New Hobie 18/ Hobie Pearl

Hello Hobie Sailors,

Does anyone know how to purchase a new Hobie 18, the Hobie Pearl in the US?

The boat looks amazing on paper, 18ft, 29ft mast, kick up center boards, furling gennaker.... hello beautiful!

I’m curious if anyone has sailed one of these?
What’s the top end speed?
Average cruising speed?
Where could we sail one?
How much does the Hobie Pearl cost?
Anything else we should know about this 18 foot hobie?

Any comments would be much appreciated.

Best,

ClamCounter

_________________
ClamCounter
Hobie Getaway 2012 “Miss Marie”
300 Mile Everglades Challenge '12, '13, '14, '15, '16, '17, ‘18, ‘19, ‘20

Hi Clam,

The Pearl is made in Europe. So very expensive to buy and have shipped here to US. We had one at our Club for a short period. The guy that bought also had a Hobie 18. He bought it from a person in NY that had it shipped over but then did not use it much. He kept the standard 18 and sold the Pearl as it didn't fit his program.

I did not sail it but was out sailing when he was sailing it around. Here is my observations. I liked the the thought process. They basically made a fun and simple sailing F18. The wings made new folks more comfortable sailing versus having to trapeze. I think you could still trap off the wings if you wanted. The roller furling asym was smaller than a kite on the F18. It was a nice looking package. However due to not having ability to easily purchase, my advise would be to get an F18 and make it a cruising boat or just get a Hobie 18. While the Pearl maybe a little faster than an 18, I think the F18s are faster than the Pearl. So really comes down to what you plan to do with it.

Cheers,