Hobie Cat Forums

Hello All

I need some advice, I would like to add a spinnaker\gennaker to my Hobie 16.

I see that Hobie Europe sells both a spinnaker with snuffer and a gennaker on a roller furler.

Is this essentially the same sail but with different stowing methods?

If so, which one would you recommend and why?

Thanks in advance.

Derek

Here's a link to Hobie USA's Fall 2012 Sailing Accessories catalog, http://static.hobiecat.com/digital_asse ... Fall12.pdf. Scroll down to page 17 of the catalog and you'll find the H16 spinnaker kit. You'll have to order it through a Hobie dealer. Mariner Sails, the Dallas Hobie dealer, offers great customer service, has a large parts inventory, and will ship anywhere, http://www.mariner-sails.com/.

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Mark Van Doren
Division 9 Chairman
H20 #647
H14 #47787
H16 #112205

As far as I know the furling spinnaker is only offered in Europe. I recently talked to one dealer overseas and the gennakers in both systems (snuffer and furler) are very similar in design saved for some minor changes to ensure the functioning of the furler. He did mention, however, that the customer who ordered one furling system experienced some issues with the swivel. Maybe the folks in Oceanside can provide more info.
My wild guess is that the furling system must more economical than the snuffer system; the snuffer alone is over US$400. In addition, assuming the system is well designed (and I would not expect otherwise from Hobie), the launching and retrieval must be very easy with the furler compared to the snuffer.
I do have a spinnaker and I do recommend it. It has been received with skepticism here in the US but it really is a fun addition to the boat. If I were in your situation, I would really research the furling option. I would say the best people to help you are Matt Miller or Jaques Bernier. By the way, Hobie Cat USA now owns its European sister company, so Oceanside must be very aware of what is happening in Europe.
If you find any additional information, please do not hesitate to share it.

Best regards

I've been following this more current thread on spinnaker installation (http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=14&t=47632) and was wondering if it's possible to have the spinnaker/gennaker on a roller furler? I had also seen somewhere that it was possible, but certainly doesn't seem to be the norm even though it would seem like a more simple and elegant solution?

Matt, do you have any insight into this?

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2011 H16... Have a Hobie Day!
1983 H14 Turbo...