Compare Capri 30, Olson 30, Hobbie 33

[SPC]

Could someone please compare the sailing characteristics of the three?

Hobie Olson Capri
LOA 33 30 29.5
LWL 30.5 27.5 24.17
Beam 8 9.25 11.17
Draft CB 5.1 5.3
Displacement 4,000 3,600 5,000
Ballast 1,900 1,800 2,300

The use would be SF Bay, single or double-handed. The boat would probably be dry stored at the marina and perhaps trailered once a year to another location. (Capri and Olson would require wide load sign and there would be some other limitations on the Capri.)

It would be my sailing classroom for the next few years (just out of basic cruising and 95% of experience on a J24). Will not seriously race and unlikely to stay aboard for more than a day and that only rarely. Would like to be able to bring 5 crew day sailing in reasonable comfort -- wetness and tenderness a concern but not big problem. Would like to be able to sell the boat in 2 to 3 years with no more than a modest loss (10-20%).

Thanks in advance.

[jameswilson29]

You will probably receive more responses to a post like this on Sailing Anarchy.

I crewed on an Olson 30 in the Chesapeake in the mid-90s and it was a cool boat. Seemed like a well-designed sturdy lightweight ocean racer. Spartan inside, probably 4' headroom with pipeberths and varnished plywood, simple to sail with a single-spreader, masthead rig, wet and fast in higher winds, especially downwind in a breeze. Shallow but fairly roomy cockpit with bridgedeck. It would probably perform better where you live than here on the Chesapeake due to our light airs and chop - the boat developed very little momentum upwind and had to bear off to maintain speed.

[Fstbttms]

The Olson 30 is best suited to sailing in SF Bay conditions. The Hobie 33 is a downwind racer, not really designed for the upwind work you would find yourself doing. The Capri 30 is really too tender for the typically windy conditions found on the Bay (although they are winners in 'round-the-bouy racing on the Estuary.) Take a look around. There are many more Olson 30s in the marinas here than there are either Hobie 33s or Capri 30s. There's a reason for that.