Cruise converting a Hobie 18 catamaran

[jag]

Hi, for a while I've been thinking of going cruising with my Hobie 18. Now
a stock 18 isn't exactly something you associate with long term cruising.
First you would have to figure out how to actually transport anything
else than yourself and your crew on it.

The trouble is that although there is plenty of room in the hulls, I don't
see a way of making a big hole in it without affecting the strength of
the hull. My plan is to primary use the hulls for heavy but small items.
To keep the things dry down there, and within reach I'm trying to design
a small box-like thing, that can be folded like a flask ship, and then
unfolded inside the hull, under the access port.

Light and bulky things (ie clothes, sleeping bags) I'll put in canoe-style
drybags and strap to the hulls, forward of the mast.

The other thing I'd like to add is a mesh tramp in front of the mast.
This shouldn't be to hard to fix, if I could only find a suitable mesh
material to make it from. I haven't seen front tramps commercially availible
for the 18, although it wouldn't surprise me if they were.

Does anybody have any suggestions of where to get a suitable mesh material?
Is a net like this used for any other purposes than making catamaran tramps of?

A more long term goal is to get a storage box across the hulls, just in front
of the mast. I've heard rumors of Hobie 16 sailors having something like
this, but no more than rumors.

Any comments from other people going cruising or planning to in a small
catamaran would be greatly appreciated.

Of course the Hobie 21 sport cruiser has all of this, but I don't have one
of those :(

Cheers
Martin
--
Martin Jagersand
Computer Science
U. of Rochester

[Jeffrey C Tsai]

jag (j...@cs.rochester.edu) wrote:

: Hi, for a while I've been thinking of going cruising with my Hobie 18. Now

: a stock 18 isn't exactly something you associate with long term cruising.
: First you would have to figure out how to actually transport anything
: else than yourself and your crew on it.

Martin, few years back when I was in Hobie catting, I recalled seeing
a video tape about two Hobie 18s crusing around Alaska. They had
mesh like storage back secured on the tramp behind the mast widthwise.

I wish I have better memory to give you more specifc information. Any
one on the net recalled this documentary?

ps. You may want to try to contact HotLine (Hobie's news magazine).

Good luck.

Jeff Tsai

[Bill Waggener, 5131]

Martin Jagersand (j...@cs.rochester.edu (jag)) writes:
>Hi, for a while I've been thinking of going cruising with my Hobie 18. Now
>a stock 18 isn't exactly something you associate with long term cruising.
>First you would have to figure out how to actually transport anything
>else than yourself and your crew on it.

While not a cat sailor myself, you might find some good ideas in a National
Geographic article maybe 2-3 years ago about two guys who sailed the
Northwest Passage in a pretty stock Hobie 18 with wings. A good idea
they had was to use a backpacking dome tent set up on the main tramp
so they didn't have to hassle with a boom rigged tent. As I recall
they sat out some pretty severe weather inside that tent, and I think
even had a "close encounter" with a polar bear.

Hope that helps, let us know what other small boat cruising ideas
or tricks that you may find.

Bill

[Bart Eleveld]

In article <1993Dec20.1...@ncsu.edu> ts...@unity.cc.edu (Jeffrey C Tsai) writes:
>From: ts...@unity.cc.edu (Jeffrey C Tsai)
>Subject: Re: Cruise converting a Hobie 18 catamaran
>Date: Mon, 20 Dec 1993 19:47:16 GMT

I think the cruise reported on here was an attempt at travelling the
Northwest Passage. It was reported in National Geographic Magazine, and I
have some recollections of seeing segments on it on the cable (National
Geographic Reporter, I think). There may also have been a regular National
Geographic Special on PBS too. In any case, I'd check an index on NG at the
library.
Bart Eleveld
Oregon State University Agricultural and Resource Economics Dept.
Address: Ballard Extension Hall 213, Corvallis, Oregon 97331-3601
Phone: 503-737-2942 (department), 503-737-1409 (Eleveld)
Fax: 503-737-2563
E-Mail: elev...@ccmail.orst.edu

[Robert J Dunki-Jacobs]

About two or three years back in the NOV/DEC issue of Hobie Hotline
there was a very nice article about two fearless souls who sailed from
the Atlantic to the Pacific via latitudes at or above the Artic circle
on a Hobie 18. You might want to read about it to see what they
learned.

I don't recall many of the details at this point but recall being
impressed by their accomplishment and the many close encounteres with
nature that they experienced.

-dj
H17 4421

[David C Shear]

--
The Hobie Hotline has 2 articles about converted 18s used for long cruises:

1) Nortwest passage ( similiar to National Geographic article, same voyage)
complete over a number of years. 1st time ever completed!!

2) Trans-Atlantic voyage completed a few years ago by two Frenchmen (I
think). They completed voyage, but had major problems!.

The Hotline also carries info sparadoicly on Hobie Cat cruising and equipment.

Also refer to equipment lists used by these 2 long-distance catamaran races:
New England 100 race (July)
Down the (Chesepeake) Bay race (May/June)

All of these will be a good source of info on cruising and necessary eqipument.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
David C. Shear
Information Systems Operation, Systems Analyst
GE Corporate Research & Development Center, Schenectady, N.Y.
sh...@crd.ge.com

Hobie 18 "Halloween" Sail# 10/31
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[Hanners]

In rec.boats, j...@cs.rochester.edu (jag) writes:
>Hi, for a while I've been thinking of going cruising with my Hobie 18. Now
>a stock 18 isn't exactly something you associate with long term cruising.
>First you would have to figure out how to actually transport anything
>else than yourself and your crew on it.

Back in the 50's, my brother and I did the same a few times in our 17'
Thistle-- even brought our scubas along. Some of the best times of my
life. But a Hobie? Man, that's accomodations like the Hanoi Hilton.

I don't know where you're planning to cruise, but by "cruising", I presume
you're planning a fair amount of open water. If so, I would think that
you'd be better off keeping everything up on the tramp. First, unless
you really cut your stores to a few backpack-sized basics, the weight
is going to slow you down and set you lower in the water (and you'll
be prayin' for a monohull). Anything lashed to the hulls is going to
be under water half the time-- and slowing you even more. Heavy weather's
going to take on new proportions.

I wouldn't even consider going into the hulls. If it's small enough
to go through a watertight opening, it's not too big for the tramp.
If it's too big for the small pile on the tramp, it'll be too big to
take at all. Take a tarp that you can rig for a spray shield... and,
earlier poster's remarks notwithstanding, do this when and where it's
WARM. :-)

-- Bob

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Robert J. Hanners Carderock Division
han...@oasys.dt.navy.mil Naval Surface Warfare Center
-the dry dB game- Annapolis, Maryland