Spinnaker

Is it wise to put a spinnaker on a 1984 16' with a solid mast? We get heavy winds here and I wonder if my boat can handle it. I would love to play with a spinnaker. What do you think?

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I wish winter was not so long in Sask. Canada. It's hard to sail on ice! 1984 16' hobie cat Sail# 84848

I would look into the bow reinforcement. I read a thread recently in which a bow reinforcement option was mentioned. The euro hobie 16 allegedly comes with a factory bow reinforcement for the spinnaker setup. I don't know much about this at all though sorry.

I say just run it an find another hobie 16 if it tears the thing in half. The spinnaker on a hobie 16 is only about 14m^ or so. It isn't even a real spinnaker, more of a gennaker actually. It is flat as heck and not great at running dead down. You still gotta reach down wind AND the hobie gennaker only helps if you have a freak ton of wind or perfect conditions. I'm not going to lie though, this thing will save you some pitchpoling. The bows can really lift like never before. It does look pretty sweet running the jib and gennaker at the same time too!

Well, since he didn't answer the question....yes the solid aluminum mast would be preferable since the comp tip is only plastic and will need to withstand a fairly high load. We've been playing with a spinnaker most of this season and having a blast. The H16, not specifically designed for a spin, gets a little squirrely with its balancing. The bows lift so you need to keep your weight forward. That makes for a lot more drama when the boat gets overpowered. You have a lot less time to react. The big benefit of a spinnaker though is that it adds bonus sailing days. You can sail in light air on days where you would not normally even bother to rig the boat. The boat in the photo is a 1984 with a comp tip.

Where's Jacques? It's time to dispell all of these H16 spinnaker myths. He's sailed them and knows the construction, and was instrumental in the adaptation of the 16 spin rig to to Getaway. Maybe he could shed some light.

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Yeh, sorry I didn't answer the question.

1.) The mast is sex nuts retard strong and a spinnaker kit was designed to work with it. Age isn't really a significant factor with the aluminum mast. You probably need a poorly designed/used spinnaker kit to even bend the mast enough times to wear it out in your lifetime actually. With the spin kit and bad management you could win a spelling b with the mast on a hobie 16!

2.) Try hobie europe. They actually sell the kit.

3.) The spin kit is fun no matter how you dice it. Just don't expect to completely change the characteristics of the boat. It is basically an overpowered jib...

I haven't had much success in light air... every lull you run into just stops the boat in place with that big curtain up. Then it takes for ev er to sort itself and get going again. Dunno the hobie 16s w/out em seem just as fast in light air where I sail...

What do I know though. I use a furling jib to race with and swear it points better... lol. To each his own.

What are the myths anyway? I've heard tales of a bow spreader before. Not sure what it is or what it is supposed to do. I don't see where the spinnaker creates enough lift to collapse the bows. I'm guessing that the shroud wires are taking a lot more tension though. As for the comp tip, you sheet in the main, block-to-block, as long as the spinnaker is deployed. Your mainsail is used as a sort of back stay so the mast doesn't flex all that much. We used a stock Hobie eight hole mast tang for the comp tip. Spinnaker tangs have only four holes and you are riveting into plastic.

Its fine on the aluminum mast and a CompTip. No bow spreader needed. Yet to hear of an issue. The Euro guys love the spinnaker... I'm fine with it too except for messing with the class rules and splitting the fleets, so not in favor for class racing with spinnaker.

We sell the kit in the US and have for years. No bow reinforcement has been needed on US boats as far as I have heard. May have been an issue with Euro built 16s only.

It is fast off the wind. We did a shoot back in 2004. They were making fast tacks and gybes to have close passes by the photo boat.



And Jacques?... crazy man on a 16 tiller! He looks up and is right on course for the photo boat. Kevlar thought he was a gonner! Its a nice shot of the hardware layout though!

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

We tried the single ratchet block on the front corner casting (in your photo) but didn't care for it much. It was almost a straight pull with no purchase. We went to a two block setup. The first on the side rail at the shroud wire (as not to add to the foot obstructions) and the second midway between mast and corner casting on the front beam. This was WAY easier on my tendinitis!