What kind of things can I do to my Hobie 18 to point higher?
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- Rank: Mate
- Registered: Apr 15, 2005
- Last visit: Feb 21, 2024
- Posts: 574
Posted: Oct 02, 2014 - 11:54 AM
You aren't sticking with the new boats to the A mark on a Hobie 18. Sorry, it just isn't going to happen. My target upwind speed (not VMG, just velocity) on the H18 was 9 kts. My target upwind velocity on the F18 is 13 kts and we are 10 degrees higher than the H18. That was with a decent mainsail, new mylar jib, EPO rudders and good crew work on the H18. In a blow, the H18 can keep up with the modern rides on a jib reach, where the overlapping jib helps the 18 and the rigs on the new boats can hinder a little. Assuming flat water. Otherwise, all bets are off, crew work is #1 followed by the much more tunable, planning hull forms of the modern rides.
The O.P never said what boats he was targeting, other H18's I presume? In very broad terms, more rake generally gives you higher pointing at the sacrifice of power. There are tradeoffs, and the racers have already found the sweet spot for that boat, so why not use their settings? Besides crew work, sails, and foils, you also have platform stiffness issues with these older rides. Some are stiffer and lighter than others. Beach boats tend to be heavier and less stiff than well cared for lake boats. Adds up when racing! Really the key is to have fun!!! -
- Rank: Mate
- Registered: Aug 06, 2010
- Last visit: Aug 07, 2022
- Posts: 278
Posted: Oct 10, 2014 - 04:27 PM
Yes... I have been in the mix with new boats at the A mark. Several times at OSYC, at Pensacola Mid-Winters, and again off Key Sailing; I don't remember what regatta it was.
A good aggressive start, on port if you need... sail your boat, and be smart and yes, I've beat F-18s and F-16s to the A mark. After that, however like I said, it's over for the rest of the race when they pop the chute. Boat has to be trimmed right, rudders, details, etc, stern up, weight positioned right, and maybe some of the others were green on their forumla boats, but I'm telling you. Happy Sailing. -
- Rank: Lubber
- Registered: Nov 13, 2002
- Last visit: Aug 16, 2017
- Posts: 15
Posted: Jan 06, 2015 - 07:16 PM
Here's what worked well for my Hobie-18 in mixed fleet racing (and a bit heavy crew). Worked for me on my boat, may run counter to other advice, and of course your mileage may vary...
I set my spreaders forward and my diamonds tight. Not tight enough to pre-bend the mast on their own, but tight enough to keep the mast in column side to side. Then used the downhaul (upgraded to max class legal) to bend/depower. This will be controversial - the traditional H-18 mast set up uses soft wires to allow the mast to bend sideways that with rotation flattens the sail (and the sails are not cut for a pre-bent mast). The traditional method will allow the main/mast to close off the slot. Try both ways, wee what works for you. Once I did the tight wire thing I never went back (again tight, but not pre-bend tight).
Mast rake - always forward unless you are light and/or it's blowing. Rake may help a bit upwind but it kills your power, especially downwind. Rotation for upwind somewhere between the shroud and rear beam (look up the back side of the sail and see how the mast and sail blend, adjust).
Jib cars - all the back when going upwind. All the way forward for downwind. For other points of sail adjust as mentioned before - to get an break between upper and lower telltales. Tweak that advice a little if your jib is breaking unevenly top to bottom, but it was an easy rule of thumb for us. Moving the cars back helps the jib twist off opening the slot and improving flow on the main. I've seen articles suggest the opposite for upwind, and they even show a top-down diagram on how the job moves outboard with the car forward - but the picture only represents the foot of the sail - doing that that tightens the leach of the sail and cuts flow through the upper part. Flow on the back of the main is king, don't hurt it with the jib.
Outhaul - tighter than downwind, but leave some shape in the bottom of the sail.
Downhaul - tighter than downwind, but adjust to appropriate power. If you don't have an upgraded downhaul, get one.
Main - tight, but be very careful you don't stall the top of the sail. The upper outer telltales must be flowing, and if you have leach telltales up high they should mostly flow too. If they are not you are over sheeted and loosing power. Often you will sheet harder as the wind builds, ease slightly in the lulls.
Weight - forward. In light stuff crew on the lee foredeck kind of forward. The 18 is a tail dragger, get the bows down and sterns out. I'm also convinced those big tall flat sides of the bows kind of worked like a bit of a center board going upwind - make them work for you.
Rudders - if you have the standard Hobie molded bendy plastic rudders get rid of them as soon as you can. Any of the fiberglass or carbon reinforced racing rudders from Hobie is a great improvement, find a set of EPOs if you can (not sure what the current Hobie offering is). Just get rid of the bendy ones.
Some things to try...
