Hobie 33
HOBIE · Hobie Alter · 1982
Updated
The Hobie 33 is a 9.97 m planing racing yacht designed by Hobie Alter and built by HOBIE, first launched in 1982. It races in Class C.
Length
9.97 m
32′ 9″
Beam
2.45 m
Draft
1.62 m
Displacement
1.9 t
Sail area
53 m²
On the podium
Where a Hobie 33 finishes when she goes racing.
1
Wins
3
Seconds
1
Thirds
8
Starts
Not enough races yet for a percentage — these are the counts so far. We keep collecting results, so this will fill in.
Read from 8 starts by 1 boat between 2024, counting races with six boats or more.
Recent regattas
The latest events where a Hobie 33 was on the start line, named as the organisers publish them.
- ORC World Championship2024
Raced one we are missing?
Report a regattaRound the buoys, or offshore
A short windward-leeward and a night at sea ask different things of a boat. Here is how this one does in each.
Round the buoys
—
Not enough data yet: 6 races of 10 NM or less carry a published distance.
Offshore & coastal
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Not enough data yet: 2 races over 10 NM carry a published distance.
Who she races against
The designs a Hobie 33 actually lines up with, most often first. The bar shows how those meetings ended.
Some of the boats it races against
How the Hobie 33 has fared against each of them, boat against boat on corrected time. Ordered by how often the two meet, not by who wins.
Speed at every angle
The shape of this design's speed, drawn from the measured fleet. Pick a wind and watch it stretch.
Upwind VMG
5.03
40°
Beam reach
9.12
90°
Broad reach
11.96
135°
Downwind VMG
9.41
170°
Speed in knots at 20 knots of true wind. Green marks the angles that pay: the closest useful beat and the deepest run worth sailing.
Where it wins and where it pays
Every boat is judged against its own measurements — length, weight, sail area. The quicker those say it should be, the more it has to deliver just to break even. Going fast is not enough: it has to go faster than its own numbers promised.
It needs pressure to show what it can do. Give it a fresh day and long legs and it delivers more than it promised; in a drifter it is working uphill.
Where it gains
Its best ground is on a broad reach once it pipes up, where it does more than its size and sail area promise, and by a margin worth having. It holds that advantage on the run as well, so the gain is not down to one leg of the course.
Where it pays
It falls short on the beat in a strong breeze, giving away time it never gets back. That is a hull that wants to get up and go, and needs pressure to do it.
Above the line it delivers more than promised and gains on the fleet. Below, it falls short. Move the wind: plenty of boats sit on one side in the light and the other when it blows.
Full width is 2.2 kn either way.
At 10 knots this design makes back more than its rating asks on the beam reach.
How fast is a Hobie 33
Boat speed in knots, by true wind angle and wind strength.
| Angle | 6 kn | 10 kn | 14 kn | 20 kn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beat VMG | 3.67 | 4.77 | 5.00 | 5.03 |
| 52° | 5.67 | 6.92 | 7.17 | 7.28 |
| 60° | 6.04 | 7.14 | 7.45 | 7.63 |
| 75° | 6.28 | 7.43 | 7.93 | 8.34 |
| 90° | 6.12 | 7.56 | 8.34 | 9.12 |
| 110° | 5.81 | 7.71 | 8.84 | 10.11 |
| 120° | 5.64 | 7.63 | 9.12 | 10.94 |
| 135° | 5.04 | 7.20 | 8.82 | 11.96 |
| 150° | 4.19 | 6.41 | 7.94 | 10.87 |
| Run VMG | 3.63 | 5.55 | 6.96 | 9.41 |
How they are set up
The range each sail spans across the fleet.
Most run a fixed propeller. Crew weight is declared around 480 kg.
Rigging
Hobie 33 rig and sail dimensions
A Hobie 33 carries 10.67 m of mainsail hoist on a 3.81 m boom, a forestay 10.35 m above the deck and a 4.21 m bowsprit. Typical figures across the 6 boats measured under the current VPP, with the range each one spans.
Rig
Sails
The spinnaker spreads widest of all — 53 to 87 m² depending on bowsprit and set-up. Before ordering a sail, read the figure on your own measurement record rather than the typical one for the design.