Hello, I am just getting into sailing and would like to purchase my
first Cat. My wife & I would like something that we could use for
social week end sailing & eventually for regattas. I am a little
confused about all the different kinds of Cats available &
features.......I think I have narrowed it down to a few but would
appreciate some advice from experienced sailors before I buy. I have
been reading about the Hobie 16, Getaway, Wave...the Narca models &
the G-Cat's. What are the pro's & con's of each? which company & model
has the best rep for quality? Is most of the sailing at the beach or
is there any sailing done on local lakes around here? Is there any
place around the Tampa Bay area that We could rent any of these Cats
to try out before we buy? I live in Tampa Bay so I would be sailing
around this area mostly. Sorry about all the "newbie" questions, any
help would be greatly appreciated. thanks ArchAngel

Hello, I am just getting into sailing and would like to purchase my
first Cat. My wife & I would like something that we could use for
social week end sailing & eventually for regattas. I am a little
confused about all the different kinds of Cats available &
features.......I think I have narrowed it down to a few but would
appreciate some advice from experienced sailors before I buy. I have
been reading about the Hobie 16, Getaway, Wave...the Narca models &
the G-Cat's. What are the pro's & con's of each? which company & model
has the best rep for quality? Is most of the sailing at the beach or
is there any sailing done on local lakes around here? Is there any
place around the Tampa Bay area that We could rent any of these Cats
to try out before we buy? I live in Tampa Bay so I would be sailing
around this area mostly. Sorry about all the "newbie" questions, any
help would be greatly appreciated. thanks ArchAngel

What do you mean by "social weekend sailing" If you want to entertain
friends you might find that a Catalina 22 or something like it would better
suit your needs for that. Catamarans are really fun but they are mostly
designed to go fast for short periods of time with very small crews. A 22 or
25 foot monohull is a comfortable sized boat for entertaining without
getting in too deep too fast. If you are certain that you want a catamaran,
find a local club that races them and go talk to them on race day, you can
see first hand any question you could think of answered on the spot. I have
a Hobie 16 that has given me many years of service, but Nacra makes a fine
boat as well, there is a lot of information out there. Good luck! and
welcome to the lifestyle!

I've owned a few cats before, mostly brands that were locally produced
in other countries (australia, new zealand). Most of the cheap cats
you can get are small, 14' and dont have a lot of flotation. they move
along quick with one person on board, but can get real bogged down with
two. These are cheap easy to sail boats though, and they're very
forgiving. Most have only one sail so they are great for learning on.
You can pick them up for as little as $200 with a trailer if you look
around and you're not going to lose much if anything when you sell
them. It can be worthwhile buying one (or even two) of these and
putting them on the same trailer. They are super light, and can easily
be rigged by one person.

There are a couple of more 'serious' 14' cats on the market with more
flotation and a jib, and some have trapezes. I own a brisbane built
cat called a caper cat made by calypso shadecloth company who also make
umbrellas and awnings. This cat has a jib, and more sail adjustments
than most of the smaller cats (backstay tension, outhall, jib
fairleads, downhall, full traveller, mast spreader etc etc) and is
claimed to hold 6 adults. While the 6 adults would probably have to be
on the skinny side of undernourished, I have had 3 full size 200lbs
plus adults on it and it handled quite nicely. There is storage in the
hulls and it has a bracket for an outboard. Jessie martin sailed this
boat from brisbane to cape york, and my boat was sailed from sydney to
brisbane. It does well in moderate swell.

In general i'd say its not really worth it buying one of these 'souped
up' 14's... they are pricier and you dont get much more out of them.
Im glad i bought mine, but its very puspose specific I guess. If
you're not going to buy a super cheapy then you need to spend quite a
lot more, like perhaps $2000+ second hand to get something worthwhile.
As you get up into the $2000~$3000 range you get bigger cats, 17,19,21
feet with a lot more flotation, better speed, more sail area, jibs and
sometimes spinnakers as well as better fittings. These bigger cats are
fast fast fast, but in general more difficult to move or park (bigger
trailers, much bigger mast) harder to rig, needing at least two people
and generally you wont want to be out sailing in one of these alone if
the wind is fresh. In general these boats require more commitment, and
i would say they are less forgiving of mistakes. Definitely not
learner material ;-)

