Hobie 16

BoatsHobie 16

See her sail

The Hobie 16, on the water

The fleet's own footage — the truest look at how she really moves.

What the fleet has seen

The Hobie 16, as the fleet has seen it

Derived from the videos the fleet has analysed of this model. ▶ marks open the moment aboard.

The Hobie 16 is a 5.0-meter fractional sloop catamaran designed by Hobie Alter, built by Coast Catamaran Corp., Coleman Industries, and Hobie Cat, and has been in continuous production since 1969. It is the most popular sailing catamaran ever built, known for its rotating spar rig and asymmetrical hulls without daggerboards. Aboard Igor Stropnik's Hobie 16, a solo sailor navigated around Nordkapp, Norway, at 71 degrees north latitude, managing unpredictable Arctic wind shifts and strong gusts by frequently reefing the mainsail and using a custom gennaker pole for light winds.watch This same sailor also transited 400 kilometers from Mofocone, Italy, to Murter, Croatia, over five days, utilizing a 15-square-meter gennaker with the standard 20-square-meter mainsail and jib to maintain speed in light winds.watch The rig was modified with two additional reefs by Supreme Sails for heavy weather, and the sailor used a custom "ypsilon" rope bridle for anchoring.25:16 The boat's 0.2-meter draft is reported with rudders up, facilitating beaching for overnight stops to avoid damage from rocks and changing tides.14:49

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen 7 times across 4 channels of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the water

The Hobie 16 on video

Sailing around Nordkapp on Hobie 16 CatamaranA solo sailor navigates a 40-year-old Hobie 16 catamaran around the Arctic waters of Nordkapp, Norway.Igor Stropnik

MASSIVE STORM hits Sailboat Race in Mobile Alabama - Ep 304 - Lady K SailingThe 2015 Dauphin Island Regatta on Mobile Bay turned catastrophic when participants attempted to outrun severe storms.Lady K Sailing

We Crashed the Hobie 16 and the Laser!! Ep 286 - Lady K SailingA Hobie 16 and a Laser capsize in high winds, highlighting the importance of proper rigging maintenance.Lady K Sailing

Cheap Sailboat Has So Many Problems - Ep 285 - Lady K SailingMaintenance on a $500 Hobie Cat 16 trailer includes replacing tires, installing submersible lights, and upgrading the coupler.Lady K Sailing

EP#368 Guest Appearance on the Really Riveting Podcast with LexyJerome Rand explains how the team-building mantra "juicing" improves service quality and personal engagement on sailing charters.Sailing Into Oblivion

EASY YouTube HOW TO MAKE SAILING VIDEOS - Ep 339 - Lady K SailingA professional sailing YouTuber details the workflow of scriptwriting, teleprompter use, and Adobe Premiere Pro editing.Lady K Sailing

Hobie Cat FX One, Sailing 14 days & 1100kmA Hobie Cat FX One catamaran completes a 1,100km coastal passage from Italy to Croatia using Dyneema rigging.Igor Stropnik

What broke, what changed

Gear aboard, as the crews told it

Moments from individual boats of this model that the fleet has filmed — one crew, one piece of kit, one day on the water. Not a review of the class, and not a count of anything.

FailedGoPro
A GoPro strapped to the bow had its battery die, and another GoPro on the speakers head was lost.
aboard Lady K Sailingseen July 20241:07
WorkingMantus
The sailor describes the Mantus anchor as the best theyve ever used due to its strong holding power.
aboard Igor Stropnikseen September 202536:59

Each line is one crew's account of their own boat. Another Hobie 16 may be fitted out entirely differently.

What they go for

Market signal

Where the fleet has seen this model for sale, and the asking prices that came with it.

1channel looked into buying

$500Median asking

Purchased for $500
from Lady K Sailingseen July 20245:55

From the fleet's own footage — our observed signal, not broker listings.

The record

Full specifications

The complete reference set — tap any figure to switch between metric and imperial.

Dimensions

Weights

Rig & sail area

Rig

Frac. Sloop (Rotating Spar)

Ratios

SA / displacement

74.6

Hull

Hull type

Catamaran (no boards/asym.)

Construction

Fiberglass

Production

Years built

First built 1969

Units built

135000

Designer

Hobie Alter

Builder

Coast Catamaran Corp, Coleman Industries, Hobie Cat

Boats like this, on the water

More boats like her, on the water

Comparable boats the fleet has on camera: same type, within a quarter of her length. Open the boat, or watch the video — a timestamp means she only appears in passing.

Hobie FX One5.18 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA 5.18-meter single-handed catamaran featuring a rotating fractional rig and an exceptional 56.56 sail area-to-displacement ratio

Hobie Cat, 15 days & 1200km2:47 from Igor Stropnik

Supercat 154.65 mSame hull family0.4 m shorterA high-performance beach catamaran with a rotating spar and an exceptional sail-area-to-displacement ratio

Why St. John Feels Nothing Like St. Thomas E38116:38 from Wildly Intrepid Sailing

Hobie Tiger 185.51 mSame hull family0.5 m longerDesigned to the Formula 18 rule, this 5.5-meter catamaran features twin daggerboards and a high power-to-weight ratio

4 day solo passage to the Greek town of Vasiliki 🇬🇷 & sailing cats with ⁠@JOYRIDER TV26:10 from Sam Holmes Sailing

Alcort Inc. Catfish4.01 mSame hull family1.0 m shorterA 1964 George Patterson design, this ultra-light twin-board catamaran offers high-performance sailing in a 4-meter package

Alcort Catfish SMEDLEY 26 Jul 20 Centerboard Pattern Making0:02 from kentblairl

Astus Boats 20.55.95 mSame hull family0.9 m longerA VPLP-designed trimaran offered in Leisure and Sport configurations, the latter carrying 24 square meters of sail

Would YOU like to sail with us? One of our PATRONS does. (ep 275)13:55 from Sailing Learning By Doing

The family

Related models

The designs closest to hers — usually the rest of the builder's range, sometimes the same hull sold under another name.

Hobie 14The original Hobie Cat, this lightweight beach catamaran features a rotating spar and a high power-to-weight ratio Hobie 18A high-performance catamaran with a rotating fractional rig and twin daggerboards, designed for speed and agility Hobie 17A single-handed performance catamaran featuring a wingsail-style rotating mast and twin daggerboards for upwind speed Hobie Club 15A French-built catamaran with a rotating spar, designed for sailing schools and resorts with an optional asymmetrical spinnaker Hobie MaxA lightweight, rotating-spar catamaran designed for the ISAF youth trials and built to F18 racing specifications

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

Search what's been said about the Hobie 16, or ask a specific question — the answer comes back written out, with links to the moments it draws on.

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