Constantly having problems to find crew for my HC Miracle 20 I got idea for riding it singlehanded: get smaller main sail. Thinking to try HC 16 main sail. Did any tried that before? Is doable or smaller sail will make cat unbalanced?
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Andrew
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A lot of great surfers were ruined by family and steady job.
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Singlehandling Miracle 20.
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Posted: Dec 20, 2012 - 07:33 AM
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Posted: Dec 20, 2012 - 11:59 AM
I think you might find a hobie 17 or 18 main easier to do this with as they are already lose footed.
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Jeff
Houston TX
1986 Hobie 18 Sail# 13031
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Posted: Dec 20, 2012 - 03:36 PM
get jib furler and righting pole/bag... love your surfing sig line... so next step, apply to your H20, and think "Eddie would go".
least that's the setup I do soloign my H18, w/squaretop, jib, spin... and in light air it's even fun to pop the spin solo...
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Posted: Dec 25, 2012 - 07:08 PM
A smaller main would indeed expand the wind range in which you could sail solo. The best option would be to have a sail made or recut with a full length luff, but shorter foot, and maybe a flatter profile. Potential problems with a mainsail with a shorter luff might be how to secure the main hlyd if your mast has hook/ring attachment at the masthead, and the possibility that the luff rope at the head might pull out of the luff groove when sheet the main is sheeted in hard. Might not be a problem with an aluminum mast, if you try it, let us know how it works out. And keep in mind that it's unlikely that you'd be able to right it solo. I sail an F18HT and an ARC solo, I just have to take 'em home when I'm overpowered.
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Posted: Dec 26, 2012 - 01:12 PM
I feel your pain. I solo a h20 sometimes. In anything under 10-15 its a great ride but ive been caught out in a building breeze before and had to drop main and sail in under jib only. Not fun at all! Even with proper crew the thing is a beast in heavy air. I am 6'4" and weigh 225 and have a righting bag from murrays. Ive been sailing for years but when I solo, even in ideal conditions i cannot relax for a second or the boat will know it and turn on me.
Whirlwind sails makes a h20 specific high wind mainsail that looks good but I havent got one. If i did I could see getting more solo sailing days. Let us know how it turns out either way
Also I wonder if you run a smaller MS would you have put more rake in the rig? -
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Posted: Dec 30, 2012 - 02:01 PM
I can add peace of rope between grommet and ring on top of sail which will compensate for shorter luff.
Edited by motogon on Dec 30, 2012 - 03:01 PM.
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Andrew
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Posted: Dec 30, 2012 - 04:47 PM
If the head of the main is secured to the masthead with a ring latching on a hook, just adding a short piece of line will allow you to raise the main, but you'd have to tip the boat on it's side to release it. A solid bar of aluminum that attaches to the headboard securely so that it stays in the same plane as the head( instead of a short section of line) would solve that problem. For me, the bigger concern is possibility of the bolt rope pulling out of the luff groove, with the serious amount of pull that the leech of a cat mainsail with 8 or 10 to 1 mainsheet tension can apply. When the head of the sail is all the way up to the masthead a significant amount of that leech tension is taken by the ring to the hook, or the main halyard, depending on your set up. When the head of the main is a couple feet or more below the masthead, all that load is on the bolt rope in the luff channel. Aluminum masts may be strong enough to handle that load, I just wouldn't want to be the one to find out that they couldn't( bolt rope jammed, partially pulled out, so the mainsail wouldn't lower in bigger winds, the times you'd be wanting this storm sail).
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Posted: Jan 08, 2013 - 06:31 AM
I guess best I can do is downsize.
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Andrew
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Posted: Jan 08, 2013 - 07:27 AM
several options
furl the jib in heavy air
get a hi wind mainsail
only go out with crew when there is a chance of big air
sell/trade/purchase a boat more inline with your sailing skills/enjoyment style -
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Posted: Jan 08, 2013 - 07:38 AM
That required investment. Not sure I want to do that now. Also setting mast on 20 major PITA even with crew. Setting mast alone only doable with A-frame + winch and still PITA.
That seams to me better option at this point.
