hobie 405 - the right choice!?

   I'm thinking of getting an old hobie 405 for me and my girlfriend to sail recreationally for fun and mabey do a bit of club racing. We have sailed laser 2's before but find we get a bit overpowered in strong winds as we only weight 17-18 stone (115 kgs) combined. 

We basically want a cheap fast fun boat with trapeze to sail on a small inland water.

is the hobie 405 a good choice? As I say we are quite light and both quite small so I think a youth class will suit us!

Any advice much appreciated!

cheers

tim

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mystyc1 Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 26 Sep 05 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2	Post Options Post Reply Quote mystyc1 Report Post Quote Reply Topic: hobie 405 - the right choice!? Posted: 26 Sep 05 at 4:40pm
	I'm thinking of getting an old hobie 405 for me and my girlfriend to sail recreationally for fun and mabey do a bit of club racing. We have sailed laser 2's before but find we get a bit overpowered in strong winds as we only weight 17-18 stone (115 kgs) combined. We basically want a cheap fast fun boat with trapeze to sail on a small inland water. is the hobie 405 a good choice? As I say we are quite light and both quite small so I think a youth class will suit us! Any advice much appreciated! cheers tim

Wave Rider Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 27 Oct 04 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 909	Post Options Post Reply Quote Wave Rider Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 26 Sep 05 at 5:45pm
	Well the hobie 405 seems to be primarily a youth class but as long as you don't mind that im sure it would be brillaint and it is a lightweights boat. If you intended to race the nationals etc you mayfind it is all young girls tho :S. Considered a cherub
	-[Franko]- Chew Valley Lake Sailing Club RS600 933

Jack Sparrow Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 08 Feb 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 2965	Post Options Post Reply Quote Jack Sparrow Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 26 Sep 05 at 6:35pm
	Get a Cherub dude... more fun that you can shake a stick at. Whats the budget? £1000 - £1500 will get you a hum dinger 97 rules boat. something like this...
	Farr 3.7 Class Website Farr 3.7 Building - Facebook Group

Isis Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 01 Sep 05 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2753	Post Options Post Reply Quote Isis Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 26 Sep 05 at 7:38pm
	Ive sailed the 405 once or twice and didnt get on with it tbh. As sugested, a 420 or fireball would be a better option imo, but if you can try and blag a go in as many different boats as possible. I would join in with the cherub crowd and say get one of them, but if I did you'd just go and buy the first one that comes up on the market that I want

mystyc1 Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 26 Sep 05 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2	Post Options Post Reply Quote mystyc1 Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 27 Sep 05 at 8:43am
	cheers guys, I did get the impression from reading around that we might be a bit over weight for a 405. I must admit I hadn't considered a cherub - might have to look into that. The other boat I had considered was a laser 2. I'v sailed them before and get on with them quite well. Any thoughts on laser 2's v 420's v cherubs? much appreciated tim

NickA Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 30 Mar 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 784	Post Options Post Reply Quote NickA Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 27 Sep 05 at 3:49pm
	I weigh about 12 stone and sail a laser 2 (sans spinny) single handed up to about force 4/5 (though not exactly competitively). I've also sailed it with my 6 stone son. At 18 stone combined you should be fine, especially if the tallest / heaviest goes on the wire. More knots per pound than most boats. Good ones £1200 - £1600. 420s fat, ugly and slow. Barely faster than a 405. Cherubs ..... probably most fun all round, if you've the time to love and care for it.

CurlyBen Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Really should get out more Joined: 17 Aug 05 Location: Southampton Online Status: Offline Posts: 539	Post Options Post Reply Quote CurlyBen Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 27 Sep 05 at 4:22pm
	Laser 2s and 420s are symmetric spinnakers (harder to use than asymetrics). Cherubs have asymetrics these days, but some older boats have symetrics. Cherubs are great, really fast but can be a bit of a handful (haven't helmed one though). I've sailed 420s for 5 years and had fantastic fun in them, nomally when the wind got up tbh though. I was team racing them, had about 19, 20 stone in the boat this year and sailed through pretty much any wind strength. Not as much fun in the light, but we could handle it in really heavy breeze (depowering a lot, but we weren't using trapeze as team racing prevents that). Personally I'd go for the Cherub, I'd get one if I was looking for an 800/49er...

Isis Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 01 Sep 05 Online Status: Offline Posts: 2753	Post Options Post Reply Quote Isis Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 27 Sep 05 at 7:08pm
	Id definantly say the cherub is the 'best' boat out of the boats mentioned here, but you have to remember it is a totaly different animal to the rest of the mentioned boats.

Strawberry Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Visit Member's Homepage Really should get out more Joined: 21 Jun 05 Location: United Kingdom Online Status: Offline Posts: 1337	Post Options Post Reply Quote Strawberry Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 29 Sep 05 at 12:16pm
	If you would like to "test drive" a Cherub PM your email details and I can get that arranged for you.
	Cherub 2649 "Dangerous Strawberry

The Big Wednesday Send Private Message Find Member's Posts Newbie Joined: 21 Feb 19 Online Status: Offline Posts: 8	Post Options Post Reply Quote The Big Wednesday Report Post Quote Reply Posted: 21 Feb 19 at 3:24pm
	Somewhat late in the day but better late than never. The Hobie 405 was designed as the RYA Intermediate Youth Training dinghy so probably not suitable for those who are adult and lardy. It's more challenging than a Feva or Topaz, and the like but more manageable tham a 29-er. My son is 13 and an ex-Tera sailor and had no issues getting to grips with the 405. Below is a new online resource for junior sailors interested in finding out about the HOBIE 405, a performance dinghy that was (and is) much ahead of its time in many respects. The Hobie 405 was designed from the ground up as the RYA intermediate youth training dinghy, not a leisure boat with go-faster add-ons. With great build quality, an asymmetric, single wire and PY of 1089 it ticks a lot of teenage boxes and still offers a manageable and very affordable entry into real asymmetric sailing for younger sailors. With competitive 2nd hand examples often around the £500.00 mark with combi, what's not to like? https://www.facebook.com/groups/309480016377777/ Edited by The Big Wednesday - 08 Mar 19 at 11:23pm