[bhyde]

What’s the best thing you can do for good ‘ol mom on mother’s day? Buy her some nice bobbles, take her out to a swanky restaurant, tell her how incredibly glad you are that she had sex with dad? Get real! The best thing you can do is completely blow her off and go sailing on a Hoot. Which is exactly what I did. Sorry mummy…

Designer/builder of the Hoot, Doug Kidder, was nice enough to let me take one of the prototype Hoots out for a spin on Sunday near his Maas factory at Point Richmond, CA. Apparently Doug hadn’t heard that my nickname was “Bob, Destroyer of Boats.” Keep it quite.

I was a little nervous since the previous day I’d been out sailing on the I14 and the wind was blowing well into the 20’s most of the day, which is great on a boat you are familiar with, but quite another thing on a boat you have never sailed. Luckily the wind Gods cut me a break and the breeze was never much more than 10kts with warm sunny skies. Any mistake I was going to make was not going to lead to my body going though Doug’s shinny new prototype sail or being tossed a great distance from the scene of the accident. Great conditions for a first spin.

Rigging
We meet down at Marina Bay, which is a large marine with a boat launch and an exceptional large turning basin ideally suited for test sailing small boats. The boat was basically tied to the top of his truck on a set of regular roof racks like a kayak or a rowing shell. In a minute or so we had all the parts laid out on the sidewalk in front of the boat launch. The boat breaks down into a hull, a set of wings, a two-piece mast and sail, the boom, the rudder and center board, and a set of wheels that plug into the hull to make it easy to roll around. The boat goes together quite easily. The wings get plugged into the hull first. The hull and wings have a little tabbing system that makes this operation pretty much a no brainer. Once the wings are on, you put the mast together and put the sail on. The sail is a double luff type with integrated battens and camber inducers that just slips over the mast from the top. If you’ve ever rigged a windsurfer, then this is going to seem pretty familiar. The sail has a moderate amount of luff curve so it takes a little bit of finagling to get it over the otherwise straight mast. Once the sail is on the mast, you put the rigging on the mast. The rigging consists of three Spectra lines that are attached to the mast with a single t-ball fitting. Two lines, the main shrouds, run to the outboard edge of the wings and one line, the forestay, runs to the front of the boat. Each of the lines has a clip that snaps in place on the appropriate hull fitting. Once that’s done you just pick up the mast and sail and slip it onto the hull’s mastbutt. The mastbutt is a flexible rubber U-joint fitting very similar to a windsurfer that can be bent in just about any direction. Attach the clips to the appropriate fittings on the wings and foredeck, pull on the rig tensioner, and you’re done. That’s it. No tying knots. No fiddling with pins or any other goofball fittings. Now slip the boom on and attach the vang and downhaul. The vang and downhaul are integrated parts of the mast that use simply j-hooks to attach to the boom and base of the sail. Again, no knots are required. Put the mainsheet on, which has the bridle built in, and you’re ready to sail. The whole process takes about fifteen minutes and can be done by a single person without looking like a complete idiot. This is the epitome of simplicity.

Launching
Once we got all rigged up, we rolled the boat down the boat launch into the water and popped in the rudder and centerboard and removed the wheels. Since I had never sailed the boat, Doug sailed it out of the narrow launch area while I followed on the Whaler. He sailed the boat out into the turning basin doing a few tacks and jibes to make sure everything was working. Now it was my turn. I brought the Whaler up along side the Hoot and Doug just dropped a wing over the gunwale to lock the boats together. He hopped off and I hopped on. Not sure I’d want to try that in three-foot waves and 20kts of wind.

Sailing
The first thing that struck me as I started to sail away from the Whaler was how incredibly light and nibble the boat is. It is very sensitive to any control input (rudder/mainsheet) or body movement. Initially it feels like the boat is going to roll out from under you, but the wings have a moderate amount of buoyancy on the other edge that stops the roll when they hit the water. If you stay in the center of the boat, you can pretty much avoid a cool refreshing swim. The wind was very light (2-4kts max) so Doug and I traded sailing the boat around without using the rudder. This was a great exercise that got my normally uncoordinated body in tune with how the boat sails. Any movement on the boat needs to be smooth and deliberate, at least in light air.

One of the things that absolutely screwed me up for the first hour was the tiller extension. The boat is equipped with an end-boom sheeting system and a single tiller extension. So when you tack or jibe you need to flip the extension forward and under the boom to get it to the other side. I’d sailed boats with single sticks before (my I14 had one) but they always got flipped around the back of the boat. At first I thought why not just put double sticks on the boat and make it easy. I consistently got the mainsheet and the extension buggered up. Turns out that once you get the hang of it, it’s pretty easy and in light air you can keep your weight forward where it needs to be. After a while it started to become second nature. Once the wind picked up it really wasn’t an issue.

