Most who are familiar with the Hobie 14 know that its optimum weight is pretty low, around 155lbs. So by having two people on a 14 one can easily call it overloaded. Asya and I have proved it. When we are both on the same side of the boat in calm wind the hull we are over has a tendency to submarine. In the past we have fixed the submarine problem by staying on opposite sides of the boat and keeping the boat level that way. That all changed on Mashpee Pond a couple weeks ago. We finally got enough wind in the sails that we both needed to be on the windward hull in order to keep the boat level. Further more we needed to shift our weight backward to keep the leeward bow out of the water and thus prevent a pitch-poll. A very cool feeling as we finally felt like we were actually sailing our little boat, rather than coxing along an overloaded dingy.
By and large the 14 is intended to be sailed solo, at the very least the size of the trampoline and single trapeze suggest that it is a one person boat. But our experience shows that having two people on a 14 isn’t a deal breaker. Certainly no hobie cat speed records will be broken with a crew on board, but the boat is plenty fast enough to have fun. And who wouldn’t want someone on board to share the fun with? That being said, sailing a 14 with two people definitely requires coordination and care to make sure the boat can actually handle the extra weight. Personally I wouldn’t be comfortable carrying to much more weight on Tiger than we already do. So, if you are inclined to have a crew on your Hobie 14 please do so carefully and be sure you know how your boat will handle the extra weight.
Sails In The Wind 