Hobie made an "Easy right" kit for the hobie 16. on the 16, the ball is on the mast and socket is on the front crossbar. (the base). i believe this allowed for much more side clearance than the 18 configuration has. the 18 mast, if tilted too far would hit, and the interference act as a fulcrum to lift the mast off the base. not good.
Anyway, as described above, yes the longer side stay allowed the hulls to tilt to a better position to help a solo sailor right the ship. the system was then reconfigured back to regular length when boat was on opposite tack, allowing slack to replace the pin. it worked okay, except in a high wind, it was difficult to manage the boat and replace the pin single handed, and if you had 2 peeps on board, one to manage boat, and other to crawl over and replace pin, well, now you have 2 peeps on board and no need for the system. it was sposed to be for a solo sailor easier time of righting the boat. in a chop, and in close irons, the mast would bang back and forth until the pin was set. it was an idea that worked okay in some situations, just not all.
there are some simple righting sticks, (plans and video) that can be found. having another boater, go to the end of the mast and lift it up, then hand over hand it towards the base. the boat will be coming up long before the help gets to the spreaders. A mast properly sealed with no water in it will only submerge a little, and is easily picked up by any inexperienced help.
Bottom line is, if you are solo on an 18, and in a situation of needing to right the boat on your own, i would have a better plan than longer side stays.
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. The owner of the 16 mentioned that some other boats had rigged an "extender" on the sidestays that could be let out when capsized to pre-tilt the hulls. It sounded like you would have a quick release on the adjuster that allowed you to let out the sidestay by 12" or so when the boat is knocked over (not turtled). This would tilt the boat (I assume) so that the hulls/trampoline are now leaning at an angle in the right (righting) direction. I assume you'd need a way to relieve any tension on the sidestay... maybe using the trapeze wires. has anyone tried implementing this? I haven't had time to make it out to the boat yet to ponder...