Flipped my Hobie

While sailing yesterday I flipped my hobie for the first time. There is a righting system installed on it from the previous owner so we put it to the test. The Mailsail and Jib were released but we could not right it. I ended up having a boat give us a little tug and she came right over. The righting system was tied back at the rudder anchor points and then into pulley on the front underside of the trampoline. It seems like it is rigged wrong...can someone explain how to properly rig it so I can right it with my crew rather than a friendly power boater?

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~Tom in CT
81' H-16

I have two systems. One is a bungie inside a tubular piece of webbing. It's tied to one of the rear pylons, wraps around the front two pylons, and then ties back to the other rear pylon. All you have to do is reach up between the airborne hull's topsides and the underside of the tramp, grab the line, pull down and lean back into the water. Voila. I also have a righting bag for when I'm out alone and need the extra weight, I'm ~193lbs. Each of these I got on eBay. The critical piece of the bag system is the ratcheting block to raise the full bag out of the water (over your shoulder), which is ~$15 at Lowes.

Hope it helps! I was out yesterday too and it was a really nice blow.

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'81 H16

If it ain't a blowin', I ain't a goin'

Did you get the mast pointed about 45 degrees INTO the wind? Hold onto the bow and create drag so the boat weather-vanes with the mast into the wind. I've also swam out the the mast head and held it while the boat turns around.

Do you and your crew have enough weight to right the boat? You need about 225 pounds.

Is the mast properly sealed from leaking?

My righting line is an old main sheet tied to the dolphin striker and stored in a tramp pocket. You have the Hawaiian system, which is good for quickly righting the boat if you're in a race, but if you don't want to be bothered with figuring out how to get it to work if it's not working then you can disconnect it.

thanks for the replies!

It is probably my inexperience that caused my failed attempt to right the cat. It appears that the righting line is installed correctly on my hobie..although I do not like the idea of it being tied off to the rudder. I have read the manual again and looked at the different systems recommended...I think I will stow some extra line on board and try tying it off to the dolphin striker if I cannot get the hawian system to work next time. I also did not pay attention to the wind direction so that may have been working against me.

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~Tom in CT
81' H-16

How thick is the bungy line you guys are using that goes from the rear pylons around the boat?

Not huge, the larger of the two sizes normally offered for trap systems, 1/4" I think. But it's the webbing that does the work after you pull it down, not the bungie. The bungie just keeps the whole works up against the boat and out of your way.

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'81 H16

If it ain't a blowin', I ain't a goin'

It is critical to get the bows into the wind or at least to 45 degrees to the wind. If the mast is pointing into the wind you will never get it up. The hawaiian system is what I have and it works great. When you are over on your side and have the bows into the wind, the sheets released, reach up over the top of the upper hull to get the righting line. If you go under the hull you are reducing your leverage by a ton. You can either put the line behind you and lean back or keep it in your hands and lean. Bouncing on the line will also help to break the mast and sail loose from the surface. If you are into the water, you are also reducing the force and need to pull up untill you are completely out of the water, but just above it. Once it has started to come up, be ready to jump under the hull and get some weight on the other side so that it doesn't just go on over the other way.
Welcome to the club and keep dumping it and you will get good at righting it. The proof of a good hobie sailor is not if they never go over, but how big the grin on their face is when they come to the surface. cowabunga dude.

I flipped this morning for the first time too. We weren't going all that fast, the wind was maybe 10mph. I wasn't sure what caused us to tip, but in hindsight, a good gust came and instead of pointing more into the wind or letting the main out, I stuck with it and up we went! I am very new to sailing, especially hobie's (I have 1 day under my belt with my h16) so tipping was somewhat nerve racking. I had my girlfriend with me and it was only her 3rd time on a sailboat. Once we were in the water, I made sure she was OK then I had both of us get on the lower hull. My righting line is tied around both of my front pylons and wrapped around the dolphin striker. I unwrapped it and tried to lean out, didn't get anywhere. Then I slowed down and started thinking - The bow was pointing into the wind, but I had to let the main sheet and traveler loose. Once that was taken care of, we tried again. No luck, we needed more leverage. I untied the righting line from the pylon in the water, brought the line to the outside of the skyward hull and tied it off to the rear skyward pylon. We both grabbed the line, leaned back and it came right over - almost smashed into our heads. I need to figure out what to do once it starts to right itself.

It was a stressful couple minutes, so once we were back on, I left us pointed into the wind to take a breather. I had to figure out a few twists in the main sheet and then we were on our way.

I'm very glad the first thing I bought for my h16 was a baby bob!

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1979 Hobie 16

Have a pic? Not really sure what youre talking about

Sure, here's a couple that show it, somewhat. These were taken for the jib system upgrade I installed, but you can still see the red righting line under the front crossbar going from pylon to pylon.

It's not entirely clear I know, but picture a piece of webbing that is tubular instead of flat, and inside that is a piece of shock cord. The webbing is longer than the shock cord so it bunches up all along from one end to the other. That's so that it gives you some length to pull it down and away while the bungie stretches with you.

http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak- ... 3962_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak- ... 6507_n.jpg
http://sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak- ... 1711_n.jpg

Hope these help. If it's not clear enough then I can take some that show it better.

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'81 H16

If it ain't a blowin', I ain't a goin'

Your post needed some editing.

You got step one right the first time....kudos!

With just a little more experience, you will get a feel for when the boat has reached the point where it's coming back up (no need to pull it anymore). At that point, you have plenty of time to swing down out of harm's way under the boat. Immediately grab the dolphin striker near the opposite hull (the one that stayed in the water when you flipped). This will help prevent the boat's momentum from making it go over again on its other side, and it will keep you with the boat should it try to take off. Discuss all this with your crew ahead of time. Hope that helps!

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16

so once it comes rightside up, both people should be under the trampoline? thanks for the tip!

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1979 Hobie 16

RSPvideo: needed to get that one under your belt; no other way of learning on paper. It gets WAY easier and the stress goes away (unless you're in a congested harbor, huge waves, wives on board, etc, etc) I like 45 degrees wind to the nose and tramp. The wind needs to get under the front of the sails to start the mast up and the wind on the tramp helps as well. When it falls I get under the tramp, behind the tramp or in front, depending on who's helping, etc. just not under the striker, hulls or rudders for obvious reasons. Congrats.

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H18, H17 & Various motor boats

There is a guy on eBay who makes a custom righting line that works perfectly. Just search it and you will find him. He also has tramp covers and some other stuff. He is out of Salt Lake City and has been very helpful.