Hobie Cat is a company that manufactures watercraft and other products as the Hobie Cat Company. "Hobie Cat" can also refer to specific products of the company, notably its sailing catamarans. Its fiberglass catamaran models range in nominal length between 14 feet (4.3 m) and 18 feet (5.5 m). Rotomolded catamaran models range in length between 12 feet (3.7 m) and 17 feet (5.2 m). Other sailing vessels in the Hobie Cat lineup include, monocats, dinghies, and trimarans, ranging in length between 9 feet (2.7 m) and 20 feet (6.1 m). Its largest product was the Hobie 33, 33 feet (10 m) in length. The company's non-sailing product line includes surfboards, kayaks, stand-up paddle boards, pedalboards, eyeware, and e-bikes. It was founded in 1961 by Hobart (Hobie) Alter, who originally manufactured surfboards.
The Formula 18 class, abbreviated F18, is a non-foiling, restricted development, formula-design sport catamaran class. It was started in the early 1990s and quickly grew getting class recognition by World Sailing, with large racing fleets all over the globe.
The Formula 16 (F16) sport catamaran is an ISAF recognised 5 m long beach catamaran with an asymmetric spinnaker setup.
Taipan Catamarans are sailing catamarans, available amateur built or manufactured by Australian High Performance Catamarans (AHPC).
The term beachcat is an informal name for one of the most common types of small recreational sailboats, minimalist 14 to 20 foot catamarans, almost always with a cloth "trampoline" stretched between the two hulls, typically made of fiberglass or more recently rotomolded plastic. The name comes from the fact that they are designed to be sailed directly off a sand beach, unlike most other small boats which are launched from a ramp. The average 8 foot width of the beachcat means it can also sit upright on the sand and is quite stable in this position, unlike a monohull of the same size. The Hobie 14 and Hobie 16 are two of the earliest boats of this type that achieved widespread popularity, and popularized the term as well as created the template for this type of boat.
A sailing hydrofoil, hydrofoil sailboat, or hydrosail is a sailboat with wing-like foils mounted under the hull. As the craft increases its speed the hydrofoils lift the hull up and out of the water, greatly reducing wetted area, resulting in decreased drag and increased speed. A sailing hydrofoil can achieve speeds exceeding double and in some cases triple the wind speed.
The Topcat is a one-design sailing catamaran boat class which is divided into several boat sizes.
The O'PEN Skiff, or O'pen Skiff, is a sailing dinghy that was designed by Vitali Design of Italy for children's sail training and as a one design racer. It was first built in 2006.
The Hobie Tiger or Hobie Tiger 18, is a French catamaran sailboat that was designed by Hobie Cat Europe as a Formula 18 racer and first built in 1995.
Nacra Sailing is a Dutch company that manufactures a line of small catamaran sailboats, or beachcats. NACRA was founded in 1975 to tap into the market created by Hobie Alter the founder of Hobie Cat, and several other companies offering small fiberglass catamarans designed to be sailed off the beach by a crew of one or two.
The Nacra 17 is a performance catamaran used for sailing. It was designed in 2011, went into production in 2012 and has been the focus of multihull sailing at the Olympic Games since its conception.
The International B-class/F20 Catamaran, is a development class, on the comeback after the fracturing of the original B-class, into the myriad of one design, off the beach cats we have today.
The GC32 is a class of hydrofoiling catamaran, 32 feet in length and constructed of carbon fibre, with a top speed of about 40 knots. They are sailed in the GC32 Racing Tour, and have replaced the Extreme 40's in the Extreme Sailing Series.
The Stiletto 27 is an American trailerable catamaran sailboat that was designed by Bill Higgins and Don Ansley as a racer/cruiser and first built in 1976.
The Gougeon 32 is an American trailerable catamaran that was designed by Jan Gougeon and first built in 1990.
The Flying Phantom Essentiel,, is a French hydrofoil catamaran sailing dinghy that was designed by Gonzalo Redondo and Martin Fischer and first built in 2017.
The Nacra 20 is a catamaran sailing dinghy that was designed by Gino Morrelli and Pete Melvin as a one-design racer and first built in 1998.
The Nacra 5.2 is an American catamaran sailing dinghy that was designed by Tom Roland as a one-design racer and first built in 1975. Other than the small production run Nacra 36, the Nacra 5.2 was the first Nacra brand boat and established its reputation.
The Waszp is an Australian, single-handed, hydrofoiling sailboat that was designed by Andrew McDougall as a one-design racer for youth and adults, and first built in 2016.
The Nacra F16 is a Dutch catamaran sailing dinghy that was designed by Americans Morrelli and Melvin as a one-design Formula 16 racer and first built in 2011.
