What do you Tow with?

I know, its overkill, but I pull my 18SX with a 2003 Ford Excursion, 7.3 turbodiesel. 4x4, 6"lift kit, 35"tires. It is hot rodded with 465 horsepower, 875# torque. Believe it or not, this 9000# truck gets 22mpg on the highway, 20mpg pulling the Hobie! It can carry 8 people and ALL my sailing gear.http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n251 ... -07003.jpg

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Have a Hobie Day!
1989 Hobie 18-SE with SX wings.
Harken 7:1, Plum Crazy sail scheme.

I do not believe you about the 22mpg, maybe at 45mph, but there is no way the rig you just described could do that well.

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

Your 4-cylinder car will work fine. Stay out of the mountains if possible and keep your speed down.
I towed my old H18 from Sacramento,CA to Canada behind an '84 Dodge Daytona (4 cyl). 60 mph all the way.
I just pulled my Tiger up to Canada from Seattle behind the 2002 VW Jetta 1.9L turbo-diesel. Some small hills, and doing the speed limit or better the whole way.

Keep up with your oil changes and maintanance. Plan your stops/starts to make life easier on your drive train and brakes.

The biggest downside is that the tow vehicles are smaller in width than the boat. I've got to watch the turns...

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2003 Tiger - Don Atchley

Diesel is the only way to go. I don't doubt 22 mpg, having a chip makes that even easier. It's more stream lined than my pick up and I can do that fairly easily. Except pulling the boat, my milage plummets, I think its the aerodynamics.

As of this afternoon I will be towing with my brand new GMC Canyon 3.7Litre !!!

Not looking forward to putting the gas in it

D'oh! I didn't realize that I did not have my profile filled in. That explains some of the confusion. I live in Tulsa (28th and Harvard) and am now a member of Hobie Fleet 25. So I'll be splashin' around the many reservoirs in Eastern Oklahoma (primary reason I bought the boat).

Banzilla:

I'm sure I will be out that way at some point. I hear whispers that there are some incredibly pretty reservoirs near (near is a relative term West of Oklahoma City) Albuquerque. If nothing else we can get together for a beer and something surely smothered in green chilli.

btw: Do you happen to work for Intel? You live in Albuquerque and mention moving to San Diego... just kinda fits.

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Proud new owner of a 1991 Hobie 18.

I pull my h16 with an 86 jeep comanche... but I only have to do that 2 times a year cause I rent dock-space.

A beer and Green chilli even!!!

No I do not work for Intel, thank god, they just laid off close to 2000 people.

I am in IT tho. I manage the system for an architect firm here. I have been to SD a few time, twice back in the 70's and twice in the recent past (5 years or so ago) with my family.

Love the place, my heart acks every time I think about it.

We do have a few Nice lakes around, the 2 best are about 2.5 hours away, one fairly small with very shifty really crazzyyyyyyy winds that I can be on the water in about 1.5 hours from the time I leave the house.

Just let me know when your here and we can hook up. Check our sailing schedule at www.hobiefleet48.org and time your trip around one of the events.

Sam

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Sail Like you Have a Pair
Bluish gray 73 - 83 H16
Super Nice Yellow 84 H18

Just weighed it:

Boat
Trailer
Cat Trax
Cat Box (filled with extra sails, extra rudders, harnesses, tools, etc.)

GRAND TOTAL:
1500 pounds. EVEN.


The trailer has full size tires and even little leaf springs. Good for the integrity of the trailer, hard on the weight apparently.

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Proud new owner of a 1991 Hobie 18.

I like my Jeep for getting on and off the beach, especially when the water is low and the "beach" is muddy.

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2005 Hobie 16 - Ventura Nationals Boat #21
http://www.JackieandAlan.com

Cannon_Fodder,

I am located in Norman, ok, if you are ever down this way you should come go for a sail.

Actually, next weekend the local club is having a race and has invited our catsailors to come race with them. We would love to make a good showing with a good number of catamarans. It would be really cool if you wanted to drive down and race with us on Sunday.

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

Well I don't actually tow my Hobie, because I am pulling a 7000 lb travel trailer and my Hobie Wave sits on the roof of my v 10 Excursion. I get about 10 mpg driving at 65 and 8.5 when bumped up to 75/80. Its great to pull into a beach campsite unpack the Hobie and have a week of sailing with your "house" a few feet away

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There's no motor?

The best 4x4xfar........2000 Land Rover Discovery pulls our new Getaway.
No problem up and down slopes, especially our 20-30 degree inlined driveway!

I tow my H18 with a Honda Accord 4 cylinder manual five speed tranny. No problem at all. I bought the boat last summer and drove it 10 hours home from the sellers house in the USA to mine in Canada. I had the cruise control set for about 65 or 7o MPH most of the way.

In the past I have towed a Prindle 16 from Canada to Florida and back (twice) with a little 4 cylinder 1.6 liter Fiat with manual tranny. Again no problem at about 60 or 65 MPH all the way.

I gather all this O/D and tranny problem you folks are talking about is with automatic transmissions??

the only thing to watch out for with the manual tranny is glazing your clutch. Some people like to let the clutch slip when they are going on and off the boat ramps. This will severely shorten the life of your friction plate.

BTW I tow my '82 H18 and all my gear with a 1.8T Passat, 5 sp manual

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Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO