I want to join the H21 club

I've been sailing my H18 Magnum for about 6 years now and I think I'd like to upgrade to the 21 for the extra capacity. I think it would be great to bring along passengers. Also, CT has such a rocky coast line I'm very limited to launches unless I have a motor. It basically boils down to two big questions:

Does the H21SC have the performance? How would it compare to my 18? If I was lucky to find one with the factory gennaker would it outperform the 18 downwind? What about mainsail options, I have a new H18 OEM Hobie main, if I retrofitted it to the 21 is there a big benefit from the loose footed design? or would buying an aftermarket H21 squaretop yield the most power? I do like the idea of having reef points....


How much of a hassle is it to trailer the H21SE? The only thing holding my back from the SC is the width, what is the time required to shorten or extend the beam? Is there any wear concerns with doing this all the time, I'm sure parts are getting very hard to come by.

Sorry for the long post and thanks!!!!!

I've become intrigued by the 21SC in the past several years as well. I suspect performance will not be as good as a H18 because the 21SC is roughly 600LBs and the 18 is 400 LBs with both boats having similar sail areas. You have to take the 21SC for what it is - a Cruiser. Pile a bunch of people and gear on it and go have fun. It will fly a hull, etc. but I'm sure it's not going to be like a high performance racing cat. Certainly a great platform though for taking out the family for a day on the water.

Regarding width, the 21SC only has an 8'-6" beam (with the wings stowed), so it is road legal without needing to be collapsed. Only the original 21SE had the collapsible beams because it was 10' wide.

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I meant the SE with the trailering question. I really don't want to loose performance from the H18.

I have a 21 SE and am in CT! I do most of my sailing off the Cape and in LI Sound. Trailering a 21 SE isn't bad, I don't telescope the hulls (its a pain in the a$$), just have to favor the white line and avoid toll booths (which I have squeaked through, but it is HAIRY).

Performance wise, I don't think you can go wrong with a 21 SE, especially with a spin. But they are much less common than the 21 SC and are pricey. I got lucky and found mine for $600 having never been in salt water and only minor glass damage.

If you're happy with your 18 and are worried about trailering a 21, stick with the 18. Performance is comparable and transport is easier. Once you sail a 21 though you're hooked!!

Hi Daredevil

I have a 21SE with the original spinnaker and newish whirlwind square top main and jib. Chip did a great job.
I can say that I have had no trouble at all beating the local H18s both up and down wind with the new sails.
I have no idea if those boats are setup well, or if their sailers are of good practice, but it has never been close.
I race a H18 and a Tiger several times a year (most summer weekends) on a 10 mile around the island race.
There are few conditions that the H18 has an advantage, light wind down (if I'm solo=no chute) is really about it.
The Tiger and I are often very close if we are both solo. With chutes we are about 50/50 due to wind. more wind I win, less wind he KILLS me.
When I'm sailing off shore, or the wind is light I put on the 2 horse kicker for insurance.
The SE has considerable sail area advantage over the SC.

I would look for an after-market chute as the originals are really full and don't compare as well with modern sails.

There are three options for trailering
1. leave it wide and pay attention. This is what I do. There are only a few places where the road is narrow enough to be a problem around here. Watch for construction zones! I go all over the place and haven't had any issues. If I were going across the country, I would take the time to narrow the boat.
2. Narrow the boat if you have a trailer that supports this. My trailerx does compress, but it really is a hassle to scrunch the boat up. As to wear, there are plastic bushings on the ends of the cross bars that allow the boat to compress. I used some teflon to replace mine as the boat was getting a little "loose". A pain to do, but they last a long time.
3. Aquire a tornado trailer or other tilt trailer. These crank up and tilt the boat to give a smaller footprint. Great if you can find one.

I love the boat! It is fun to race, there is soooo much room on board when you want to bring the gang along for a great day on the water.

-Todd

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Todd
Hobie 21SE
Bellingham, WA

Where do you launch in the sound? I typically go to Lighthouse pt park in New Haven since it's about the only launch on the eastern half of CT with a beach, I come down from the Manchester area. FYI, there's a May 21 CT River Dinghy Race where cats participate, think I'm going to enter. Details are on Facebook.




