I got my H16 back in July and this past weekend, Sunday, and Labor Day, Monday, I finally got a chance to get out and do a little sailing at the lake. It had been 29 years since I had been sailing and it was fantastic!!!!! The boat handled very well, and even though the wind wasn't all that strong and the breezes came in spurts, I still had a great time. The only thing I didn't understand was that my jib didn't seem to want to switch sides very well and the battens would hit against the mast keeping it from fully swinging over from one side to another. I couldn't figure out why so if anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to express them. Yep, it was fun. I'm not going back out on a holiday weekend though because there were just way too much traffic out there, wave runners, pontoons, and ski boats all pulling something or someone, never had any close calls, but when I had to moor the boat at our cabin, (nothing but seawall and concrete boat ramp there, so I had to moor it out in about chest deep water), the waves from all the motor boats really made the Hobie bob around a lot. All in all it was a great weekend. When I get the jib figured out, I'm ready to hit the beach. Funny thing about sailing, it seems that once you learn, it kind of stays with you forever, can't wait to do it again.
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Marty
1984 Hobie 16 Redline Yellow Nationals, "Yellow Fever"
Opelika, Al / Lake Martin
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Gone Sailing....
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Posted: Sep 06, 2016 - 09:42 PM
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Posted: Sep 06, 2016 - 10:41 PM
Wow, 29 years since you sailed? What's the back-story there?
Not sure if there is a rigging problem on your H16, but keeping the jib cleated, and back-winding it during a tack until well after you've crossed the wind, can really help on tacking efficiency and moving the sail around.
Edited by tominpa on Sep 06, 2016 - 11:42 PM.
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Tom
NACRA 5.7 (1984 Sail 181)
Pennsylvania
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Posted: Sep 07, 2016 - 06:39 AM
Having the jib battens hang up on the mast is just one of those little "quirks" of the Hobie 16. There are some things you can do to help reduce the problem, but in light wind, you'll pretty much always have the top batten hang up to some degree and need to "pop" it across. To pop the batten free, pull down & push the sail forward and away from the mast to get the batten unstuck (the batten actually hangs up on the jib halyard). You may even need to stand up to do this.
First thing to do, lay your jib out on the ground and tension the battens. Now look at how much excess batten length is sticking out past the leech of the sail. You only want the very tip the batten adjuster exposed. Trim off as much batten length as possible while still being able to properly tension the batten. The less batten sticking out, the less chance for a hangup.
You can also route the halyards away from the front of the mast to help reduce hangups. After the mainsail is hoisted and locked, walk the main halyard around the side of the boat, outside the shroud, and back to the mast and cleat it off. This will help hold hold the halyard to the side. You can also route the jib halyard to the side of the mast, but this may cause uneven mast rotation.
Trimming the battens and knowing how to pop the jib free will eliminate most hang up problems, but as a last resort, you can purchase Hobie "super battens" which are more flexible than stock battens to even further reduce the chance of a hangup.
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Posted: Sep 07, 2016 - 09:39 AM
Thanks for the tips. I found an article stating that in light wind the jib will hang up a bit on the mast. I pretty sure that was my issue, the wind was really light, but I will take a look at the length of the battens for sure.
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Marty
1984 Hobie 16 Redline Yellow Nationals, "Yellow Fever"
Opelika, Al / Lake Martin
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Posted: Sep 07, 2016 - 11:43 AM
The back story is that I moved away from the Gulf Coast many years ago and didn't think I would enjoy lake sailing. I always thought I'd like to get another Hobie Cat, so I decided that since we go to the beach once or twice a year, it would be nice to have a Hobie again, and I would try out the lake a bit. Now I'm glad I did for sure.
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Marty
1984 Hobie 16 Redline Yellow Nationals, "Yellow Fever"
Opelika, Al / Lake Martin
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Posted: Sep 07, 2016 - 01:41 PM
light air makes it much harder to get the jib to play nice
the jib has less problem when it's got a lot of pressure on it (i.e. wind) but if you have light or puffy air ... or dont have enough speed going to push your bows around, or you move weight at the wrong time, or your tiller handling is poor, or you just plain ole' screw up your tack, ... (or, or, or) you have killed your speed and momentum... and now your jib has no pressure to push it over...
just practice it for 29 years... and you'll only screw up 1/2 the time
.PS my hobie16 had batten pivots. Little plastic (if i recall) hinges that let the leach of the sail "swing"
seemed to work pretty well but i really was clueless as a cat sailor back then.. so not sure if they are actually any good
http://www.hobiecat.com/f…ewtopic.php?f=14&t=39640
Edited by MN3 on Sep 07, 2016 - 01:43 PM. -
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Posted: Sep 07, 2016 - 01:58 PM
Yes I read about the pivoting battens, but from what I read about them, there is concern about them wearing more on the jib than the standard battens.
I think my whole issue was light wind. I am going to adjust the battens and the halyard next time I have her in the water.
In all, it was a nice sail anyway, just cruising around, got a bunch of waves from other boaters and even a compliment or two on the boat. I was sailing in a part of the lake where you never see a sailboat, so I was definitely alone in my cause. Lol.
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Marty
1984 Hobie 16 Redline Yellow Nationals, "Yellow Fever"
Opelika, Al / Lake Martin
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Posted: Sep 07, 2016 - 05:24 PM
Like dogboy said, bring the halyards around the shrouds before you cleat them off. I also installed these small cleats on the mast of my 16 to keep the halyards out of the way. Lot less hangups in light wind!
http://www.murrays.com/07-1140.html
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Kirk
1985 Hobie 18
1992 Hobie 20
Bandera TX
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Posted: Sep 10, 2016 - 09:27 PM
I also think a big part of my problem was having the jib too tight all of the time and not letting it fill out. I've watched a lot of H16 videos and in every one, it seems that the jib is always let out more that how I had mine. Rookie mistake I guess, never had a boat that had a jib other that a 24 ft Venture that my parents had briefly. It's all a re-learning process for sure.
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Marty
1984 Hobie 16 Redline Yellow Nationals, "Yellow Fever"
Opelika, Al / Lake Martin
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Posted: Sep 14, 2016 - 07:23 PM
To paraphrase the beachcat bible, Catamaran Racing for the '90s, "When in doubt, sheet the main tight and the jib loose."
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Sheet In!
Bob
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Prindle 18-2 #244 "Wakizashi"
Prindle 16 #3690 "Pegasus" Sold (sigh)
AZ Multihull Fleet 42 member
(Way) Past Commodore of Prindle Fleet 14
Arizona, USA
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Posted: Sep 15, 2016 - 11:45 AM
Yep, sounds about right!!!!
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Marty
1984 Hobie 16 Redline Yellow Nationals, "Yellow Fever"
Opelika, Al / Lake Martin
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