Hobie Forums
http://www.hobie.com/forums/

My Bravo is faster then your 18!
http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=42&t=37022
Page 1 of 1

Author:  augaug [ Sun Jul 24, 2011 7:53 pm ]
Post subject:  My Bravo is faster then your 18!

Ok... technically my Bravo is not faster then YOUR 18. But it is faster then a Solcat 18. I sailed my Bravo for the first time this past weekend, and literally, (and I do mean literally) sailed circles around a Solcat 18.

There were only light winds, and I'm sure that must have played to my advantage, but after watching several people rig the Solcat, and then watching the crew of 2 leave the beach, I decided that I'd head out as well. I stepped the mast single handed, pulled the boat into the water on my own, unfurled the sail and set out to see if I could keep pace. To my amazement, I passed them easily! I figured it was a fluke, so I continued for more then an hour to sail away, come back to, and circle around and pass the Solcat with ease.

We chatted a few times, and they were very surprised that they couldn't keep up with my little Bravo.

I'm a self taught sailor, learned on my Adventure Island, and had only been a passenger on a dinghy as a child, so I'm pretty sure that the boat is faster and it's not the skipper! (Although I may have let my wife believe that the difference was my superior sailing skills :wink: )

I have to admit though, I was VERY impressed with the little Bravo. I get that the 16's are the speed demons, and I a get that the Wave's are the "cool" recreational cats in the Hobie line-up, but this little Bravo is a fun little boat! The simplicity, the controllable speed, the stability. It's great!

I bought the Bravo as an intermediate step between the Adventure Island that I currently own, and the Getaway that I want someday, but I must say, I'm much more impressed then I thought I'd be with the little cat that can!

If you want a fun little dinghy, that's actually a catamaran, the Bravo's a fun way to go!

Author:  orange_elmo [ Wed Aug 03, 2011 10:13 am ]
Post subject:  Re: My Bravo is faster then your 18!

that's awesome...the Bravo is a really great little boat...
its a great one yo start with and move up to the getaway...
I have sailed all the recreational hobies and they are all awesome and the getaway is great when you add the wings and trapeze.

Author:  choctaw60 [ Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My Bravo is faster then your 18!

They probably repaired the Sol Cat hulls with concrete. No offense, but that never should have happened. You are the Captain America of small cats.

Portsmouth Numbers

Hobie Bravo 100
Sol 74.9

Concrete would do it for sure.

Author:  augaug [ Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My Bravo is faster then your 18!

I looked up the Portsmouth number as soon as I got home and thought the same thing. I should have taken a video. I agree it shouldn't have happened, but it did. Their boat was sitting normally in the water. As I said earlier, the only thing that I can figure is that the Solcat was in need of more wind to get it's performance. The winds were VERY light.

Oh... and I prefer "Captain Canada!" :)

Author:  choctaw60 [ Wed Aug 03, 2011 12:23 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My Bravo is faster then your 18!

Concrete for sure.

I really enjoyed my Bravo, I found it to be a bit tippy in winds of 20 knots or higher but it was as fast or faster than Aqua Cats I have owned and certainly faster than any racing monohull up to about 15 feet in length.

I dumped her twice one day, lost my Ray bans and was really mad at myself. But I still found myself smiling because righting that Bravo was so easy I was dumbstruck.

Have a great time on a super boat!

Author:  augaug [ Wed Aug 03, 2011 5:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: My Bravo is faster then your 18!

choctaw60 wrote:
Concrete for sure.

I really enjoyed my Bravo, I found it to be a bit tippy in winds of 20 knots or higher but it was as fast or faster than Aqua Cats I have owned and certainly faster than any racing monohull up to about 15 feet in length.

I dumped her twice one day, lost my Ray bans and was really mad at myself. But I still found myself smiling because righting that Bravo was so easy I was dumbstruck.

Have a great time on a super boat!


I actually like that it can tip. Coming from an Adventure Island, the wind would get strong, I'd get out on the windward trampoline and the only thing that would happen is the ama would stop burying itself. That would be great fun until the wind would overpower the rudder. The "Super Boat" (as you call it) is a lot of fun because it's so easy to sail, and when the winds get strong, I enjoy the full body workout. It's that great combination of super easy to sail, but it takes a lot of action to master.

Flying a hull is fun. Risking tipping it is fun for me too. I used to get more wet on my AI then I do on the Bravo. Even when I tipped it, I was able to climb the hull, and stay out of the water and have it upright just about as quickly as I could describe it.

It's a great boat that I think I'll end up keeping when I move to a Getaway simply because it's so simple, and so quick to get out to the water. I'll miss things about my Adventure Island, but there are a number of large marina's near me, and on the AI, I'd have to spend the entire day watching the big boats with the white sails go by me. Now I can keep up, and even pass those big white sailed boats.

The best difference between the Bravo and the Adventure Island. Coming in to shore on the Bravo, I get a lot of comments about how much fun it looked like I was having. With the AI, I used to have to become a salesperson for the boat. (no it doesn't have an engine, yes those flippers are pretty cool, yes it does go pretty fast with those, yes it can be car-topped, no it can't go faster then the white sailed boats, yes it is more fun then those boats..... :D )

Page 1 of 1 All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
http://www.phpbb.com/