I capsized the boat a couple of times to see how easy it was to right. Sure that was on purpose. No real surprises here. With the lightweight mast and hull a moderate pull on the centerboard is all that is required to get the sail out of the water. I really didn’t need to sit or stand on the board like many other boats. Once the boat starts to come up there are some nice convenient handholds on the wings that let you control the movement of the boat until it’s standing up again. Now just slide onto the wing and pull yourself back into the middle of the boat. The only thing that is important is getting from the wing into the middle as quickly as possible, otherwise the boat will roll back over to windward. Having capsized the I14 a bazillion time, the Hoot is several orders of magnitude easier to get up again.

After baking in our wetsuits most of the day, the wind finally started to fill at about 7 to 10kts. I have to say that in these conditions I was overwhelmingly impressed with the performance. Once I got some pressure in the sail and pressed some weight on the wing, the boat absolutely rocketed off. The acceleration was instantaneous! The fasten seat belt light had definitely come on. I’m guessing that somewhere between 6 and 8kts of wind the boat is fully planning, although you really never feel any real transition. By moving my weight around a little it was easy to find that “sweet spot” where the helm is almost neutral and the boat tracks like it’s on rails. In the puffs I could press the wing a little, without moving the rudder or mainsheet, and keep the boat flat and accelerating. I found it hard to believe that the boat was this fast in so little wind. Mind-boggling! The steering groove is pretty wide and little mistakes in sail trim or weight placement doesn’t lead to an immediate wipeout. I can hardly wait to see what the Hoot does in the 10-15kts wind range and some waves. My gut feeling is that it’s just going to go faster. The boat is definitely not for beginners, but anyone in reasonable physical condition and a moderate amount of small boat experience can handle it. The boat feels challenging without being overwhelming or unforgiving. Great boat, period.

Although there are a few little details to work out before Doug brings the boat to full production, like the final position of the foot straps, the boat is extremely well sorted out. Everything is simple and built to be reliable, which shouldn’t come as any big surprise considering how many boats Doug has built. Tooling for the boat is complete and Doug is looking to get 10 to 15 boats in the local area for some extended testing to ensure that everything is rock solid before flipping the production switch. Doug is absolutely adamant about making sure that no design flaws or quality issues creep into the production boats. Pretty rare traits for a boat builder in my opinion.

Why Buy One?
Ok it’s a fast little boat, but who would want one? Me for one! I’ve sent Doug a check for a boat today. In my opinion, the boat does several things very well. First, it’s fast. For people that are sailing Lasers, Bytes, V15s, or any similar single or double hiking boat, the Hoot is going to really impress you. It’s stupid fast. For people that don’t want the complexity of a trap boat like an I14 or 49er, and the associated learning curve and crew issues, the Hoot fits the bill. Second, it’s simple. Every effort has been made to make rigging and sailing the boat as simple as possible. There is nothing on the boat that doesn’t need to be there. And everything that is there is reduced to its simplest form. Third, it’s inexpensive. What new boat can you buy for $7K that has this level of performance? Not many. Finally, the Hoot is backed by a reputable boat builder that is motivated by quality and reliability rather than quick profits. Count me in!

[Mitch]

ruh ro....

Did you buy the wife one too?

[bhyde]

Mitch, on May 15 2006, 03:56 PM, said:

ruh ro....

Did you buy the wife one too?

She's going to sail it while I'm doing the I14 thingy. Would now be a good time to tell her or should I wait and "surprise" her after I get the boat?

[Mitch]

to borrow a phrase "niiiiice"

I vote surprise

[mustang__1]

cool, sounds like the Doug did it right.

Whats the possiblity of a smaller rig, ala laser...

[TeamFugu]

bhyde, on May 15 2006, 05:59 PM, said:

Mitch, on May 15 2006, 03:56 PM, said:

ruh ro....

Did you buy the wife one too?

She's going to sail it while I'm doing the I14 thingy. Would now be a good time to tell her or should I wait and "surprise" her after I get the boat?

Me thinks 'tis easier to ask forgiveness than permission. :ph34r:

[dgkidder]

mustang__1, on May 15 2006, 05:43 PM, said:

cool, sounds like the Doug did it right.

Whats the possiblity of a smaller rig, ala laser...

We've debated that, however, there are no current plans for a smaller rig. This one has a lot of range to it -- Bob only put on a touch more vang when the wind got up around 10 kts -- he wasn't over powered.

