if you ever get the chance to take a ride on one of these....

[mainemike]

...take it! these are tons of fun and you can haul some serious ass. the "pitchpole" in the title refers to a boat mishap in which the bow(s) stuff in and the ass end comes a flying! up and ovuh. yes, it can be just like a catapault and yes you can launch.

[Badonkadonk]

out of curiosity how does the speed / fun factor compare to high performance monohull dinghies? i was thinking about getting a laser to mess around with in the summer - as a non-sailor i always always understood that "serious" (stodgy?) sailors looked down on cats in general and hobie boats in particular. is that right? a 49er looks ridiculous but i'm not man enough.

[mainemike]

out of curiosity how does the speed / fun factor compare to high performance monohull dinghies? i was thinking about getting a laser to mess around with in the summer - as a non-sailor i always always understood that "serious" (stodgy?) sailors looked down on cats in general and hobie boats in particular. is that right? a 49er looks ridiculous but i'm not man enough.

lasers are fast and fun, but not as fast as a hobie cat. personally i'd choose a hobie over a laser because of the speed and excitement and versatility. when you get up on 1 hull its quite the rush and their fun to float around on and lounge comfortably on the trampoline, sit in the sun, bring a few folks, etc...don't get me wrong, lasers/dinghies are tons of fun as well. if yer gonna be solo most of the time i'd say a dinghy is the way to go, which is not to say you can't learn to handle a cat solo. i think the sentiment yer referencing is maybe still prevalent here and there. for example in the america's cup- i don't want to see multis, but thats big league old school big money sailing, a world unto itself and so far from you and me it doesn't matter. any modern sailor looking down on multis, well, they are ignoring the fun and really the performance factor as well. when i raced, some of the multis were pretty odd/weird and i can see how some folks would give them a down look. but then when a performance multi comes blowing by you like its got a gas pedal, well, thats a different look! hobies are fun, exciting, laugh inducing, well built, inexpensive, easy to find parts-hell, i've seen decent hobies for free. 49'ers are another world. these require serious sailing skills and they run spinnakers, etc. you can launch a 49er right out of the water based on speed alone, hitting a wave correctly. a 49er is reallyan"extreme" dinghy and the best 49er sailors are very athletic, quick, agile and generally australian! guys. my recco: get the hobie and sail the hell our of it. few things are more fun then getting her way way up on 1 hull like yer about to go over and laughing w/yer buddy cuz yer scared shitless and going mach 2!

[Badonkadonk]

49ers look re-tah-ded awesome, but yes, a bit much.

the hobie thing does look fun. i don't mean to badger you for knowledge i can probably get elsewhere, but the essence of the cat looks to be out on the trapeze with one hull well out - - isn't that a somewhat advanced maneuver, all the more if you're in somewhat busy water (long island sound) - is it a thing that you can start without and then graduate into? is it easier than it looks? do i have to stop playing around with bikes and actually take some lessons? with a dinghy i have no doubt i'd just go out and figure it all out for myself, drawing on my limited teenage experiences, but with a cat and a trap it looks a little hairier.

[mainemike]

49ers look re-tah-ded awesome, but yes, a bit much.

the hobie thing does look fun. i don't mean to badger you for knowledge i can probably get elsewhere, but the essence of the cat looks to be out on the trapeze with one hull well out - - isn't that a somewhat advanced maneuver, all the more if you're in somewhat busy water (long island sound) - is it a thing that you can start without and then graduate into? is it easier than it looks? do i have to stop playing around with bikes and actually take some lessons? with a dinghy i have no doubt i'd just go out and figure it all out for myself, drawing on my limited teenage experiences, but with a cat and a trap it looks a little hairier.

i think lessons are a great idea particularly if yer home waters are bz. there are some technical aspects (points of sail, wind direction,reaching, pointing, downwind etc...lessons will make that stuff part of yer vocabulary/habit) that will come in handy and a few lessons will give you the confidence to maneuver in bz waters. really, it will enhance yer enjoyment and cut down on the frustration factor. ex: ok i'm done sailing-how do i get back to the beach/dock?! a coast guard course isn't a bad idea either, safety and rules-of-the-road. you can sail a cat nice and flat no problem. you can work yer way up to the trapeze. even on yer own and with time and practice, you will see that the trapeze is a natural progression and you won't be over yer head, you'll step right to it. also: you could more than likely post an ad on craigslist or a note on a local bulletin board or two: "i have a hobie cat and need some lessons, beer is on me"! or similar. you'll get it easily enough and i'd wager that yer overall enjoyment/excitement/adrenaline factor will be exponentially higher on a cat. find a buddy, practice, put the time in, learn the boat, get competent solo, etc...and by august you should be ripping it up. then when those nice september/october winds come in, you'll be calling yer buddy telling him its blowing like snot lets hit it! taking hobies into the surf is ball as well, you'll get there!