Has this method ever been used to square up a 16?

My 16 has a tendency to be out-of-square with the starboard side being slightly forward of the port. when measured diagonally from bow tang to rudder pin it's typically 3 to 4 inches difference without the trampoline installed. I have used my mainsheet system around the pylons to pull everything a little past square and then reinstalled the tramp super tight. After a few outings it's not square anymore. so I was thinking of a more solid way of squaring her up. What if I ran some custom length wires from the pylon bolts via a bracket at each bolt and some turnbuckles on each wire. I could dial in a perfect square and it would probably stay that way.
Can you tell me any down-sides to doing this? I think it would make for a stiffer set-up overall, but then, I'm not a sailboat engineer. And yes, I am aware of the method of filling the corner castings with epoxy but I'm looking for an alternative to that.

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1990 "Formula 1" H16 (# 009)

You're about 33 years late.


The asterisk meant that they're not class legal for racing. They still aren't.

The downside is you have a cheese grater underneath your trampoline.

Thanks Matt, better late than never right? I'm not currently racing as our local fleet pretty much dissolved (and maybe our whole region), just tinkering now. $18 back in '77, huh? bet it will cost at little bit more now, lol.

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1990 "Formula 1" H16 (# 009)

what do you mean a cheese grater?

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1981 Hobie 16
1982 Hobie 14 turbo (sold)
1996 SeaDoo GTI
1999 Hunter 340

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Raise your sail one foot, and you get ten feet of wind.
起你的一只帆，和你10英尺的。 -- Chinese Proverb
William D. Latinette @ Latrobe, PA, USA w. H14 Turbo X 2... [email protected]

There's a reason why these things didn't catch on, or they'd still be available. My guess is that when you sit on the trampoline, your butt is on the wires - the trampoline deflects quite a bit when you have weight on it, even if it's really tight.

I wouldn't want to deal with these things in a capsize. Wires and human flesh generally don't play well together.

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Raise your sail one foot, and you get ten feet of wind.
起你的一只帆，和你10英尺的。 -- Chinese Proverb
William D. Latinette @ Latrobe, PA, USA w. H14 Turbo X 2... [email protected]

One idea I have to reduce the 'cheese grater' effect would be to put some small size foam pipe insulation (like you would find at home depot) over the wires during installation. This would distribute and soften the contact area load substantially, especially if you were to pivot a knee on it during a tack.

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1990 "Formula 1" H16 (# 009)

Instead of attaching the cables to the pylon bolts you could loop them around the pylon and just below the corner casting, and gain ~1" more clearance below the tramp. With the tension I doubt they'd go anywhere from there. Then add the pipe insulation like Sebring says, or some pool noodles which might last longer and would protect against the larger turnbuckle a little better.

This is an interesting mod. Thanks for sharing!

BTW nice doodle Sebring....

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'81 H16

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

Remember, the lower you go with the "underwires" the closer they are to the water and waves. Adding insulation is going to make a bigger obstacle (to a wave). Fine in flat water, but as soon as the wind picks up . . .

Still - try it and see what happens. I'm curious.

Just might do it. I need to verify the square of the rig and then decide.

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'81 H16

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

Not sure if this is the place to point out that "起你的一只帆，和你10英尺的" is translated into " Since your a fan, and your 10 feet" by Google.
只 is "piece" and 尺 is "foot". The most important word "風" ( wind ) is missing in your signature.
Honestly, my mother tongue is Chinese, and I have not heard of this Chinese Proverb nor anything remotely similar to this one.

_________________
Raise your sail one foot, and you get ten feet of wind.
起你的一只帆，和你10英尺的。
-- Chinese Proverb

_________________
Raise your sail one foot, and you get ten feet of wind.
起你的一只帆，和你10英尺的。 -- Chinese Proverb
William D. Latinette @ Latrobe, PA, USA w. H14 Turbo X 2... [email protected]

A couple of boats at our club use these. I don't as I'm keen to keep my crew's skin on (what with her being the wife an all). On the boats that do have them, they are connected by simple hose clips to the pylon and are low down enough to not impact on your butt etc when you're on the tramp. They don't seem to be an issue for those of our fleet that do capsize, and some of them have simply put hose pipe over the wire to stop any cheese wire cutter effect. This gives extra purchase when standing on the hull after the capsize, but doesn't seem to help in righting the boat.

They do seem to drag through the water though. One more strike against them IMHO.

Still, the local guru swears by them, and he's still beating regularly me so I'm not really in a position to dispute. As posted before, they're not class legal but we're so keen to get the boats on the water we're not making an issue of it (and we're not currently an IHCA fleet anyway).

If you're not worried about racing (and by the sounds of it, your boat being out of square you've nothing to loose) why not give it a try?

Cheers, PT.

touchngo, thanks for getting this thread back on track. I do plan to make this mod. I've just got a few details to work out and it may end up being a winter project, just depends on how much time I get to fool around with it. It's going to be a pricey little project and I'm hoping to feel the difference in upwind performance (but maybe won't be able to tell any difference). It's good to hear that your local guru swears by it. I am a believer in the idea that proper tuning makes a faster cat and for once it is cool to be square.

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1990 "Formula 1" H16 (# 009)