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Andrew
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Posted: Jan 08, 2013 - 08:14 AM
when i started cat sailing (h16) i wouldn't sail without crew (only because of stepping the mast). I later was shown how to self step the h16 mast without problem
wen i got my h18, i purchased a jin pole so i could self step my mast (was a HUGE PITA, and time consuming, but it got me on the water without help)
i was then shown how to self step the h18 mast without the jin-pole (required trailering the cat backwards, but that is not a big deal at all)
i now step my 30' mast solo every week without help from people or machine. it is heavy, and a bear but there is a way.. but it takes practice, patience and knowledge.
you can purchase a jin-pole (or make one) for under $200 and solo step you mast if you want... but that doesnt seem to be the real issue -
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Posted: Jan 08, 2013 - 08:47 AM
I enjoy solo sailing my Hobie 21SE. With it's huge footprint on the water it is very stable, so solo sailing is a pleasure. I built a crane like system to raise my mast and with someone help for 5 minutes (at the cost of a cold Bell's Two Hearted Ale) I am ready for the water.
When the wind picks up over 15mph it is good to have crew.
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Bill 404 21SE
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Posted: Jan 08, 2013 - 10:04 AM
Are you using boom as jin-pole?
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Andrew
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Posted: Jan 08, 2013 - 11:54 AM
No.
as seen here in my pic, i reversed the way a trailer the cat.
I then use the trailer yoke to hold the mast up on an angle. At this point i can get under the mast and step it the rest solo.
If i were to back the cat up even more (down the low tide line) the angle of the mast becomes even more favorable and easier to lift solo. I do this now, tide permitting.
As per the gin pole:
I purchased an EZ Mast Stepper from Murray's
http://murrays.com/archive/54.pdf
seems it has gone up in price since i purchased one in 2002 (now $209)
I wouldn't suggest using a boom, if a line snaps, or the boom falls.. you could be out of sailing until you replace it. i try not to use critical boat parts for jobs other than what they were fabricated to do... for me, that usually leads to broken gear and inhibits my time on the water
Edited by MN3 on Jan 08, 2013 - 12:03 PM. -
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Posted: Jan 08, 2013 - 03:01 PM
So you are just relying on forward pitch of the mast to keep thing upright until you get the fore stay pinned? -
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Posted: Jan 08, 2013 - 05:28 PM
nope
I either asked someone on the beach to pin the forestay (when i had a h18) or if no one was around (rare), after stepping, I would grab the forestay and delicately walk out the bow, and then off the bow (stepping on the trailer, then the sand) and walk out and secure it (keeping tension on it all the way). Having more pitch on the trailer/mast certainly aids in this method.
these days i tie my spin halyard to my furler ring. after the mast is up i sheet in my spin halyard and cleat the spinlock. I still hold tension on the halyard as i walk out and step off the bow/trailer ... but the 3mm robline racingsheet halyard has never failed/slipped on me. -
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Posted: Jan 08, 2013 - 07:31 PM
My sailmate recently told me she's not around this summer,
curious how to take out a Tornado all alone.
Do sail my P 18-2 all year long, windforce 5 - 6 is maximum.
Above that, it's survival mode.
Have a F18 spi, it doesn't fly above 3-4 Bf solo.
All the important lines run to the back of the tramp, mainsheet,
traveller, down-haul and mast-rotator.
Thinking about a 3:1 traveller setup.
Sailing a big cat solo demands a lot of anticipation, when you
manage it, the reward is Pff..............
Have mast-up storage, though.
regards, André
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Posted: Jan 08, 2013 - 07:46 PM
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Posted: Jan 09, 2013 - 03:48 PM
That 3th video is incomplete, when I right my P28-2's mast solo,
I just make sure she's not on a trailer but on a solid pavement,
grass or beach and use my car's tow-hook to raise the mast.
Made a block with a soft-shackle specially for that purpose.
One line attached to the fore-stay will do the job.
Jumping on the tramp while raising the mast is so much easier when
the cat is on a flat surface.
André
Edited by catmodding on Jan 09, 2013 - 10:51 PM.
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Tornado (80's Reg White)
Prindle 18-2 (sold)
Dart 16 (hired and hooked)
13 mtr steel cutter (sold)
Etap 22, unsinkable sailing pocket cruiser.
Amsterdam, the Netherlands
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Posted: Jan 14, 2013 - 09:18 AM
OK. I made my mind: downgrading for something smaller, easier to rig and sail single hand.
Soooo, if anybody interested in 1994 Hobie 20 Miracle in nice condition let me know, it's officially on sale. I'm in Philly, PA.
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Andrew
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A lot of great surfers were ruined by family and steady job.
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