Hobie Cat as a tender?

[CaptainSostre]

Okay.... so first post here... couldn't find anything on it and maybe I'm crazy, but here it goes:




Could you use a hobbie cat 16 as a tender? I want a sailing tender and a beach sailor like a hobbie cat seemed sort of reasonable...

They'd be pretty stable.
Could sail right up to the beach.
Have a capacity of 1000lbs.
And they would be fast.

I would think you'd need to rig up a cargo net over the trampoline to hold groceries in place.

An issue that I could see is size. 16 feet is hard if not impossible to store on the boat so you'd probably have to tow it behind.

Also, there is high potential to get wet...

So..... I could be crazy... but discuss!

[Reefmagnet]

A hobie cat is probably not good as a tender for two reasons. The first is that they're so much damned fun you probably will get rid of the mothership and the second, and I'd say most important, is that without the jib raised the mast flops around which would see it slowly destroy itself if left bobbing on the water. On the latter point, lowering and raising sails on a Hobie 16 on the water isn't that easy to do either.

Some other things to consider is that they probably tow like crap, will want to blow over in a big gust and they aren't the easiest thing to tack, especially when carting a load of laundry and groceries.

Using one sans mast with a small outboard or trolling motor could work, I guess.

[KeepInTune]

I own a Hobie 16 for beach cat use. I absolutely love it. But pulling a hobie 16 behind a monohull for more than a short stint (i.e. a hour or so), with waves, pull of the tow-line, rocking motion, ect., will end up ruining the rig, especially the rudders and their attachments. You'll end up yanking the shrouds and forestay eventually. Hobie even advises not to anchor your Hobie because of this (beach it).
Better to use a robust dingy sailor where you can demast and secure while towing.

[CaptainSostre]

Could you not de-mast the hobie? and store the mast on the mothership?

[KeepInTune]

Originally Posted by CaptainSostre

Could you not de-mast the hobie? and store the mast on the mothership?

Not practical at all. As well, raising mast would is very challenging unless you were on a beach (with 2 others helping). I couldn't imagine trying to raise the mast in the water --essentially impossible due to needing to walk around Hobie to raise and attach shrouds and forestay properly/safely.
Storing the Hobie mast on your boat would be inadvisable even in the nicest of weather conditions.

Best of luck.

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by CaptainSostre

Could you not de-mast the hobie? and store the mast on the mothership?

Have you raised and lowed a Hobie 16 stick? Probably not impossible to do but won't be easy if there's any chop whatsoever.

Edit: If you don't know, the Hobie mast has a ball joint at the base (it's a rotating mast) therefore no tabanacle. It relies on a pin through a very small bracket to keep the base of the mast in position as you raise it and once the mast is up it usually needs to be poked and prodded to get the ball to engage and that little bracket will twist and jam with any sideways force. All this while holding what is a surprisingly very tall mast up in the air that is amazingly heavy once you get it past a certain angle AND, if single handed, keeping tension on a line coming back from the front "crossbeam" so that you can let the mast go without it crashing down before properly connecting the forestay. Then finally you have to connect said forestay which I always remember as being a battle in itself.

[thomm225]

The only solution would be to totally disassemble the H16 and stow it (if you have the space) during passages which would get to be a royal PITA after a while not to mention how hard it would be to do (assemble / disassemble) on the water if it was rough etc where you were anchored.

As far as raising and lowering the mast, you can develop a technique. I've done it on the water a time or two. The problem is towing.

Ps. It's easier than raising a Nacra 6.0 mast on a trailer!

[Reefmagnet]

Or.....

Forget the Hobie:



Photo Ducky19 | Ducky

[Scout 30]

There are several inflatable sailing cats on the market now that you could stow when under way. Makes a lot more sense.

[Scout 30]

Originally Posted by Reefmagnet

Or.....

Forget the Hobie:



Photo Ducky19 | Ducky

The assembly video on the ducky 13 is impressive. Just 24 minutes. Add an electric pump & you'd be at 20. Packing it up into 2 easily managed bags takes 15 minutes. Pretty cool boats!

[Reefmagnet]

Maybe get a sail kit for one of these instead?

[Reefmagnet]

Originally Posted by Scout 30

The assembly video on the ducky 13 is impressive. Just 24 minutes. Add an electric pump & you'd be at 20. Packing it up into 2 easily managed bags takes 15 minutes. Pretty cool boats!

Be interesting to try one and see how it sails

[debath]

Hi all, I am no expert but I would want a tender that was ready to go "ASAP" just in case.

[thomm225]

Or maybe just get a Klepper or Folbot Folding Kayak.

A guy crossed the Atlantic back in the 50's on a Klepper.

You could also get the sailing option.

http://www.klepper.com/en

[contrail]

Henshaw, in England, used to make (and may still do) some wonderful sailing inflatables, with a brand name of Tinker. I have had two Tinker Tramps. They have daggerboards, sail decently, row well, and plane with 4 HP. There is also a liferaft mod that can be added. Probably a few used ones, around.