Hilu

The Hilu is an outrigger sailboat produced by AMF Alcort (American Machine and Foundry), producer of the popular Sunfish sailboat, in the early 1970s. Like the Sunfish and other AMF boats, the Hilu's sail featured a signature fish print and was named for a fish; Hilu is a Hawaiian variety of fish [http://books.google.ca/books?id=aj6soKpGouwC&pg=PA75&lpg=PA75&dq=hawaiian+hilu+fish&source=web&ots=QZQM3P8_sX&sig=9IVlj03J4nqDj-9Icu3WbmlH75c&hl=en#PPA74,M1] . Unlike the Sunfish, which is arguably the most popular recreational sailboat ever manufactured, few Hilus were ever produced and current specimens remain very rare. By one count there are only 6 known Hilus worldwide. [ [http://www.rvharvey.com/hilu.htm AMF Hilu ] ] A 1971 Hilu brochure lists the suggested retail price at $445 (equal to approximately $2,350 in 2007).

The Hilu is often mistaken for a catamaran but it is in fact a proa, a Micronesian boat consisting of a main hull and a smaller outrigger. A 1971 advertisement for the Hilu describes it as "an entirely new kind of sailing experience... a design that's as old as Polynesia with materials that are as new as tomorrow".

Hilu Specs

Length (main hull) convert|14|ft|m|abbr=on. Float convert|10|ft|m|abbr=on. Beam convert|7|ft|10|in|m|abbr=on Weight convert|75|lb|abbr=on. Sail Area convert|65|sqft|m2|abbr=on. Crew Capacity convert|225|lb|abbr=on. (1-2)

References