H18se Spinnaker Design Project

Having raced this last weekend with a "round the island" regatta .... approx. +26 km, we on my trusty H18 thumped a lot of Hobie Tigers with Spinnakers having crossed the line 15th out of a total of 234 other type boats. No we do not have a spinny. But the point is, hell the H18 a tank as it is, is a force to be reckoned with when it gets going. Do I want a spinny .... hell yes but I seriously need to decide on my preferred sailing ... fun / booze cruise or serious racing in which case I would convert to the Hobie Tigers.

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Richard Stephens

Congratulations. I would be with you 100% on the Tigers if it was not for the $20,000. What I am trying to do at my Club is build back a fleet of cats. Right now H18s are in the $2,000 to $2,500 range. Sure they are old, but it is a lot easier to talk someone new to sailing to pop for $2500. If we can make the old bird a little more exciting with a spinnaker? Then maybe we can get some momentum going again. At the moment we are up to 5 - H18's. 2 of them do not know how to race yet, but they are enthusiastic. I have about 3 others in the wings ... thinking about jumping in. Some spinnaker fun might be just the ticket to get these tanks to be of more interest. For old fat guys, I think the H18 is a perfect platform for fun. Races are just a real appointments to go sailing.

That sounds fantastic Kaos. We're in the same boat here on the central coast of California. We're up to six or so active racers and another 4 or 5 in the wings, up from two a couple years ago. The 18 is a beast, part of this is that I am now working for a sail loft, and while I have little motivation to design a new main and/or jib for my boat that would interfere with class racing, I can build up a spinnaker for some of the downwind distance races we do with regional yacht clubs.

It does sound like those tigers were doing something awfully wrong if you were able to beat em richard. I've sailed with a few tigers, and they're pretty quick. Good starts certainly help though.

Tom

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Tom
Fleet 259, Central Coast CA
H18 ('81)
H18 ('85)
H20 ('97)
H18 ('78)

Another reason to run a spin is it gives you a new place to mount your Go Pro.





Yes its not an H18 but you get the idea.

Photo from Hobie France

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Corkguy H18, Tiger, Wildcat

This project is still in the works...

Just need to get a number of measurements off the boat, and build the spin rigging...

Maybe some radial cut laminates to go with it!


Tom

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Tom
Fleet 259, Central Coast CA
H18 ('81)
H18 ('85)
H20 ('97)
H18 ('78)

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Mike

'79 H18 standard 'Rocketman II' sail #14921 RIP
'78 H18 (unnamed) sail #14921
'08 H16 sail #114312
'97 H21SC sail #238

So this project got a bit of a direction shift. Corkguy had some spin setups for his boats, and we did some playing with tiger and wildcat chutes this weekend. Modified Tiger rig mounted to H18 with nice results, however the top halyard block is a bit higher than I'd like. More testing to go this weekend. We spanked a Miracle 20 and beat a Supercat 20!

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Tom
Fleet 259, Central Coast CA
H18 ('81)
H18 ('85)
H20 ('97)
H18 ('78)

Hi Tom,

Let me know if there's anything I can do to help with this project. I have what I consider, a very nice spinnaker setup on my Hobie 18 Magnum which was designed and setup by Jeremy of Surf City in Santa Cruz. I think you saw my youtube video post of a race I did several weeks ago although the video did not include any shots of us using the spin. I really want to start participating in more events with other cats but obviously my boat doesn't qualify for one class design racing. Would love to see a fleet of H18's with spins!

Thanks,

Tom H

We're going to try and hit up the Annacapa race next year, and recently did the Moss Landing Run. No one design concerns! We're also going to do the Pumpkin Regatta in the SF bay and go to Mexico for a week in October. What do you like or not like about your setup? I think we're pretty in line with the setup that Jeremy put together with different kites. I'm also running removable block mounts and a spindle below the forestay.

Tom

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Tom
Fleet 259, Central Coast CA
H18 ('81)
H18 ('85)
H20 ('97)
H18 ('78)

There's not much I don't like about the spinnaker setup except for the additional setup time. I currently pre-stuff the spin in the sock with all lines attached before trailering to wherever I'm going and then run a pilot line up through the halyard block before raising the mast. I then tape the ends of the pilot line and the halyard together before pulling the halyard up through the block. This takes some time. If anybody has any ideas on how to shorten the setup time I'd be highly interested. I don't like leaving my spin in the sock between sailings.

The only mod I made to the original setup was tying small stainless rings (approximately 1/2" diameter) to each of the retrieving line grommets in the chute so that the retrieving line can be passed through the rings instead of in and out through the grommets which dramatically reduces chafe. I'm sure most of you that have spins know of this mod so I won't elaborate unless asked.

Tom, do you run the removable block mounts to allow you to remove the hardware for class races? Can you elaborate on the spindle below the forestay?

Thanks,

Tom

The only holes I have in my boat are for the pole mount under the mast. I have some spectra about 12" long with loops on both ends, that tie around the front crossbar between the tramp and the hull, and then blocks go into the loop. I'll get some photos up a bit later.

Tom