A smaller fully battened single sail cat with centreboards if your
sailing in deeper waters, or without if you're in very shallow waters
is an excellent choice for a first cat. You'll get to do a lot of
gybing, not very much tacking, and you'll learn a lot about sailing in
general. Get someone who sails cats to give you some tips on sail
trimming. Just make sure the fittings and hulls are in good condition
even if you have to pay a bit more; the cost of these things can easily
be a lot more than the boat is worth. Trampolines can be re-stitched
for very little money, stays and ropes are fairly cheap and sails can
often be repaired easily if the damage is minor.

wrote:

Hello, I am just getting into sailing and would like to purchase my
first Cat. My wife & I would like something that we could use for
social week end sailing & eventually for regattas. I am a little
confused about all the different kinds of Cats available &
features.......I think I have narrowed it down to a few but would
appreciate some advice from experienced sailors before I buy. I have
been reading about the Hobie 16, Getaway, Wave...the Narca models &
the G-Cat's. What are the pro's & con's of each? which company & model
has the best rep for quality? Is most of the sailing at the beach or
is there any sailing done on local lakes around here? Is there any
place around the Tampa Bay area that We could rent any of these Cats
to try out before we buy? I live in Tampa Bay so I would be sailing
around this area mostly. Sorry about all the "newbie" questions, any
help would be greatly appreciated. thanks ArchAngel

I'm not familiar with Tampa, but take a ride around and see what other people
are sailing, and especially racing. It's best to stick to what's popular.
You'll have instant friends and mentors in the local fleet, plus a healthy
supply of good boats, gear, support, etc. Finally, you won't be stuck with a
white elephant when its time to sell your boat.

If you're seriously considering a brand new boat, I'm sure the local dealer can
arrange a demo ride. Otherwise, contact the various class associations. They
can usually put you in touch with local sailors who will give you a ride, or
have you crew in a race. Any class is always trying to recruit new members.

I've sailed and raced the Hobie 14, 16, and 18 extensively. IMO the 14 is a
waste of time and money, being suitable for just one person, and barely at that.
It doesn't tack well without a jib. The add-on jib helps it tack better and
maybe go faster, but it's still a one-person boat. The advantage of the 16 is
its popularity, and low cost. It's the most popular catamaran class by far, and
one of the most popular one-designs ever. I think the 18 is a better boat
though, and if there's a healthy 18 fleet in your area I'd get one instead. It
goes upwind a lot better, doesn't pitchpole constantly like the 16 does, and can
handle extra passengers a lot better.

The older Nacra boats like the 5.8 were arguably better than Hobies, but never
had quite the class following. Of course the newer ones, plus the newer Hobies,
development classes, etc., are great -- but perhaps too much boat for a
beginner. They're also much more expensive.

The Getaway is a great boat for beginners and casual sailing. It can actually
carry 3-4 people comfortably, or 2 plus camping gear. It isn't as fast or
lively as the 16, but is still plenty for most people. I'm told it goes upwind
about as well. A G-Cat is similar but higher performance, and unfortunately
rarer. Actually it's faster than a Hobie 16 in light air, not as fast in a
breeze, and better upwind. IMO it's the best of the board-less cats. A lot of
resorts have used G-Cats for their rental fleets.

The Hobie 21 looks like fun -- a fast boat with some real load-carrying
capability for cruising. I haven't been aboard one but I'd sure love to try it.
I'd cross to the Bahamas and camp-cruise in one of these, at least in favorable
weather. It might be more boat than you're looking for though.

HTH,

Matt O.

I have had a Hobie 18, and Dingo ( many monhulss) -- presently sailing a Tornado and a Laser. We used to rent Hobie 16's. For simple fun I recommend a Hobie 16 -- no boards, and they are elevated a little off of the water. The boat is very hard to damage. When you are done you can sell it easily.

I remember dreaming of getting a dingo many years ago
didn't that model have just a mainsail and a central centerboard??
how has that centerboard held up over the years. looks like it was a tricky
engineering problem at the time
but it was looke like a great fqast singlehander

smo
"