With both your comments I think I'll hold out until I can come across a nice SE. The idea of having a high performance cat that can double as a family cruiser sounds like the ideal boat.

As for trailering I'm not worried about the logistics of trailering full width it was more the hassle if I got pulled over, but it sounds like most of the SE guys don't have any issues.

Long term I'd probably look for a marina where I could leave the boat set up on the trailer or build my own tilt trailer.

Thanks for all the info!

I recently did the H18 Magnum to 21SE upgrade and I love the bigger boat. However I have beach storage so I never have to expand or collapse the boat. In my opinion this is not a boat for trailer day sailing unless you tow it expanded. I grew up sailing a 12' wide Supercat, and we trailer sailed it but man that was work to expand and collapse. Based on that experience I will guess about 90 minute setup time with 2-3 guys that know what they are doing. Tear down about as long. So it makes for a long day.

The biggest pain to me was lacing the trampoline every time. Physically expanding the boat takes some work but lacing the tightening the tramp each trip gets old fast.

Good luck in your search.

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Scott
Hobie 18 w/wings
Hobie/Holder 12 Funseeker
2 Hobie Waves
Tandem Oasis Kayak
Hobie 16
Southern California

Daredevil, my favorite launch is Dock Road in Waterford. It's small, but easy to get out into the Sound and lots of beaches to stop and have lunch at. Nothing beats Chatham and Monomoy State Park out on the Cape though, sailing with the seals and sharks surrounded by sand bars is too cool.

It's finally getting nice up here... time to start getting the boat ready, maybe can get out by the end of the month with some foul weather gear.

Swaggabomb, I used the Dock Rd launch once, great location. I remember it was rocky, is there a sandy place to leave my boat while I park the car if I were launching solo?

The cape is great, we stay at a house near Lewis Bay but I think I'll spend a day in Chatham this year. Thanks

I have a Hobie 20 ( more common and cheaper ) I installed Hobie 18 magnum wings on. Huge leg room, when wings are out, you and opposite friends are at least 10 feet apart, feels like 12. Very fast and stable with the wings. Just an extra option.

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Tim Grover

Memphis, TN fleet 134
Hobie 20! G-Cat5.0 and 2 Hobie 14's
Photobucket now wants $100 to post pics on forums......... pass.

I was looking at options for adding wings to boats that dont offer them like the Hobie 20 or Inter 20. Can you post some pics of magnum wings on your 20? I really like the idea of having wings on a modern style catamaran.

This F16 for sale on beach cats has a super slick custom wing setup...
http://www.thebeachcats.com/classifieds/catamarans-for-sale/p14155-2013-falcon-f16-with-racing-package.html

anyone sail off Jennings Beach in Fairfield CT?

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2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

I am wanting to sail in your neighborhood this July 3rd @ the Statue of Liberty Marathon Fleet 250 Sandy Hook Bay. Will you come down and sail with us? Won't it be great to have several Hobie 21's participate together.

Also I may go to the Governor Cup Event on Lake Champlain Plattsburg, NY July 7th -10th.Since I will already be out east and I don't need to go home................

And I am interested in going to your area after that.

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Bill 404 21SE

I have both a 21SC and a H18 with SX wings (not SX mast).

The 21SC is a much heavier boat, and you can feel it. The 18 accelerates faster and sails faster in all directions. I don't have a genny on my 21SC, so I can't truthfully answer your downwind question, but I suspect even with the gennaker the 21SC would be outrun by an 18.

Do I miss the performance?
yes, so much so that I kept the 18.

The 21SC handles rough weather much better. It is a drier boat, it is easier to reef, easier to raise and lower sails, easier to sleep on. It is still fast enough to beat most H16's
Most importantly: the 21SC has a very large beer cooler.

In fair weather I have sailed with 11 people on the 21SC. It was surprisingly comfortable and dry.

Daredevil, I used to race 17s and my 21 SE is similarly very fast and responsive. I'm in Guilford and actually moor it in the Sound during the summer so I can get out quickly. Happy to bring you out for a spin so you can see for yourself.


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