outback sailing/furling rigging

Hi,

I have a 2013 Hobie outback that I got last season that the local dealer had left over so this will be second season using the boat which so far I love but since I grew up racing 420’s and now race PHRF I had to add a sail. Ive seen alot of the aftermarket PVC furling kits out there and they look nice and functional but since I want to put minimal holes in the hull and Hobie now has a factory product I decided to go for the pricer option and do it once with factory parts and trust and go with Hobie’s R&D team now that they have a product on the market to furl. I realize the installation instructions are kept some what generic to apply to all models so I wanted to see what other sailors out their found rigging a outback to sail. So below I have posted some things I have found with a corresponding picture which I find helps since I am more of a visual learner and have not been able to find a Hobie install video yet although I did find one post from Matt saying it was on the radar and coming at some point in the future.

Thanks in advance for your help and support.

First I shortened the length of the line and used the button hook (i.e. eye post) that was factory installed for the downhaul since adding a second one lower in the safety label and leaving this one unused didn’t make much sense to me unless of course I am missing something in the need for the downhaul to be longer and offset. Does anyone know the need for adding a second lower offset button hook (i.e. eye post) or if the original factory one with a shorter line will work as well?
picture 1



With the furler line itself I found angling the fairlead to be essential but it appears to me that one of the pull/grab balls was installed backwards. If you look at the inside line with the big opening of the ball sitting behind the knot with the bowline it appears to me that one of the balls was installed backwards since if you were to pull on it the ball would slide aft but the knot and line would stay stationary thus defeating the purpose of the plastic ball. I thought about un-tieing it at first but I don’t think I would be able to replicate tension and length if I was to flip the plastic ball and retie a bowline that has virtually no bitter end left after it was pulled tight. Has anyone else had this problem with their sail kit? Or thought that it may be better to have one of the plastic balls moved so they both sit in front of the respective knots as you pull.

picture 2



When it came time to attach the bungee end of the furling line aft I found that measuring 5 inches of tension from the hook of the line would put me just forward of the aft rod holder mount which I found I could not reach at all. The closest I could get to this point would be from he aft hatch about an inch behind the rear molded rod holder. Which puts me a decent amount off the mark in my mind. I have temporarily attached the the bungee end of the furler kit to the most forward molded eye hook on the starboard side for the storage lashing bungee and I have found that the eye hook can fit both at the same time but tight. For now this seems to work until I can find a proper point to mount the C hook on the hull I can reach. However it does seem to work well on land and give the needed tension but I haven’t tried a real world test yet on the water. So I was wondering does anyone know if the eye for the storage compartment which appears to be molded into the hull can hold the load of the storage bungee and furl kit bungee?
picture 3




Lastly when it comes to rigging the main sheet I have already attached a Harken swivel block with a clevis pin to the pad eye in the stern since feeding the sheet directly through the pad eye feels to rough to me not having it running in a block. However I still find having the main sheet behind me really awkward and at first I thought I would rig something like what Scrumpy from England posted using Geartrac and mighty mounts to attach a cleat and two blocks on the side of the rail and got the parts but with the Hobie furl kit now installed and a visual of it running on the starboard rail Im not sure how to rig it yet to avoid the lines getting in the way of each other. Since the port side is out for either since the tiller is over there as is rudder up which i think is more important to have clear then rudder down which is partially obstructed by furl kit. At the moment I was thinking of mounting 2 blocks vertical like you would have for a mainsheet in a dingy instead of using Scrumpy’s plans which would raise the main sheet up away a bit from the furling line. Possibly using part 349 from Harken in the 29mm series (2014 catalog page 40). Has anyone had any luck yet with mounting the Hobie furl kit in conjunction with a forward main sheet set up?

That’s all folks. Thanks again.

I was surprised how well the factory furling kit works. Not as smooth and refined as my TI, of course, but still not bad. (I am using it on a '13 Outback as well.)

I took the balls off. I found in order to fully furl/unfurl the sail I had to move the lines much farther than the balls would allow - besides, one was backward as you noted. I'm used to just pulling on the rope for furling anyway so no biggie to me.

I also attached the bungee to the storage area loop. I've used the sail several times (only had it a couple months) and no problems at all so far. It does mean the lines stay on top of the kayak instead of running along the side, but I think I prefer that anyway.

I've found that the knot in the furling line needs to be positioned properly in order to get full furling ability. If I have it up near the fairlead when furled, it will go through the ring on the bungee and back up about 1/4-1/3 of the way toward the fairlead before the sail is fully unfurled. The rope does slip a bit on the furler from time to time but it's easy to reposition as needed.

I put a (cheap, laying around handy) pulley on the stern padeye for the mainsheet, definitely helps. Still need to put a turning block up front and add a cleat. Keeping the sheet in my hand the whole time is cramp-inducing after a while, especially in heavier winds!