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First sail on a H18 solo dos and don'ts
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Author:  leelanauX [ Sun Jul 19, 2015 3:05 pm ]
Post subject:  First sail on a H18 solo dos and don'ts
Hey,

I've sailed butterflies and am considering getting an H18. Is it crazy to take an
18 out for the first time WITHOUT somebody who has experience on an 18? I've sailed butterflies and own a Hobie Tandem Island(that I love).

Is this a crazy idea?

Any thoughts on dos and don'ts?
Author:  Smfinley [ Sun Jul 19, 2015 4:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: First sail on a H18 solo dos and don'ts
What kind of body of water are you sailing on? Small lake, ocean, etc? An 18 can be sailed solo, I loved doing it but you need to be careful. In addition to where is what conditions you go out in. If you start on a fairly calm day on a smaller lake you should be fine if you know how to sail. I would recommend taking a friend, even if they don't know how to sail. The tricky part might be setting the boat up the first time by yourself.
Author:  Fxloop [ Sun Jul 19, 2015 8:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: First sail on a H18 solo dos and don'ts
I wouldn't even sail a Hobie 16 solo for the first several times out. You can easily get overpowered, capsized, no help with mast going up/down and the boat is a beast to pull 50+ feet up hill on cattrax with one person. Yes, it can be done. That doesn't make it a good idea.
I'd have crew at least the first 12-15 times out.
Author:  srm [ Mon Jul 20, 2015 2:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: First sail on a H18 solo dos and don'ts
I agree with both of the above. It is going to be difficult rigging the boat and moving it around on the beach by yourself. If you capsize, you are going to have a tough, if not impossible, time righting the boat without assistance. The sailing part will be easy, but everything else will be a lot of work. This boat is very different than a Butterfly or TI.

sm
Author:  NevertoooldH18 [ Mon Jul 20, 2015 9:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: First sail on a H18 solo dos and don'ts
Are you on Lake Leelenau? I sail on Lake Charlevoix.
Author:  Skipshot [ Wed Jul 22, 2015 9:40 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: First sail on a H18 solo dos and don'ts
In answer to the OP, no. Unless you are an experienced cat sailor, don't do it. At the very least take crew with you as ballast to keep the boat from capsizing too easily, and to help right the boat in case of a capsize. Learning to sail an 18 is a process which takes time and patience.

Last weekend at a regatta on San Francisco Bay we were double trapped and having a blast, and today solo on an inland lake I nearly was blown over twice by gusts. So take someone with you while you learn how to handle a very powerful boat.
Author:  black4est [ Sun May 22, 2016 11:06 am ]
Post subject:  Re: First sail on a H18 solo dos and don'ts
Hey, I'm on lake leelanau, north lake. Haven't sailed an 18 here yet, still in process of fixing and finding parts for the 18 I saved near sugar loaf.
If you ever need a crew member hit me up on here or you can find me at the Bluebird
Forrest
Author:  NevertoooldH18 [ Mon May 23, 2016 12:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: First sail on a H18 solo dos and don'ts
I'm putting 12497 in the water this week although I probably won't get the time to sail it.

Maybe we could connect later this summer sometime. You'd be welcome to come by my place and/or we make it to Leland about once a summer. I'll try and connect with you at the alternate contact you've provided.
Author:  TAMUmpower [ Mon May 23, 2016 9:54 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: First sail on a H18 solo dos and don'ts
I took mine one the first time with nothing more than some youtube / book knowledge and a prayer. Since everyone said to go out with someone that knew what they were doing and to stay away from the ocean, I decided to go out with 2 of my friends, neither of which knew anything about boating at all and sail in the ocean for a 3 day island camping trip. Made perfect sense to me... At the time I actually thought I did a decent job but after a few more trips out I realized how many things I had done wrong in rigging and sailing it. Here's a little taste of the trip.

Had to stop and restart stepping the mast I think 2-3 different times because we had shrouds hooking the back of the hulls, forgot to attach the jib halyard and the shackle got sucked up to the jib halyard block.

Amazingly I also didnt realize the forestay adjuster plate that goes into the furler....goes INTO the furler, so even though I knew it couldnt be right I layed it horizontal across the top of the furler and pined it lol. Hey we were tired and ready to get this island party rig going.

Image

I also didnt know the jib luff zipped around the forestay so we sailed the whole weekend with one mega cupped jib as the jib halyard was the only thing holding the luff shape.

By the time we finally got it rigged I realized I had never wiped down the luff track on the mast. We sprayed the sail with lube but it made no difference from all the dirt in the track. Took 3 of us on the halyard to get the main to within a foot of the hook. I just put a knot in the halyard and we were off. Someone took a picture of us and sent it to me. As you can see we looked like pros...
Image

The next day we took the main down and soaked the luff in the ocean and raised and lowered it a few times to scrub the mast track out. It worked and we finally were able to get the main hooked. We didn't know how to get it unhooked though at the end of the trip and just took down the mast with the main still in it. Yet another moment where all the beach babes could see what experts we were.

