Hobie cat is the popular name for any catamaran sailing dinghy carrying the Hobie trademark and name. Hobie cats are popular catamarans used for racing and recreation. Hobie catamarans seem to have gained popularity because they are small, fun and relatively affordable high performance catamarans.

Hobie catamarans (as most catamarans do) basically consist of two small separate hulls, with a trampoline suspended in-between and powered by one or more relatively large sails, suspended from a single mast.

Several models of Hobie cat are available in various countries around the world. The Hobie Cats produced since 1968 include catamarans up to 21 foot in length. These models differ in size, composition, design and sail configuration. The different Hobie catamarans satisfy the needs of a wide variety of dinghy sailor, sailing in diverse marine and inland environments.

The creator of the Hobie cat, Hobart Alter, wanted to create a sailing dinghy that could be launched into the surf and sailed all the way back to the beach. He accomplished this by designing the Hobie 14 catamaran, which first went into production in 1968.

Hobie Alter's background in surfboard design and innovation helped him to construct the single-handed 14-foot Hobie catamaran with asymmetrical fibreglass hulls, which would take the sailing world by storm. Life Magazine did a feature article about the Hobie 14, shortly after production commenced, describing it as 'The Cat that Flies', because of its ability to go airborne when launching through the surf. This publicity made the Hobie Cat an instant baby beach cat hit.

The Hobie 14 has since been discontinued in North America, but is still being produced at facilities in other parts of the world. The Hobie 10, 12 and 3.5 models did not remain in production long, but Hobie struck gold with the 1969 release of the two-person Hobie 16 catamaran.

The Hobie Cat 16 (or just Hobie 16) was an immediate success. Some folks consider the Hobie 16 as the best-known catamaran dinghy in the world.

Today, Hobie Cats are manufactured in Oceanside, California, at Hobie Cat USA, Cape Town, South Africa, at Hobie Cat South Africa, Brasilia, at Hobie Cat Brazil, Toulon, France, at Hobie Cat Europe, as well as in Australia, at Hobie Cat Australasia.