Hobie Cat Forums

Whats the best weight for the crew? I'm a big ol boy...240... my wife weighs about a 100.. Good weight for racing or do I need a bigger crew member or a smaller me?

What kind of boat?

You're a bit heavy for the 16, but would be OK on an 18 or a 20.

You're right at F18 minimum on a Tiger/Wildcat.

whats the F in F18 stand for?

F18 = Fourmula 18.

It's a measurement rule for which boats of several different manufacturers (including Hobie, Nacra and others) race head-to-head, without handicapping.

The basic parameters are 18' length, 8.5' beam, 397 lb boat weight and sail area restrictions. Both the Hobie Tiger and Hobie Wildcat are F18 compliant, meaning they fit within the F18 rules. The Tiger has separate one-design rules which are slightly different than the F18 rules. The Wildcat was designed to be an F18.

These are F18s:


They're great racing boats, but require a significant amount of time (90 minutes) to go from the trailer to the water, making daysailing them a hassle unless you have a place to store them mast up.

I take everything off of my boat, it takes me, by myself, 45 minutes to rig it, the jib cerainly doesn't take an additional 45minutes.

Once you get a system, and learn what you can leave on and have to take off, you can get an F18 ready in less than 45min, but not by much. The first time you do it, better give yourself a couple of hours, and bring the manual.

I have a hobie 16

which is better the Tiger or the wildcat?

Better in what way?

Used Tigers in excellent condition can be had for ~$8,000.
A new Wildcat (there are no used ones yet) is ~$25,000.

The Tiger is a bullet-proof design that's been around for ~ 15 years. The Wildcat is only about a year old.