BoatsHobie 21 SE

Hobie 21 SE

Catamaran, twin centreboards · Frac. Sloop (Rotating Spar) · 1987–1990

A high-performance catamaran with a rotating spar, originally developed as a one-design for professional racing

Designed by John Wake.

LOA
Beam
Draft (max)
Displacement
Hull type
Catamaran Twin Cbrd.

See her sail

The Hobie 21 SE, on the water

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

Footage from Hashtag Sal

What the fleet has seen

The Hobie 21 SE, as the fleet has seen it

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

The Hobie 21 SE is a 6.5-meter fractional sloop catamaran with a rotating spar, designed by John Wake and built by Hobie from 1987 to 1990. It was developed as a one-design for a professional racing circuit in the late 1980s and later reissued as the Hobie 21 Sport Cruiser, which included built-in storage and a cooler. The boat features a retractable beam, narrowing from 4.3 meters with wings extended to 2.4 meters retracted. Aboard Hashtag Sal, Adriano Plotzky and three crew sailed two Hobie 21 SEs 5,500 kilometers across South America, from the Caribbean through the Orinoco River to the Amazon basin.watch They used the Casiquiare canal to connect the Orinoco and Rio Negro basins without portaging.0:44 For river travel, one boat had its mast removed and a custom mosquito-proof tent installed for sleeping and cooking.1:32 The expedition relied on 1994-era GPS and paper maps, navigating with a 200-liter fuel capacity and sourcing gasoline locally.2:11 After 75 days in the rainforest, the crew removed the motors and tents in Belém before sailing the final 1,000 miles to Natal.5:47

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen once across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

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
70.3
Hull
Hull type
Catamaran Twin Cbrd.
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
1987–1990
Units built
900
Designer
John Wake
Builder
Hobie

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More boats like her, on the water

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Hobie Tiger 185.51 mSame hull family1.0 m shorterDesigned to the Formula 18 rule, this 5.5-meter catamaran features twin daggerboards and a high power-to-weight ratio
Hobie FX One5.18 mSame hull family1.3 m shorterA 5.18-meter single-handed catamaran featuring a rotating fractional rig and an exceptional 56.56 sail area-to-displacement ratio
Hobie 165.05 mSame hull family1.4 m shorterThe most popular sailing catamaran ever built, featuring a rotating spar and boardless hull for high-speed beach sailing
Astus Boats 226.65 mSame hull family0.2 m longerA Stephan Vallet-designed trimaran with a high sail-area-to-displacement ratio built for rapid, stable coastal cruising
Dragonfly 25-27.65 mSame hull family1.2 m longerA high-performance trimaran with a rotating spar, available in touring or carbon-rigged sport configurations

The family

Related models

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