Well, I am now the proud owner of a semi complete hobie cat 16 that i plan to sail with my kites.:wee: I have thought about this for years and finally came across the right parts for the right price. I found the pontoons for free on craigslist, bought a frame and tramp from a neighbor for $40 and got a few other parts from ebay and a local dealer, grand total so far is $85. I now need to make or find rudders and pipe to steer and the brackets and pins to hold the rudders on the back. I have a scorpion 16m, and saber I 11.5m or 12m can't remember, that will be the primary kites. Any suggestions? I don't know if i want to attach the kite to me and me to boat, with appropriate safeties, or attach it directly to the boat. I was also thinking about putting anchor points on each side and switching back and forth. I hope to have it ready to go in the next month or two as the water warms up, up here in northern mi. Let me know what you think. I'll try to upload some pics once i get things figured out and get it on the water.

Sweet! Looking forward to the pics and vids!
Man, I love cats ...

First off great progress for so little cash, way inspiring . ive had a similar dream/ desire to do the same. I think hooking the kite to the boat is the best option, seen way to may bad things happen to the soft squishy human between kite and anchor. these guys look to have a low tech sound starting point for the attachment idea.




well any way try and get back to us on how you get it all working id like to hear the story.

Yup, fly it from the bow of the Hobie. Not from you!
I know a guy, who knows a guy in TX? that rigged a Hobie 14 with a kite. After many failed attempts, he settled on flying it off the bow of the pontoons with pullies somehow.

I was thinking from the front of the frame like in this video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uIXwWvXJTg8

Looks cool! Only bummer is that you can't go for a solo run unless you fabricate some sort of foot pedals to steer the rudder. And like the video shows, hard to depower if the sheeting strap is away from you. It would be fun to get to fly a kite though and bring a bunch of friends with!

"It would be fun to get to fly a kite though and bring a bunch of friends with!"

That is the idea; something that I can do with a kite and the family. Also while it will be primarily for more than one person, I think that I could rig up a pulley system to help steer.

Ben

I have an old 12’ catamaran (Aqua Cat) that I would also like to turn into a kite boat. It never sailed well with more than one person and my wife never got over the ride I took her on in the little red kite wagon. By the way, I learned that kid’s wagons are best pulled and not steered while sitting in them, especially with two drunk adults. Anyway, the rudders are connected across the back with a bar for steering. Any thoughts on how I might convert this setup to steer with my feet?

i used to sail a 16ft Hobie with my dad until a tree fell on it last year and dented the back frame 16s are beauties they sail like a fine sports car

i love the idea keep up the good work

Currently I'm looking for a 16 as well. The 17 is a sloppy boat that has way too much flex in it from being an older boat. I think a seat and pedals could be fabricated to fit the aluminum frame.

Well I finally got all my s#%t together and took my hobie 16 out with my 16m scorpion. I went out with a friend who knows more about sailing and kites than I do. We struggled a little bit getting the kite from my harness to the boat but once we got going it worked almost perfectly. It wasn't as fast as I had hoped but still fun. Also it wasn't the easy and relaxing family friendly experience that I had envisioned but still a blast. My sailing buddy had never gone backwards or done a wheelie on a hobie before. I will do it again, but if I want to take my 5 year old out, I think I will put up the mast and sail, at least until I get better or he gets older.

i have sailed cats for several years and this combo seems like a good idea .. the lift vector is going to surprise you with a kite and if it pitches forward after a drop the cluster phluck you will find yourselves in (if your still conscious) will be an event you won't soon forget.

maybe in light wind, maybe , attached to the boat, really is gonna test your limits in decent wind for sure.

fun family ride, NO!

i do have a hobie 16 complete that i should sell since it's been in the water once in the last 3 years.

I was thinking of trying that with my Windrider 16 Trimaran. Good thing about this boat is you steer with your feet (kayak type rudder pedals).

http://www.windrider.com/windrider16.aspx