Hobie brings cats back into the fold

westmatt

Rank: Lubber

Registered: Sep 23, 2022

Last visit: Apr 11, 2024

Posts: 79
Posted: Dec 15, 2023 - 11:59 AM

Published on December 14th, 2023
Bristol, RI (December 12, 2023) – Starting Line Sailing (SLS) and Hobie Cat Company II (Hob. ie) mutually agreed to the termination of the collaboration and license agreement entered into in November 2022.
SC19

Rank: Lubber

Registered: Sep 20, 2010

Last visit: Jan 19, 2024

Posts: 45
Posted: Dec 15, 2023 - 12:12 PM

That didn't last long. Any idea what happened?
wxguy

Rank: Lubber

Registered: Jul 20, 2016

Last visit: Jan 15, 2024

Posts: 56
Posted: Dec 15, 2023 - 12:35 PM

IMHO, SLS was in over their head and couldn't keep up to the demand for product and parts. This is just my opinion from what I have heard and observed.

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Master UniRig Sailor
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charlescarlis

Rank: Mate

Registered: Jun 30, 2018

Last visit: Mar 20, 2024

Posts: 583
Posted: Dec 15, 2023 - 02:56 PM

I hope Hobie can put it back together - I thought I read that they moved all of the production away from California up to somewhere in the north, like Michigan or somewhere??? Which means they have to retrieve everything and move production again, further delaying parts and products. Maybe not - maybe they'll produce where they're at, but that could be an unusual arrangement. Guessing they third party the roto-molding, but lay up the 16's themselves. In that case, the dies stay where they're at for the Getaways and Waves, etc.

Here's hoping they can pull it back together.

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Chuck C.
H21SE 408
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jclarkdawe

Rank: Lubber

Registered: Nov 10, 2022

Last visit: Dec 16, 2023

Posts: 6
Posted: Dec 16, 2023 - 10:04 AM

As near as I can tell, everything was shipped to SLS in Rhode Island. See https://hobieclass.com/starting-line-sailing-new-hobie-manufacturer-site-visit/

It's possible that they can get things moved back to California seamlessly, but more likely we're going to see some more delays. On a positive note, I'm guessing that a lot of organization went into setting up the shop at SLS and everything might be very organized.

Jim Clark-Dawe