Eight Bells for Hobie Alter

T

thataway

Active member
Hobie Alter passed on this last Saturday March 29, 2014. Hobie certainly changed the lives of many of us. He was a very low key person who revolutionized surfing, sailing, in some ways power boating and Kayaking. He was a true waterman. I was blessed to have met Hobie in the mid 1950's at Dana Point when he was hand forming surfboards. I last saw him in the Broughtons a few years ago when he brought his 60 foot power cat into the marina at Greenway Sound. I introduced my self, and he invited me aboard his boat for the rest of the afternoon. He was just as gracious then as he was in the 50's.

I suspect that many of you have been by his house on Orcas Island where he kept his power cat. Here is the official obituary:

http://www.hobie.com/post/98/Rest-in-Peace-Hobie-Alter-The-Passing-of-a-Legend.aspx

Hobie started the mass production of foam surfboards, he then went into the sailing cat line--with multiple hull forms. There was the record setting Hobie 33 monohull, and the 13 to 15 foot Hobie Power Skiffs. The latest innovation was the Hobie Mirage drive kayak. All of us who have spent our lives on the water, have been enriched by Hobie Alter's present amoung us.

God Speed, and rest in peace!

Hobie's power cat:

hobie_2.jpg
 
I saw that this weekend. Made me think back to our first sail... on a Hobie. Hobie Alter made sailing cool, and put a LOT of people on the water. A true icon, the name is synonymous with innovations on the water.

R.I.P.
 
Thank you Bob for sharing that. Hobie was a true innovator and always, always, the motivation was how can we have more fun?
 
I too was fortunate enough to cross paths with Hobie Alter in the 50's. As a young "surfer dude" on the Beach at Huntington Beach, Hobie Alter's balsa boards were the holy grail. Sadly I could never afford one but spent several hours in Dana Point looking rubbing, trying to find a way. Saw his cat many times in the San Juans. He was a pioneer who's vision changed two sports. RIP.
 
Another satisfied Hobie surfboard customer, maybe 1959?, a Semi transparent purple gel coat foamie double ender with a bloopie nose. Very thin rails and trad length for the day, just under 10 ft, I think. Loved that board ... sure beat the old balsa stick on a carry, sometimes via skate board fashioned from a couple steel trucks nailed to a 2 x 4. Simple days.

Guy was an incredible innovator.
 
I have passed that boat/home many times and wondered who lived there. Live & learn.

We spent many hours in Hawai'i on Hobie catamarans. Getting them to ride on one hull was always an adrenaline rush. One of my favorite memories was with my good buddy Don, back in Hawai'i, on his Hobie cat outside Kailua, O'ahu. My son, who is now almost 31, loved to be held off the front of the trampoline with his legs dragging thru the water at top speed. He would scream, cry and yell if I did not hold him there each and every time we went sailing w/ Uncle Don, his god-father. My son was 2.

RIP....
 
Hobie will also be remembered by the RC sailplane community
for his very unique design of the "Hobie Hawk".
As a teenager I was intrigued by the looks of the curved dihedral wings.
 
My dad bought a brand new Hobie 14 in 1970 - sail number 1549. After the Alcort Catfish, it was a huge leap in design, performance and quality. He took me to see Hobie Alter speak later that year, and his talk made a big impression on me back then. The 14 became the fastest on the river, and we sailed and loved that boat for many years.

I've also owned an H16 - simple, inexpensive, crazy fast, fun to trapeze on, and our best cat. If you sheet-in quickly in a stiff breeze, you risk falling backwards from the sudden acceleration! :lol:

Now I have a Hobie Wave, which is super simple and robust (like a C-Dory?) and built for the for the resort market. Now I can let all kinds of kids and friends sail at our place with little fear. I taught the Small Boat Sailing Merit Badge to some Boy Scouts with it, too.

All of Hobie Alter's creations were fantastic and a true testament to his genius. His boats have long been a part of my life and I will always have one in my yard and ready to launch!
 
I also enjoyed a Hobie 16 (sail #12086) starting in the 70's.
It was the most fun/$ I have ever experienced for almost 2 decades.
It gave ''raising hull'' a new meaning for me, and others...

Thanks, Hobie Alter!

Aye.
 
Fair winds dude!

I met Hobie once back in the early 60's. I had just upgraded from my first boat... a 12' Aqua Cat (the one with the ball on top of the tripod mast) to a FAST P-Cat...18'9" I believe. Pacific Catamaran #13. Early model with a wooden boom. We sailed out of Oceanside (CA) one day and put her on the beach at Carlsbad. We chatted with some surfer dudes, one of which was Hobie. He said he was building a new beach cat with asymetrical hulls...(I didn't know what those were). Shortly after the 14 came out. It was nice for 1 person and great through the surf, but I liked the P-Cat with a crew of 2...great open ocean boat though quite heavy at 500#. And..you had boards to deal with launching through the surf. Ugh! That 500# was serious on a falling tide. We pulled water skiers at Lake Havasu and Lake Elsinore! I later got a 16 and sailed it for years but it was never as good as the P-Cat in open ocean waves. But, much easier to beach..and you could single-hand it.

What a genius. I'm surprised he didn't design the C-Dory 22 Cruiser. He must have loved the last America's Cup! I'd like to see what he penciled on a napkin....

Thanks for the ride Hobie...

...Roy
 
I have seen that cat up in the islands, and always thought it was "really cool". Had no idea of it's relation to Hobie.

Back when.... I was in college, my favorite job was working with the PE departments Aquatics class. I got to teach sailing (and some other fun water things) and we had a fleet of The Aqua Cats with the balls on top. Once teh students learned the points of sailing and were able to pass the "sailing, capsize and sail again" in the 60 second time period, they graduated to the Hobie 16. The "flying one" was a bonus for the day if they could keep it up for over 60 seconds. The Hobies were the favorites of most of the class. They were great at opening the eyes of the kids who thought they could never have access to water sports.

Thanks Hobie, You changed our world. RIP.

Harvey
SleepyC :moon

old_chip_2_GB_043.thumb.jpg
 
Spray-paddlers-3.jpg

There are some photos of the "paddle out" and remembrance for Hobie Alter at Doheny State Beach on the 18th of April, published in Scuttlebutt.
 
Back
Top