Hobie 14

The Hobie 14 was the original catamaran designed by Hobie Alter. The general shape and design of the boat is very similar to the later Hobie 16. They share many of the same parts; with the sails down, they are hard to tell apart without a tape measure. The 14 was originally designed to be sailed as a unirig with just a main sail. It is possible to convert a standard 14 into a Hobie 14 _Turbo_, also known as the JT14, by adding a jib, trapeze and dolphin striker. No longer manufactured by Hobie North America, the Hobie 14 is still produced in limited numbers by Hobie Europe. The Hobie 14 is infamously known for its forward mast and very bent banana shaped hull. The forward mast and odd shaped hulls make the boat quite sensitive to weight placement fore and aft. If the skipper sits too far forward, he or she can cause the leward bow to dig in, resulting in a pitchpole. Hobie 14s are great for younger sailors that want a solo-able multihull that can be held down without much weight. The boat does not carry passengers well, but used boats can be found quite cheaply. The boat is slightly faster than the Wave as a standard, and much faster as a Turbo, but cannot carry anywhere near the amount of weight that the Wave can. It is known for being difficult to tack without a jib.