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Again, this is a legitimate product made by a Hobie enthusiast, and now you can have a pair on your boat and begin sailing in total comfort, while remaining high and dry.
Articles: Bench Seats (wings) now available for the Hobie 16 catamaran.
Catamaran Bench Seats for the Hobie 16, isn't it about time!
New on the market from Sit 'n' Sail, catamaran benches for the Hobie 16. These are "Bench Seats" that you sit on; they attach to your trampoline frame using our supplied stainless steel bracket hardware. We have field tested these products for about one year, and they are rock-solid. This is a legitimate product made by a Hobie enthusiast for other Hobie enthusiasts to enjoy. They are not available anywhere else, inside or outside of the U.S. Go ahead, just try to find some. We are a new company, Sit 'n' Sail, and we'd like to promote our revolutionary new product for the popular Hobie 16 market. It's hard to believe that no one made these Bench Seats until now.
Again, this is a legitimate product made by a Hobie enthusiast, and now you can have a pair on your boat and begin sailing in total comfort, while remaining high and dry.
This product was developed and engineered over the course of one year. The inspiration began with a desire to make the Hobie 16 catamaran more comfortable and family oriented. We also had a desire to breathe some extra life into a hobby that had somewhat peaked over the years. We saw significant potential with the popular Hobie 16 cat. Surprisingly, up until now, there has been no other product like Sit 'n' Sail Bench Seats developed exclusively for the Hobie 16.
Sit 'n' Sail is basically a two-man operation. That operation consists of Patrick, the driving force, designer, and primary field tester behind Sit 'n' Sail Bench Seats. The other man in the two-man operation is myself, Ray. I am also a field tester and the marketing specialist for Sit 'n' Sail. We both own Hobie 16s and sail them frequently in the Long Beach harbor in Long Beach, California.
Sit 'n' Sail catamaran bench seats went through several concept designs and revisions before ultimately becoming the outstanding product that they are today. During the short time I have known Patrick, he has always expressed a desire to transform the Hobie 16 into a more comfortable ride. Sitting on the trampoline for hours can lead to fatigue, sore legs, and backaches for many cat sailors. Patrick is approaching 60 years of age, so this may be a factor in his inspiration to create the more comfortable seating position that the Sit 'n' Sail Bench Seats offer. No offense Patrick :-)
We originally tried many different types of materials and configurations for the bench seats. Ultimately the decision was made to use reinforced fiberglass for the bench seats because it is flexibile, durable, lightweight, and waterproof. For the support arms, he opted for aluminum pipe. Stainless steel was chosen as the material best suited for the mounting hardware, nuts, and bolts. All of these materials are resistant to fresh and salt water. In addition, we decided to rubber coat the bench seats using a rubberized coating for better adhesion so slipping would not occur while sitting or trapezing. The rubberized coating comes in yellow, black, red, white, and blue. The aluminum support arms are powder-coated to resist corrosion. This method is superior to paint. From the beginning, it was Patrick's professional attention to quality and detail that make these bench-seats really stand out.
During the testing phase, some problems emerged. We didn't know if trapezing was possible while standing on the bench seats, or if the leeward bench seat would drag in the water when "Flying the Hull". We had to figure out what the proper "rake" of the bench seats should be so that no leeward bench dragging would occur while flying high. Also, we needed to design a way to make sure the bench seats stayed put even if capsizing occurred, which led to our patented design utilizing a hooked-latch assembly to attach the bench seats directly to the trampoline frame, unlike other wings which mount directly into the fiberglass hulls causing stress fractures, or "spider-webbing". Another concern was the added weight of the combined benches. We managed to reduce the total product weight to a mere 42 pounds. In other words, both benches combined only weigh 42 lbs.
During testing we discovered that trapezing IS possible while standing from the benches. You now trapeze from the side of the bench seat instead of the trampoline side rail. This puts you higher up and further out in a trapeze harness. And let me tell you, it rocks! Especially while flying a hull! This takes trapezing to new heights--literally! The added elevation really adds an extreme kick for any Hobie sailor with the resolve to try it. After you've mastered it in an hour or so, you'll never go back to trapezing the old way. The only modification you may need to make is to slightly adjust the trapeze lines. Then you're ready to fly high, really high!
Although trapezing is a thrill, they were designed primarily for a comfortable seating position. Now you can finally have a comfortable ride with the wife or kids, and no more tiring seating positions. I have a pair on my boat, and I love them. These bench seats are incredibly comfortable while sailing at a fast clip or just cruising the harbor with a friend. They will support 350 pounds. So doubling-up is not a problem at all. No longer will you get pains in your knees or backaches from sitting on the trampoline. It makes for a much more inviting, comfortable sailing experience. In addition to all of this, you can also lean back on them if you wish to sit on the trampoline. It's like having a wonderful backrest to lean back on with your legs stretched out. During the testing phase we kept finding more and more uses for these bench seats. We feel like we really came up with rock solid design that will transform your Hobie into a much more satisfying boat and will be more appealing to anybody willing to try them.
Please read through the features list to see what else these Sit 'n' Sail Bench Seats offer.
Features :
- Bolt-on installation! No modification or drilling of any kind is needed.
- Single person installation in minutes. These are a snap to install all by yourself.
- Rubberized coating is applied to each bench seat for better adhesion while sailing or trapezing. (Rubberized coating is available in black, yellow, red, blue, and white)
- Each bench seat will support up to 350+ pounds evenly distributed.
- Much more comfortable than non-bench catamarans. (see pictures)
- Yes! You CAN trapeze from these benches. I do all the time. However, you may have to adjust your trapeze lines.
- Sitting on the benches keeps you much drier than sitting directly on the trampoline--high and dry!
- You can even use them as a backrest and lean on them. This is another very comfortable way to enjoy the Sit 'n' Sail bench seats.
- Made of non-corrosive material: fiberglass bench seats, aluminum support arms (Powder coated, Black), and stainless steel mounting hardware.
- Only basic standard tools required, (3/4, 9/16)
- Total combined weight of Sit 'n' Sail benches are only 42 pounds.
- 4-Color installation manual included.
- Designed and made in the USA. Not available anywhere else in the U.S.
The price of our Sit N Sail "Wings" are $850.00 plus $50.00 S&H. (Total - $900.00) We will ship internationally, but the cost of shipping will increase.
Sit 'n' Sail installation manual in Adobe Acrobat format.
Sit 'n' Sail Sales Flyer in Adobe Acrobat format.
Sit 'n' Sail currently has a website under construction, so please be patient with us.
We want to express a big Thank You to Damon Linkous at http://www.TheBeachcats.com for offering us a chance to talk about our new product on his website. Thanks Damon!
Also, if you're ever in Long Beach, we welcome you to come out and "test-fly" our bench seats for yourselves. We know you'll love them. ;-)
Happy Sailing!
Regards,
The Sit 'n' Sail Team
Contact Info:
Sit 'n' Sail
Phone. 562-439-2394
Email. quizzeen@earthlink.net
http://www.sitnsail.com
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