Doug

[atwinda]

I saw the advert on the front page, thinking "man, that'd be great.. I wonder how much it is..." searched around, their site.. My boss joined in on the thought "that would be cool to get two of those to screw around in". The idea was quickly put to rest once we saw the price tag; it's just too much to "pick one up".

Judging by the amount of people on this forum looking for a good fun single hander, someone could make a killing by making something like the hoot in the 2k range.

The 7k range is just too close to the used 49er and I14 market to not get one of those instead.

[mustang__1]

atwinda, on May 15 2006, 10:35 PM, said:

I saw the advert on the front page, thinking "man, that'd be great.. I wonder how much it is..." searched around, their site.. My boss joined in on the thought "that would be cool to get two of those to screw around in". The idea was quickly put to rest once we saw the price tag; it's just too much to "pick one up".

Judging by the amount of people on this forum looking for a good fun single hander, someone could make a killing by making something like the hoot in the 2k range.

The 7k range is just too close to the used 49er and I14 market to not get one of those instead.

ok, 7k isnt much more than a laser. thats an amazing feat. the price is good. too much for me yes, but i can stand to wait a few years till the price is down as used boats come on the market.

[Mitch]

$2k, you can't get a walker bay inflatable with sailing rig for $2k. Just not possible. $7k, built in the US, seems like a pretty reasonable price for a high perf ride. It would be very nice to have a singlehander for bombin around on. Not gonna happen unless I unload one of the rides, but would be nice.

[couchsurfer]

[quote name='atwinda' date='May 15 2006, 07:35 PM' post='737452']
......... someone could make a killing by making something like the hoot in the 2k range.........../quote]

....2k!!!-- :blink: :lol: :D --are you stoned or just STUPID <_<

[bhyde]

atwinda, on May 15 2006, 06:35 PM, said:

I saw the advert on the front page, thinking "man, that'd be great.. I wonder how much it is..." searched around, their site.. My boss joined in on the thought "that would be cool to get two of those to screw around in". The idea was quickly put to rest once we saw the price tag; it's just too much to "pick one up".

Judging by the amount of people on this forum looking for a good fun single hander, someone could make a killing by making something like the hoot in the 2k range.

The 7k range is just too close to the used 49er and I14 market to not get one of those instead.

$2K for a new boat!? I’ve seen radio controlled boats that cost more than that. You do realize that we a talking about real boats here, right? You can probably get a pretty nice tricked out El Toro for 2K, but that’s about it. Ever price a formula board? In my opinion, $7K for a new Hoot is a very reasonable price. A new 49er is $20K+ and a new I14 is $25K+ (I’ve heard as high as $40K, Yikes!). A new MPS is going for $13K and a Voodoo is going to be 14K+. You could build a beautiful Swift Solo for about $10K. Sure you can find a pile of used boats for $7K, hell I’ll sell you my nice little yellow I14 for $4.5K ready to sail, but you’re comparing apples and oranges. The Hoot is a good value by any reasonably objective measure and more importantly, if fits my needs.

[TeamFugu]

atwinda, on May 15 2006, 08:35 PM, said:

I saw the advert on the front page, thinking "man, that'd be great.. I wonder how much it is..." searched around, their site.. My boss joined in on the thought "that would be cool to get two of those to screw around in". The idea was quickly put to rest once we saw the price tag; it's just too much to "pick one up".

Judging by the amount of people on this forum looking for a good fun single hander, someone could make a killing by making something like the hoot in the 2k range.

The 7k range is just too close to the used 49er and I14 market to not get one of those instead.

Dweeb alert.

[atwinda]

I'm more than willing to bet that one could build a boat for cheaper than 2k. Certainly the hull for way less, and the only place you'd be spending money is in the rig and sails.

[Mitch]

not that kind of boat. And, oh, labor is free I suppose? Maybe if you rotomold a hull - and throw out the capital costs, cause who needs to make a living, the resin might be cheap enough. A mast is gonna be a grand, a sail will be close to that. So - stick a good mast and sail on a plywood sheet - go downwind only, slowly, yep, $2k.

I've rebuilt an I14. Rebuilt, not built, no new blades or mast, just fabric, foam, epoxy resin, paint, consumables, no labor cost, not including $1500 in harken doodads, not including tools, was $2500.

Built a moth hull - jig was a couple hundred, materials kit was about $700. Didn't put on the racks, or blades. $1000 for a planter, and an ugly one at that.

Now - if you want to build Alan's home depot 18 - yes, you could do it. It wouldn't be a production planing singlehander though. yes, it could be done.

[jfunk]

atwinda, on May 15 2006, 09:43 PM, said:

I'm more than willing to bet that one could build a boat for cheaper than 2k. Certainly the hull for way less, and the only place you'd be spending money is in the rig and sails.

