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PostPosted: Mon Aug 11, 2008 5:42 am 
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Joined: Fri Aug 08, 2008 7:56 am
Posts: 25
Location: New Palestine (Indianapolis), IN
For many years I've had the pleasure of sailing 16's, 17 sports, and 18's, but with a wife & 4 kids, I am in need of more space. Does anyone out there have a good feel for how much performance I would be giving up going to an SC? The specs from the Hobie website indicate a lower sail area to weight ratio, but I am wondering if that can be overcome by the optional genaker kit. With this larger boat, I would definitely need an alternate power source, which is why I like the SC, but I am wondering if I would be more satisfied with an SE and adding a motr mount myself. Any thoughts??? Usual sailing locations for me are inland lakes, with an occaisional trip to lake Michigan or the Gulf of Mexico.


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 14, 2008 8:11 am 
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Joined: Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:34 am
Posts: 267
Location: Banana River , Fl
While you can fly a hull with the SC, it's not the fastest cat out there, nor is it the slowest. You will feel like you're flying along until you have a faster "race" boat pass you like you're sitting still.

Compared to a 16 I don't think you'd be giving up any performance per se, and actually may gain some. Compared to an Fx or an SE, there would be no comparison. The SE has an 85 sq. ft. delta in sail size, if I remember correctly. This didn't seem to be that much to me, until I looked at it another way and figured out that for the SE, that amounts to about a 30% increase over the SC. Looking at the SC mast, if you really wanted to go to the expense, you could have a bigger main sail cut (longer luff) and a square top. You'd loose the capability to furl the sail though for about 20 sq. ft. of sail area gain. I don't know if it'd be worth it.
The weight reduction by removing the cabin seems to help out a bit with the performance.

I have to say though, the cabin storage, a place to secure a large cooler, and having all of that tramp area is really nice when you have several people on board...if you can only keep them off the control lines....

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PostPosted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:31 am 
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Joined: Fri Aug 08, 2008 7:56 am
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Location: New Palestine (Indianapolis), IN
Rockets:

I appreciate the perspective. I think I would get alot of mileage out of the extras like storage, engine mount, and furing main. Maybe I'm getting old, but I would probably trade some speed for those things.

Sounds like you own an SC. I have never personally seen one, just brochure photos. It appears the main "furls" around the boom. Is that correct? I know some larger boats have mains that furl inside the mast. Is the furling a 3 handed job? The brochure state reefable main as well. Does that actally mean partially furled?

Thanks for the insight. I think when I find the right boat at the right price I will own one. Hopefully that will be soon!


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 9:48 am 
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Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 10:25 am
Posts: 4176
Location: Jersey Shore
If I remember correctly, the mainsail is furled around the boom to store excess sail material when you reef it. So, if you're familiar with the way the old Hobie 16's would reef, the 21SC uses a similar system. The main halyard has a second "slug" on it that allow you to run the sail lower down the mast. Then there is a crank that allows you to rotate the boom to wrap the excess sail material around the boom for sailing when reefed, so you don't have the flopping extra material to deal with. I assume you could also roll the entire sail around the boom for storage.

You can also roller furl the jib, so you can really reduce a lot of sail area on that boat.

sm


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PostPosted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 1:38 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 27, 2003 12:44 pm
Posts: 15021
Location: Oceanside, California
The 21SC is faster than other cats in a couple of situations...

Lots of load / crew. The 21SC handles crew better due to the larger hulls. I recall sailing at a Hobie regatta years ago (demo day for the 21SC) and with 6 people on the 21SC we could sail pretty well against H18s. Lower / slower, yes, but not that much. Try 6 on an 18!

Lots of wind. The smaller sails and larger hulls make heavy air sailing a blast.

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PostPosted: Mon Aug 18, 2008 2:55 pm 
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Joined: Sun Sep 17, 2006 9:34 am
Posts: 267
Location: Banana River , Fl
I got spanked really bad a few weeks back by a smaller boat. There were several factors involved such as his boat had nearly the same sail area as my SC, but I out weighed him by 300 pounds, plus I had at least another 300 # in crew weight that he did not have. The biggest factor though were and are my novice sailing abilities. :( It was only blowing 10 to 15 but all you could see from him was sea spray as his windward hull would kiss the water.

As far as the boat, everything furls. The main, the jib, and the Jennaker if you have one. I don't know about a second slug on the halyard...I don't have one on mine. The main sail has a few additional cringles in which one can depower the sail by reefing as described by another poster and inserting the downhaul into the cringles to pull the slack out.

Matt is on target about the room. Six people can be aboard and not be sitting in each others laps. It's a great boat really, for what it is.

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 7:17 am 
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Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2005 3:08 pm
Posts: 199
Location: Massachusetts
I have an SE that I have modified for day sailing. The SE is definitely a very different boat. The sail area as mentioned but the expanding crossbars are a big deal. They add some 18" of beam to the boat, and beam in a cat is very important. Having to expand the boat on setup from the trailer means more time and more things that need maintaining, especially an expanding trailer.
I cut larger bomar hatches (about 9" x 13") in the hulls big enough to stuff beach chairs, a table, wetsuits, small coolers, gas can, drybags full of beach stuff, etc. I had the mainsail made with a single reef point. I also got a cheetah motor mount welded onto the rear crossbar, I use a 2 hp Honda, it's great in tight harbor situations and when we're way out and becalmed. She'll do a solid six knots at 3/4 throttle.
The SE will most likely need a lot more maintaining than the SC with more rigging etc. It does not have the roller furling main, I'd like to add that feature but I like the masthead hook so I'm not sure how well they will work together.
It just depends on how important performance is to you, and how you view maintenance work. You'll probably like either one.


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