Competing Catamaran Question

I know this is a Hobie site, but I have a question about a call I got tonight. A guy called me tonight about a boat he has for sale I have never heard of it before so I thought maybe someone here has. It is called a Playcat Escape 16 or 17 ( I can't remember which size). It is a at a powerboat dealership and they said they took it in on trade. They just want it gone cause it's taking up space. He said he would sell it to me cheap.

Is this boat even something I should consider, or should I stick with my quest for a H16?

Keep in mind I am brand new to sailing with little experience. I want something to learn on but I also want something that will challenge me as I improve.

Mike

I have seen some pictures of one of these. A friend of mine almost bought one instead of his 16.
They are a plastic boat I think, they look really simple to sail, plus they might have decent performance. I would say something just above the Wave but that is purely specualtion.

It looks like it could be a really fun boat for rec sailing!!

_________________
Nacra 5.2 "Elsies"
Hobie 14T, "Blazin" I guess I am keeping her!

I believe it has the rotomolded polythylene Hulls it has 125 square feet of sail area. Total weight is 225lbs. It doesn't come standard with trap lines but I guess I could add them. Is that possible? Does it have enough sail area to support 1 or 2 trap lines, if any.

This is some info i found on the web.

Polyethylene hull construction provides years of fun and reliance.
Protected inboard rudders for worry-free beach launching and landing.
Canted hulls offer increased stability and performance.
Extremely user-friendly layout with only two control lines!
Continuous and spacious trampoline with snag-free construction.
Fully-battened boom-less sail plan for solo or group thrills.
Two-piece, rotating mast and internal halyard.
Length: 16' 7" / 5.1m
All-Up Weight: 220lbs/99 kgs
Mast Height: 26 ft/7.9m
Performance Capacity: 750 lbs/ 340 kg

Here is more info I found.

The 16'7" Escape Playcat is about fun and affordability. This 100kg, user friendly beach catamaran can empower anyone to sail, fast, from kids to adults. The hulls are canted outward to add stability and the sailplan made simple by eliminating the boom and jib. The fully battened North Sails Mylar mainsail is beautifully shaped. Great feature too is the squarish balanced spade rudders tucked behind the protection of long shallow keel fins. There are no daggerboards or kick up rudders to mess with, making launching or beaching super easy. The no maintenance polyethylene hulls can handle dings from docks and rips from rocks and the 2 piece mast eases trailering and storage concerns.
Fast and easy to live with.

It is 2-7 years old I won't know till tommorow, but I can probably pick it up for $1,200 with trailer included.

Any more input???

Mike

I would say go for it, you could always do what so many cat sailors do, improvise. Add a jib, trap, you might have the new secret. Okay so probably not but it looks like a fun boat and for 1200, you can't go wrong.

You might look for some portsmouth ##'s on it. Then you could see how it compares to other boats.

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Nacra 5.2 "Elsies"
Hobie 14T, "Blazin" I guess I am keeping her!

I've never heard of that particular boat. But for the money, that sounds like a really good deal. I would definately make sure that parts are accessable for this boat. Things do break and/or need to be replaced every once in a while. I would make sure that your not buying yourself aggravation. That's one of the good things about the 16, parts are easily available and there are plenty of people that sail this boat, keeping production strong. Just some food for thought.
James

heck, the trailers worth some of that. It been in fresh water?

_________________
Island life in the Devil's Triangle:
http://2gringos.blogspot.com/

It looks like the portsmouth rating on the playcat is 84.4, compared to the Hobie 16's 76. I just looked at a website about the playcat. It looks like a pretty fun boat. Looks like a pretty simple design, which has its benefits. For the money I would say go for it, if it looks to be in good shape. You could always upgrade later.

84, isn't that what the 14 rates. Sounds like a fast fun and simple boat, and at that price, jump all over it.

_________________
Nacra 5.2 "Elsies"
Hobie 14T, "Blazin" I guess I am keeping her!

Might want to ready this article. It's a boat test from sailing world about the playcat.

http://www.sailingmagazine.net/boattest_playcat.html

looks like fun

Abbman,
Thanks for the article, it definately puts my mind a little more at ease. Is having a Portsmouth rating of 84 vs. 76 a huge difference in sailing circles?

Here is an email that I got from a guy in New Zealand, they seem to sell a lot of them.

It is possible to add a trapeze to these boats and they have enough
>> sailpower to do the wild thing if you so wish.
Trapeze is just a matter of hooking trapeze wire
on to hounds and running the shock cord through the chainplates. Have a
look at any other cat with a trapeze
>> They are not comparable to the Hobie 16 which is the technology from
>> many decades ago now. These are modern and built of modern materials
>> and are considerably more durable and user friendly then any Hobie,
>> or for that matter any conventional glass boat. The design too is
>> 21st century and more buoyant, therefore better load carrying then
>> Hobies and the like and more stable. I have yet to pitchpole one,
>> something I have done innumerable times in Hobies, Prindles etc.
>> Accordingly, although the H16 beats me in the light, I beat them in
>> the heavy going, even without a trapeze.
>> Worth noting too is these are more likely to be enjoyed by the
>> family's younger lighter members. The H16 really is an adult only
>> boat. Cheers

Any thoughts?

I'm really not sure of the difference between 84 and 76. I know that the lower the number is, suppposedly the faster the boat is. I believe that this is a system that is set up for assigning a handicap to boats during a race. I don't race, at least not yet anyway, I'm wanting that to be my next Hobie venture, so I can't really give you that great of an answer. Different boats perform differently in a variety of sailing angles, wind conditions, wave conditions, etc. It's really a matter of finding what is going to fit your sailing style the best. If you want to race, I'd be weary of this boat, the portsmouth site lists this boat in the inactive class category. But if not, this may be a great boat for you. Your gonna have a great time on most any cat. If you have kids that like this stuff too, the reduced chance of pitchpole indicated with this boat is a selling point. Plus, the roto-molded hulls seem to be pretty worry free, despite their looks.

Maybe some of you racing guys could help explain the portsmouth a bit better.

James

There is a difference between 84 and 76 but something that you have to take into account is that the 16's numbers were set by some really good sailors, some of which have been learning their boats for 30 years or more. This boat sounds like it could be a number beater, mean that if you get really good at sailing it, by the adjusted time you might be able to win.

Remember something very important, it is a beachcat, it will be fun!! IT looks very simple and sounds like it might perform okay.

I am very impressed with the people on this forum, no one has bashed him for asking about a different brand boat. I think that attitudes like this will help keep sailing alive.

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Nacra 5.2 "Elsies"
Hobie 14T, "Blazin" I guess I am keeping her!

I believe that the reviews on this boat are quite old. I have not seen the Playcat offered in the US for many years. I don't know much about them other than Escape went out of business and some of the product line is now produced by Johnson Outdoors. They don't offer the Playcat.

I would be cautious. I don't think an old trailer is worth $1,200 if the plastic hull fails.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Its a trash can with sails for gods sake. My Hobie 18 with trailer and sailbox was only 1000 a year ago. 1200 for a plastic boat that is no longer produced is crazy. No parts will be available, theres none to race against, won't be allowed at Hobie races, why bother? Find yourself a nice used glass cat and go have fun. And the trailer is worth 300 best case.

Thanks for all the input from everyone. It has really been helpful.

By the way has anyone ever sailed a windrider?