Hobie 17

Bit of a quandry here so i may need some help.

I'm 14 years old sailing in brightlingsea and trying to get onto cats, i've sailed various types and come to like hobies.

Now that i'm trying to move on from my first boat (Topaz Vibe - i'm growing to dislike more and more) i want a cheap single hand cat, considering my size (6ft tall and 13 stone) that cuts out most smaller cats but i've noticed that theres a few hobie 17's in this area very cheap.

Has anyone got any ideas as to if its suitable and why they're so cheap?

All sugestions greatly appreciated.

Edited by Gladys

The Topaz 14 Extreme is definitely one of the best options, it's being marketed as the ideal "cheap" entry level cat for younger/lighter sailors. There's also the Hobie Dragoon, which is aimed towards the same end of the market (though Hobie UK say that it makes a really good adult single-hander).

Hobie 17 - most probably too large and unwieldy, and therefore not suitable. Cheap because they are older(?), and there seems to be a bit of a migration away from having costly-to-berth, little-used beach cats (though don't take my word for it).

The problem is they don't really make singlehanded boats
that can also take 4 or 5 people! In fact they don't make
many beach cats that can take 4-5 pax. My Hurricane is a
great load carrier but I think it would struggle with 5 on
board. And that's a 20' cat.

If you want to race and sail single handed and you wnat to
do it cheap you'd do worse than a Dart18. But Dermot is
right. At Brightlingsea you have access to an awful lot of
good catamarans and good catamaran sailors. Ask around

Originally posted by Dermot M Originally posted by Gladys I'd already considered that but due to being a cadet instructor i need a 3 sail that can take 4-5 people. Also the new boats are a bit pricy considering budget 17's are half the price!  You did ask about a singlehanded cat. The Hobie 17 is not a 3 sail cat, and, because of low buoyancy hulls (and age), will not sail well with 4-5 people.

Agreed.  I would NOT take 5 on a H17, the hulls do not have the volume to cope!

I would not take 5 on my F16 and it is designed to be sailed 1 or 2 up; 

As stated above a 20 foot cat such as the Hurricane would struggle with 5.

Right i think i'll have to forget instructing and just go for a 2/ 3 hander.

plus you cant race darts single handed.

i think i just found a gaping hole in the cat market.