Like all good tales, the history of Hobie Cat started with a young man’s dream. In 1950 Hobie Alter started building surfboards that were lighter and faster than any other board on the market. Over the span of a decade—thanks to his introduction of the foam surfboard blank—Hobie’s boards became the favored equipment for everyone from local heroes to world champions. Today, Hobie surfboards are found at retailers around the globe and under the feet of some of the best surfers.

In the ’60s, Hawaiian-style outrigger canoes had become common up and down the West Coast. Small catamarans were seen as well, but they were too unwieldy for single-handed beach launching. So Hobie got to work with pal Phil Edwards, and the result was a design that changed the face of sailing—the Hobie 14. Adding an elevated fabric trampoline, asymmetrical hulls and a high-speed rig, the fun quotient was upped by orders of magnitude. The design opened up high-speed sailing to just about everyone.

In 1969 Hobie released the Hobie 16. Whip-fast and user-friendly, the new cat gained huge media acclaim and international attention. With its exotic profile, trapezes and eye-catching sail colors with themes like “Tequila Sunrise” and “Blue Hawaiian”, the Hobie 16 became the most popular one-design sailing multihull in the world. Soon after, new Hobie models rolled out—the Hobie 18, Hobie 17 and Hobie 20, to name just a few.

While history is compelling, the Hobie name has never been more timely. Like catamaran racing itself, Hobie entered the new millennium with the type of innovation you’ve come to expect from us. Working closely with our European partners, we rolled out a series of cats capable of challenging the most hardened speed addicts. From the built-to-thrill FX One to the race-rocket Wild Cat, Hobie gets you from Point A to Point B—right now.

The Hobie name is synonymous with multihulled fun. Decade after decade, weekend after weekend, we’ve put more cat sailors on the water than any other brand. From the perfectly simple—and simply perfect—Bravo, to the family-friendly Getaway, the Hobie line has the recreational sailor covered.

If you use it in or around water, it seems Hobie has made it and made it better. A perfect example is Hobie Cat’s line of recreational, touring and fishing kayaks, powered by the innovative pedal-driven MirageDrive™, kayaking’s first major design change in over 300 years!

It seems incredible that one man’s vision could provide so much fun for watermen and women the world over, but in that department Hobie Alter stands alone. He didn’t just create toys—he created a way of life—and a whole new way of looking at our watery world.

THE WORLD IS A WATERPARK.
SINCE 1950 WE'VE MADE THE BEST RIDES.

Hobie Cat Austrailia
www.hobiecat.com.au 1-800-4-HOBIE