Launched into 1 foot deep water where I couldn't keep the rudders down. I didn't really know about steering with the sails at that point so when the wind picked up I was literally doing a lateral squat on the hiking strap trying to pull the non locked down rudders enough to keep us straight. It was a pretty annoying experience as my buddies who weren't doing anything kept telling me the boat wasn't going straight as I was breaking a sweat pulling on the tiller as hard as I could. "Then you come back here and pull on this thing!!",.....so if you don't know, if you cant lock the rudders down then let the main sheet out and in to steer the boat. The rudders don't work sticking straight out the back of the boat...

Also set the boat up loose just in case, I didn't know anything about flattening the sail and spilling off power with the setup so I was running my diamonds tight like guitar strings, no downhaul, tight battens etc. We took it a few miles off the coast like any smart total beginner with no radio should do and were having a blast going back and fourth on beam reaches until the gusts hit and we almost would go over or pitch pole every time. Good thing I didn't have any righting ropes.... That money went to a few extra packs of beef jerky

Still had one of the best 3 day island camping trips of my life and it probably got me hooked on beach cats for life. Don't be scared the first time out, just bring some dirt to rub on any cuts and bruises and probably try and be a little safer than me...
Author:  Skipshot [ Mon May 23, 2016 10:59 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: First sail on a H18 solo dos and don'ts
New owners should read the manual from beginning to end before, during, and after rigging the boat. This is not the time to think, "Yeah, yeah, yeah. . . I don't have the time to read; I'll figure it out myself." I've seen too many photos of Hobies for sale which were improperly rigged, which may explain why the boat is for sale.

Here you go: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=12780
Author:  SabresfortheCup [ Tue May 24, 2016 8:29 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: First sail on a H18 solo dos and don'ts
It's great that you had a blast and you're a big fan of cat sailing now, but you took a great deal of risk sailing offshore your first time out with no experience with the boat and no safety net.

Sailing a boat you're unfamiliar with, solo or otherwise, offshore and in conditions more advanced than your skill level is downright stupid; at best you'll get frustrated, and at worst it can be incredibly dangerous. Sailing on the ocean with no radio and no nearby rescue boat is how people get killed. Especially if they have no experience or knowledge in or righting a capsized boat. If you don't rig the boat right, you can easily have a shackle or pin let go, break a shroud or anchor pin and bring the mast down (yes, that happens). If you don't know how to sail it right, you can get stuck out at sea. If your rudders are loaded up under full force and not locked down, you can break rudder pins and lose all steering.

You're not going to know everything your first time out, that comes with time and experience. Like with almost anything, there is a learning curve; it's not as simple as "get on and go;" you still have to make wise and conscientious decisions. Did you try to drive on the highway during a snowstorm at rush hour your first time out? Or did you take a slow drive around the neighborhood, then the town, then the highway? It's the same principles here. Read into it as much as you can, know the basics, know what lines control what aspects of the sail, don't try to sail solo on a Hobie 18 your first time out, and don't sail in conditions you aren't 100% sure you can handle.
Author:  TAMUmpower [ Wed May 25, 2016 7:54 am ]
Post subject:  Re: First sail on a H18 solo dos and don'ts
SabresfortheCup wrote:
It's great that you had a blast and you're a big fan of cat sailing now, but you took a great deal of risk sailing offshore your first time out with no experience with the boat and no safety net.

Sailing a boat you're unfamiliar with, solo or otherwise, offshore and in conditions more advanced than your skill level is downright stupid; at best you'll get frustrated, and at worst it can be incredibly dangerous. Sailing on the ocean with no radio and no nearby rescue boat is how people get killed. Especially if they have no experience or knowledge in or righting a capsized boat. If you don't rig the boat right, you can easily have a shackle or pin let go, break a shroud or anchor pin and bring the mast down (yes, that happens). If you don't know how to sail it right, you can get stuck out at sea. If your rudders are loaded up under full force and not locked down, you can break rudder pins and lose all steering.

You're not going to know everything your first time out, that comes with time and experience. Like with almost anything, there is a learning curve; it's not as simple as "get on and go;" you still have to make wise and conscientious decisions. Did you try to drive on the highway during a snowstorm at rush hour your first time out? Or did you take a slow drive around the neighborhood, then the town, then the highway? It's the same principles here. Read into it as much as you can, know the basics, know what lines control what aspects of the sail, don't try to sail solo on a Hobie 18 your first time out, and don't sail in conditions you aren't 100% sure you can handle.


I wouldn't say I had no safety net...I had my Bear Grylls survival knife with fire starter built in. If need be I could have tied it to my hot stick and speared a shark or whale, extracted some oil from it, and rotisseried the meat using the hot stick again tied between the shrouds. After the feast we'd just wait for some hot mermaids to come push us back to shore.
Author:  SabresfortheCup [ Thu May 26, 2016 6:08 am ]
Post subject:  Re: First sail on a H18 solo dos and don'ts
TAMUmpower wrote:
I wouldn't say I had no safety net...I had my Bear Grylls survival knife with fire starter built in. If need be I could have tied it to my hot stick and speared a shark or whale, extracted some oil from it, and rotisseried the meat using the hot stick again tied between the shrouds. After the feast we'd just wait for some hot mermaids to come push us back to shore.


Oh, so you had a backup plan! Well that's different then! :lol: :lol:

No whales or Mermaids on Lake Erie, so we would've been SOL.
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