Hobie Cat Forums

Saw this on eBay: http://bit.ly/RywzPz

I can't imagine that it would provide much more flotation than a well sealed mast.

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-Zach
Hobie 16 for sale
West Lafayette, IN (school)
Melbourne, FL (summer)

If it's installed inside the mast, then it provides zero additional floatation over a sealed mast tube. Adding something inside a sealed item does not affect that item's displacement.

Maybe they assume the person that buys it doesn't have a sealed mast.

If I'm reading the instructions right, combined with all the screws, it's attached along the tip of the mast on the outside. Looking at the instructions, I can see why Hobie discontinued it.

Fay's is the nearest Hobie dealership to me, and has been incredibly helpful. My guess is they're clearing out their attic and getting rid of some discontinued stuff. When I was up there a couple of weeks ago buying a Baby Bob, the guy did not suggest this to me.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

I've seen this in person installed on a mast. Its on the outside of the comptip and low-profile = low windage and looks much better than a bob. According to Rick at Midwest Sailing it works quite well.

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Jeff R
'88 H18 "Jolly Mon"
Sail Michigan's Great Lakes in 2013
cramsailing.com

If it's on the outside, then it would add to the mast displacement, not duplicate it.

I've often wondered if an interior CO2 type balloon could be deployed and inflated only when needed. Seems that this would be a real boon to sailors, although I suspect the ability to only have one available at a time might be the downfall of it. Some guys capsize several times in an afternoon.

I believe that is a Midwest product, so makes sense. The padding flotation is only fully effective when the boat is nearly turtled. The surface area blocks the flow of air across the sail. It is also a MUCH larger surface area than the baby bob.

The padding one works ok. Bob just works MUCH better.

Bob is Aerodynamic
Bob presents less surface area than most human heads... and is more aerodynamic for sure.
Bob is positioned to keep the mast above water as best as possible.
Bob... looks aren't everything!

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Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Hobie Cat USA

Not having tried this particular one out, I can't say either way. Relative theoretical affects of mass up top, windage, etc. can be complicated - It's been a while since I've used my calculus, so I'll defer to those with more experience than I

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Jeff R
'88 H18 "Jolly Mon"
Sail Michigan's Great Lakes in 2013
cramsailing.com

Bob reminds me of Lance Armstrong's helmet so, despite USADA, I vote for Bob!

IMO, drilling pilot holes and then putting screws in the tip of a mast is, ah, not cool... On the other hand, my wife says not cool on turtling. To quote: "You have this $10K boat and it can invert in the water, right? When it does it can damage the mast and sails that cost $2k and up and you say the replacement mast would be a nightmare to ship, right? And someone designed a boat without something to keep this from happening? Now what's smart about that..."

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Wave
FX-1
Do you want me to tell you for the 1,000,001 time! The Wave...

This one is inflated automatically, like a PDF and is hoisted not screwed into the mast. I guess it could even be hoisted AFTER you capsized, if you don't want it permanently in the mast.

Its much smaller than the foam thingie , but much more expensive (but what's a life worth nowadays?)

PS: How many would they need on Oracle AC72 ?

http://www.secumar.com/secumar/php/main ... ukte&id=77

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Poul
FxOne 165

I'd Rather Regret The Things I Did, Than The Things I Didn't

The flotation device was on a 16 I bought used and it did a good job keeping the boat from turtling, but when wet it added weight to the end of the mast and made righting a bit more difficult. It is screwed to the comptip. I used it for a couple years and took it off because of the difficulty righting the boat and the first capsize turned into a turtle, but at least it was easier to right.

The boat turtled only once again but then mysteriously didn't do it again.

I don't see what anyone has against the bob except it is not class legal for racing. Anything that gives you more confidence to fly hulls and otherwise sail on the edge is okay in my book.

I have been using a baby bob on my 1982 H16 for years and am not embarassed about it.

Since I solo most of the time, I don't want to turtle if I can help it since the top of the mast may end up hitting the bottom and get either bent or stuck in the mud/sand. Baby bob also keeps the top of the mast higher out of the water after a capsize and therefore makes it easier to upright.

Even in a pitchpole, the baby bob helps to keep the boat from turtling since the boat usually ends up on it's side.

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Tim
82' H16
Sail # 88863
Panama City Beach, FL

Three of the H16 sailors in my club, who had suffered damage from turtles in the past, went out and bought Baby Bobs as soon as they saw my Wave.

I've even had monohull sailors ask me about it. Our lake is quite shallow in spots, and you can find several kinked masts around the club.

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What - Me Worry?


2006 Hobie Wave
"Humuhumunukunukuapua'a"

Matt, I noticed that the Hobie 16 in the picture is using a Baby Bob. Would a Baby Bob work on a Getaway or is it too small?

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Practice makes perfect, so be careful what you practice...