Doug says.


If you're flying a hull in a Hobie 16, you're courting a capsize. They
simply don't have enough reserve bouyancy.

If you only sail in winds less than 10 knots, then it should be easy to
avoid capsizes. OTOH I doubt very seriously that it's even manageable in
30 knot winds, unless you have cut-down or reefable sails.


.. I once pitchpoled a Hobie 14... over it's
sterns... in no wind at all, just sitting too far aft and not paying
close enough attention as the aft most part of the hulls snuck under water.


You might need to lose some weight.

Not really. 6' & 170#. The issue is the lack of hull volume & reserve
bouyancy.


... I sail with 4 people on my 16
with no problem.


While breathing helium, no doubt.


A Hobie 16 probably wouldn't capsize with both hulls planted, but it's
still possible in moderate conditions... I've seen one go over from a
motorboat wake that put the lee bow under...


A big motorboat wake can do all sorts of things to small boats. But a
Hobie 16 is a lot less likely to be swamped or capsized by the same wake
than a sunfish.


Hardly. The Sunfish has a great deal of reserve bouyancy & stability. It
probably has twice the hull volume (ie bouyancy) of the Hobie 16.

The problem with catamarans in general and Hobie 14s & 16s in particular
is that their stability is all front-end. They generate their max
righting moment at small angles of heel, and from there on they get
easier and easier to heel further. A gust of wind under the tramp and
ka-splash. With the Hobies, it's made worse by the tiny hulls. Once the
lee hull goes under... or even partially under, you have lost all
righting moment at that point and the boat just falls over.


30 knots??!?!?


That was an extreme. However, I have been out in mine by accident in
more than 30 knots. I got caught in a bad storm a couple of miles
offshore. I had to reef the main while out there, bobbing around in big
waves, high winds and lightning all around, standing at the front of the
pontoons trying to get the little ball on the halyard unsnapped and set
at the reef ball. It wasn't fun at all. But once I got the main
reefed, we screamed in towards shore with all that wind. Didn't capsize
either. It was great until the storm passed and we were hit by a calm
with about a mile to go and had to paddle in by hand the rest of the
way. Man were my arms sore the next day.


You were lucky you had reef points in the main. I hate halyard locks,
had a few similar episodes with them, but they do reduce compression on
the mast. Summer T-storms are a way of life.


.... If one
cannot accept that, and learn capsize drills, then one should not be
sailing small boats.


I agree that it's good to practice capsizing and righting small
sailboats. Having righting lines rigged on the hobie make it a lot
easier. But I still stand by my statement that you can sail one for
years without ever capsizing if you don't push the boat to the point
where one of the hulls comes out of the water and if you keep your
weight aft so you don't sink the forward part of a hull.


Obviously, it can be done. i wouldn't count on it though. And I wouldn't
sit too far aft.

Fresh Breezes- Doug King