BoatsHobie FX One

Hobie FX One

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

A 5.18-metre 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 draught shallow enough to float off a trailer — she can go back on the trailer at the ramp, not only into the water.Shoal draughtDraws 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 designed by Hobie Cat Europe and built from 2005. It features twin daggerboards and a rotating spar rig, with an optional roller furling jib and asymmetrical spinnaker. Aboard Igor Stropnik's Hobie FX ONE, a 1,100-kilometer transit from Monfalcone, Italy, to the Zadar channel in Croatia, demonstrated its light-wind performance using a 33-square-meter sail plan including a gennaker and jib.44:25 The crew retracted daggerboards and raised rudders to minimize drag downwind.14:54 The boat's masthead includes two buoyancy canisters to prevent turtling.22:07 For a 1,200-kilometer solo cruise through Croatia, the FX ONE's twin daggerboards enabled efficient upwind sailing in 7–8 knots, while a large gennaker facilitated fast downwind runs.32:56 The crew rigged a bosun's chair for comfort, used the trapeze wire as a backstay downwind, and organized running rigging with climbing chalk bags.3:49

The living fleet

Sailed by the fleet

Where the fleet has filmed this boat.

Seen 2 times across one channel of the fleet.

Basemap © Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

On the water

The Hobie FX One on video

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
Sailing around Nordkapp on Hobie 16 Catamaranfrom Igor Stropnik
Hobie 175.18 mSame hull familyNear-identical lengthA single-handed performance catamaran featuring a wingsail-style rotating mast and twin daggerboards for upwind speed
EASY YouTube HOW TO MAKE SAILING VIDEOS - Ep 339 - Lady K Sailing3:05from 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-metre 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
Go on an adventure today | #SAIL #2532:21from Hashtag Sal

The family

Boats like this

Nearby designs by size, type, and era — worth a look alongside her.

Hobie 18A high-performance catamaran with a rotating fractional rig and twin daggerboards, designed for speed and agilityHobie ONE-14A lightweight 4.17-metre centreboard 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

Keep asking

The fleet has more to say

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

Search the fleet for boats like thisAsk the fleet about the Hobie FX One

The newsletter

New boats, new stories. Every week, everywhere.

One email from the fleet — boats newly added, videos newly analysed. No noise.

Report an issue