I saw the notice about Hobie switching distribution, but are they no longer going to produce boats also? Saw M. Miller retired as well. Seems Like we're watching the ending of an era.
Was this on the Hobie Fourm? Link by chance?
JohnES wrote: Was this on the Hobie Fourm? Link by chance?
https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=70414
Jim Clark-Dawe
Wow, that is big news. They got bought out a few years ago. I am sure there is enough legacy business to make it worth supporting.
I'm wondering now if Hobie's been struggling with the sailing line since covid killed production a bit. Then, in a business move, farm out that smaller section of their business so they can concentrate on the plastic kayak line, etc. Just wondering...
They were bought out earlier this year, and from what I heard, the new owners wanted to focus on kayaks, etc. and wanted nothing to do with the beach cat side of the business. This announcement seems to confirm that. I canβt imagine that it will be good for the class, but I guess time will tell.
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Steve M.
This is from the Hobie Cat association for North America. It's the most thorough explanation of what's going on.
Jim Clark-Dawe
Edited by jclarkdawe on Nov 20, 2022 - 09:51 PM.
So, to sum up; Hobie sold to an investment group (Maynards) sometime, like January 2021, who expressed strong interest in the kayak side of business and probably due to production problems and low production volume decided to sort of spin off the sailboat side of the business here in 2022. The Hobie name recognition could help Starting Line if developed properly I'm sure. Hopefully it'll help get through the production delays. Certainly, I'd think that there's a pent up demand for their cats, though it likely won't last due to attention deficit... Wishing the best of luck to them.
These are the only Hobie catamarans that are produced for now: Wave, Getaway and 16.
I don't know whether this also involves Hobie Europe https://www.nauticexpo.com/prod/hobie-cat-europe-20181.html or Hobie Australia https://www.hobie.com/au/en/sail/. Both have a lot more boats than Hobie US does.
Jim Clark-Dawe
jclarkdawe wrote: I don't know whether this also involves Hobie Europe https://www.nauticexpo.com/prod/hobie-cat-europe-20181.html or Hobie Australia https://www.hobie.com/au/en/sail/. Both have a lot more boats than Hobie US does.
Jim Clark-Dawe
Hope so! Still no high-end cats, though.
Edited by revintage on Nov 21, 2022 - 07:27 PM.
It's my understanding that Hobie Europe and Australia are separate, legal entities. However, SL claims to have global reach with manufacturing, so who knows? We won't REALLY know until the 2023 season gets underway and then only if they can get manufacturing under control. Hope so as I see at least 2 more boats in my future, eventually... π