Not a chance!!!

[us7070]

Thanks for the write-up. It seems like a very nice ride. I'd love to try one, but I'm on the east coast, so I guess I'll have to wait.

I agree that $7k for a new boat like this is a very good deal.

Is the builder sticking with Bill Hansen for sails now that he's left Windwing? I hope so. I notice that he's got a new project going at Hansen Sails . Looks like new Hansen formula sails will be on the market soon.

Speaking of sails, How easy was it to rotate the cambers in 3kts?

[TeamFugu]

atwinda, on May 15 2006, 11:43 PM, said:

I'm more than willing to bet that one could build a boat for cheaper than 2k. Certainly the hull for way less, and the only place you'd be spending money is in the rig and sails.

Go for it and show us the proof!

Also it has to plane in 6 knots and last more than two years.

[dgkidder]

us7070, on May 16 2006, 04:53 AM, said:

Is the builder sticking with Bill Hansen for sails now that he's left Windwing? I hope so. I notice that he's got a new project going at Hansen Sails . Looks like new Hansen formula sails will be on the market soon.

We are absolutely sticking with Bill's sails. You won't find a better designer anywhere.

Doug

[couchsurfer]

dgkidder, on May 16 2006, 07:38 AM, said:

We are absolutely sticking with Bill's sails. You won't find a better designer anywhere.
Doug

.....hey Doug,,I noticed Chris won his fleet at S.O.C.K.S!! ;) ,,,are things looking good for the vancouver event??

[dgkidder]

michael-compwest, on May 16 2006, 08:20 AM, said:

dgkidder, on May 16 2006, 07:38 AM, said:

We are absolutely sticking with Bill's sails. You won't find a better designer anywhere.
Doug

.....hey Doug,,I noticed Chris won his fleet at S.O.C.K.S!! ;) ,,,are things looking good for the vancouver event??

Things are looking good for Vancouver. The best news for Chris was that he didn't screw his back up (again) sailing at SOCKS. Any chance that there are going to be some reaching legs in Vancouver? I guess that the course at SOCKS was a sausage -- which isn't as much fun in a boat that reaches like a Hoot.

Doug

[couchsurfer]

dgkidder, on May 16 2006, 09:08 AM, said:

michael-compwest, on May 16 2006, 08:20 AM, said:

dgkidder, on May 16 2006, 07:38 AM, said:

We are absolutely sticking with Bill's sails. You won't find a better designer anywhere.
Doug

.....hey Doug,,I noticed Chris won his fleet at S.O.C.K.S!! ;) ,,,are things looking good for the vancouver event??

Things are looking good for Vancouver. The best news for Chris was that he didn't screw his back up (again) sailing at SOCKS. Any chance that there are going to be some reaching legs in Vancouver? I guess that the course at SOCKS was a sausage -- which isn't as much fun in a boat that reaches like a Hoot.
Doug

It'll probably just be sausages for the skiffs.....the best chance is if there's a permanent windshift--the comittee's not known to act too fast.......of course once you put out up your own fleet you can name your course,so whynot send 5? :P
...it'd be great to see Chris and the Hoot,,and there'll be a lot of dinghy sailors there,with much better opportunities for viewing the boat in action.

[bhyde]

7070,
The chambers were not a problem once Doug showed me the trick. If you tack or jibe the boat in light air, like most boats, the battens/chambers have a hard time popping through so most people give the mainsheet a big yank, right? On the Hoot all you have to do is reach up and push the lower chamber with your hand, and the rest will pop right on through. No problem and you don’t upset the boat doing it.

Solo,
I’m tipping the scales at about 190lbs of mostly fat and out of shape muscle. In the light stuff I could easily move a little weight forward, about to the shroud attachment, and the stern wake would become dead silent without the bow digging in. The boat feels like it has plenty of buoyancy fore and aft to accommodate a broad range of weights (this ain’t no Moth). Doug can probably give you a better idea of the relative fullness of the hull sections but my wild ass guess would be that you could carry 220lbs in anything over 8kts of breeze.

[redboat]

Great review.

IF the HOOT is put together fairly well and is marketed heavily in the US it could do wonders for the sport if some fleets get going and some YC's get behind it for their members. Simple, easy to store/transport, reasonably exciting and not extremely physical.

Will any be on the East Coast this summer?

Good luck.

[Liquid]

atwinda, on May 15 2006, 10:43 PM, said:

I'm more than willing to bet that one could build a boat for cheaper than 2k. Certainly the hull for way less, and the only place you'd be spending money is in the rig and sails.

Right! OK... NEXT! Looking forward to seeing your creation.

Now, let's get back to reallity!

T