25.5kts, so slow.

Select to expand quote

John340 said..
25.5kts, so slow.

maybe but it doesn't feel slow, not on the Hobie 16, which likes to pitchpole (even if vassiliki is a flat water spot). ( bigger smoother cats, like the tornado are rapid but feel slow)
Powered up on a 16 twin wiring with a mate ( or a customer) doing 25 knots feels like doing 35+ on a windsurfer and its fun.

Select to expand quote

sheddweller said..

John340 said..
25.5kts, so slow.

maybe but it doesn't feel slow, not on the Hobie 16, which likes to pitchpole (even if vassiliki is a flat water spot). ( bigger smoother cats, like the tornado are rapid but feel slow)
Powered up on a 16 twin wiring with a mate ( or a customer) doing 25 knots feels like doing 35+ on a windsurfer and its fun.

damn straight!!

i worked at a sailing school for a few years when young and sailing cats in winds above 25 knots is next level. everything feels like it's going to explode.

The only time I sailed a cat was in Fiji . It was a sold 10 kts. I was sooo very drunk and convinced my mate it was a good idea. He was also spastic , so we were perfectly ready to go . It was dreamy at the time . Cos Im windsurfer , I gots all the skills . It was a good idea . It was so much fun that we headed towards the mini surf. Hanging off the side of a boat is fun , even in light wind . It was easier than i thought . The angles , especially upwind , defied my drunk knowledge. That's when the hire dood in the rescue boat got angry and told us to go back . Apparently we're not meant to go in surf . Its way past the danger zone we accidentally ignored . Party pooper. I'm sure we were not the first.
Makes me think , apart from windsurfers , is there any sailing craft that plays in surf ?

Yes cats

Select to expand quote

Imax1 said..
Makes me think , apart from windsurfers , is there any sailing craft that plays in surf ?

"Play" maybe

Select to expand quote

Gestalt said..

sheddweller said..

John340 said..
25.5kts, so slow.

maybe but it doesn't feel slow, not on the Hobie 16, which likes to pitchpole (even if vassiliki is a flat water spot). ( bigger smoother cats, like the tornado are rapid but feel slow)
Powered up on a 16 twin wiring with a mate ( or a customer) doing 25 knots feels like doing 35+ on a windsurfer and its fun.

damn straight!!

i worked at a sailing school for a few years when young and sailing cats in winds above 25 knots is next level. everything feels like it's going to explode.

Because it is.
I've sailed off the beach cats at various times over the years, like the Hobie, and they don't cope well at all in higher wind strengths/ heavier conditions. Everything starts to flex unnaturally, especially when the hulls start loading up under the stress coming from all sorts of different angles. The connection points are generally flimsy where the tramp frame connects with the hulls.


I've chatted with someone who races a better built cat class, and he pretty much said 30knots of breeze is really pushing the limits of what they can cope with. If it's pushing up there, they generally crack the beers instead.

You can get away with more wind In vassiliki because the water state isnt rough. The wind comes straight off a hillside so you don't have any fetch.
30 knots wind is perfectly doable for a wildwind instructor.
Instructors at places like vass will have very very good boat handling skills specific to their location.

Select to expand quote

sheddweller said..

John340 said..
25.5kts, so slow.

maybe but it doesn't feel slow, not on the Hobie 16, which likes to pitchpole (even if vassiliki is a flat water spot). ( bigger smoother cats, like the tornado are rapid but feel slow)
Powered up on a 16 twin wiring with a mate ( or a customer) doing 25 knots feels like doing 35+ on a windsurfer and its fun.

"Doing 25 knots"

You must be kidding yourself. GPS tracks or it didn't happen.

Seriously though, I have chased a few Hobie 16's on flat water, very, very well powered up, 2 up on trapeze, where the owners thought they were about to explode, and I was clocking them at 16-18 knots max. Sure, 20+ is possible, as the guys in the video showed, but everything has to line up perfectly. Like doing 40 on a windsurfer. It would feel very edgy!!

Now if you want to go really fast in a Hobie, you need one of these:



I have sat in the back of one at Sandy Point on barely 15 knots of wind and read out a peak of 32 knots from the GT-31 immediately before Mal Wright threw it into a gybe!! I thought the boat was going to break apart from the gybe G force!!

And the weird things was, we fell off the foils going back upwind as there was so little wind! I wish I had a GoPro on that day.

edit: I still have the Trifoiler, but the trailer has disintegrated from rust. Hoping to get it going again soon, but need to build a new trailer to get it to the water.

Edit2: Pictures to show it happened:

Rigging January 2006, Owner Malcolm Wright. At Sandy Point, Victoria, Australia.


Rigged and ready.


8-10 knots of breeze - not enough to foil.


Almost foiling


Wind now close - 12-15 knots - Two up, Andrew and Mal


Starting to foil!


Foiling!!


On the speed run at over 30 knots!!


Previous photo blow up




Trying to get back upwind off the foils.


Same Photo blown up:



Still trying to fin the GPS track in old hard drives and folders.

Used to race a Hobie 18 with a mate....awesome fun especially when it was crankin....

Select to expand quote

sailquik said..

sheddweller said..

John340 said..
25.5kts, so slow.

maybe but it doesn't feel slow, not on the Hobie 16, which likes to pitchpole (even if vassiliki is a flat water spot). ( bigger smoother cats, like the tornado are rapid but feel slow)
Powered up on a 16 twin wiring with a mate ( or a customer) doing 25 knots feels like doing 35+ on a windsurfer and its fun.

"Doing 25 knots"

You must be kidding yourself. GPS tracks or it didn't happen.

Seriously though, I have chased a few Hobie 16's on flat water, very, very well powered up, 2 up on trapeze, where the owners thought they were about to explode, and I was clocking them at 16-18 knots max. Sure, 20+ is possible, as the guys in the video showed, but everything has to line up perfectly. Like doing 40 on a windsurfer. It would feel very edgy!!

You are probably correct.
But if you are going to do 25 knots in a 16, vassiliki is the place for it, both in terms of conditions ( you feel safe pushing) and the instructors strong wind skills( it's windy often and instructors strong wind boat handling tends to be well above normal)

Select to expand quote

sheddweller said..
You are probably correct.
But if you are going to do 25 knots in a 16, vassiliki is the place for it, both in terms of conditions ( you feel safe pushing) and the instructors strong wind skills( it's windy often and instructors strong wind boat handling tends to be well above normal)