BoatsHobie FX One

Hobie FX One

Catamaran, twin daggerboards · Frac. Sloop (Rotating Spar) · First built 2005

A 5.18-meter single-handed catamaran featuring a rotating fractional rig and an exceptional 56.56 sail area-to-displacement ratio

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

See her sail

The Hobie FX One, on the water

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

Footage from Igor Stropnik

Is it for you?

Character

Where this design lands on the numbers a shopper trusts — read straight from her own ratios.

TrailerableBeam 2.51 m — inside the 2.55 m no-permit tow width across most of Europe, and the 2.59 m US and Canadian limit. About 154 kg of hull, so roughly 750 kg on a trailer: check that against your own towing rating.Ramp-launchableAbout 154 kg of hull, with a keel that raises or a draft shallow enough to float off a trailer — she can go back on the trailer at the ramp, not only into the water.Shoal draftDraws 0.15 m, board up where she has one — creeks, sandbars and thin anchorages most keels have to stay out of.
LightHeavy

31 — light for her waterline, so she is easily driven and quick to accelerate.

Displacement / length 31
EasygoingPowered-up

56.6 — a lot of sail for her weight; powered-up and eager, a real performer.

Sail area / displacement 56.6
  • Draws more than ~89% of boats her size on file

Compared with 144 boats of the same type within a quarter of her length.

What the fleet has seen

The Hobie FX One, as the fleet has seen it

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

The Hobie FX ONE is a 5.2-meter fractional sloop catamaran with twin daggerboards, designed by Hobie Cat Europe and built from 2005 to the present. It displaces 154 kg and has a 2.5-meter beam and 1.1-meter draft.17:33 Aboard Igor Stropnik's Hobie FX ONE, the boat completed a 1,100-kilometer, 14-day transit from Monfalcone, Italy, to the Zadar channel in Croatia, and a 1,200-kilometer, 15-day solo cruise through Croatia, demonstrating its capability for extended voyages.0:15 The boat's 33-square-meter sail plan, including a gennaker and jib, allows for efficient light-wind performance, with the crew retracting daggerboards and raising rudders downwind to minimize drag.14:54 A Dyneema halyard system provides three reef points on the mainsail, and two masthead buoyancy canisters help prevent turtling.22:07 For comfort on long trips, the crew used a low-profile, foldable seat and a bosun's chair instead of a trapeze harness, and organized running rigging with climbing chalk bags.1:38 The twin daggerboards enable efficient upwind sailing in 7–8 knots.2:48

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen 3 times across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the water

The Hobie FX One on video

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.

  • InstalledMantus

    The sailor mentioned a new anchor from Mantus Marine as an improvement.

    aboard Igor Stropnikseen October 2024watch

  • InstalledDyneema

    A Dyneema halyard was installed to allow for three reef points on the mainsail.

    aboard Igor Stropnikseen September 20231:33

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

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
56.6
Displacement / length
30.9
Hull
Hull type
Catamaran Twin Dbrd.
Construction
Fiberglass
Production
Years built
First built 2005
Designer
Hobie Cat Europe
Builder
Hobie Cat Europe

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 165.05 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthThe most popular sailing catamaran ever built, featuring a rotating spar and boardless hull for high-speed beach sailing
Cheap Sailboat Has So Many Problems - Ep 285 - Lady K Sailingfrom Lady K Sailing
Supercat 154.65 mSame hull family0.5 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 E38116:38from Wildly Intrepid Sailing
Hobie Tiger 185.51 mSame hull family0.3 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 TV26:10from Sam Holmes Sailing
Hobie 144.27 mSame hull family0.9 m shorterThe original Hobie Cat, this lightweight beach catamaran features a rotating spar and a high power-to-weight ratio
Veio Doido Sailing Boat #40 - Interviewing residents of Cumuruxatiba - BA - Veio Doido at Sea3:19from crazy old man
Alcort Inc. Catfish4.01 mSame hull family1.2 m shorterA 1964 George Patterson design, this ultra-light twin-board catamaran offers high-performance sailing in a 4-meter package
Alcort Catfish SMEDLEY Fiberglass Repairfrom kentblairl
Astus Boats 20.55.95 mSame hull family0.8 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)13:55from 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 18A high-performance catamaran with a rotating fractional rig and twin daggerboards, designed for speed and agilityHobie ONE-14A lightweight 4.17-meter centerboard dinghy with a high 40.52 sail area-to-displacement ratio for responsive sailingHobie FoxA Formula 20 fractional catamaran designed by Nils Bunkenburg for high-performance racing with a spinnakerHobie MaxA lightweight, rotating-spar catamaran designed for the ISAF youth trials and built to F18 racing specificationsHobie Wild Cat F18A high-performance F-18 class catamaran with a rotating spar, designed to succeed the Hobie TigerHobie DragoonA lightweight 3.9-meter catamaran with a rotating fractional rig, designed for high-performance youth racing

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The fleet has more to say

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