Mast Bob

For those with a mast float on your H16, do you recommend the Baby Bob or the Mama Bob? Pro/Cons to each one?

To be-honest I would recommend neither, heres why:

My Hobie 16 came with a Hobie mast bob not sure whether it is a Baby Bob or the Mama Bob but either way I found raising the mast the most precarious if not impossible task to accomplish even when the wind was down, I had to rely on help lifting the mast into position.

I decided to take the bob off and can now raise the mast alone with no issues at all, in fact the first time I tried I over compensated as put in the same effort I had with the bob attached, the mast went up real easy and I nearly carried on over the front cross beam.

Taking the mast down was no easy feat, particularly if it was blowing a bit.

The bob does not way much but on the end of the mast it soon adds up.

I now use one of these tied to the mast head, they work really well even with a leaking mast, they come pre inflated, my one is as good today as it was when I bought it last season, they weigh next to nothing, and best of all, they only cost £4.80 ($7.47), sure they may not look the best but horses for courses.

http://www.ohbuoy.co.uk/product-category/marker-buoys/

Cheers.

_________________
Hobie 14 Turbo (~1979)
Hobie 16 Carumba (1983)
Hobie 16 1990 (storm damaged)
Hobie 16 1996 (my latest)

Baby Bob has plenty of flotation (and is recommended) for Wave/H14/H16. Mama bob is for Getaway, etc.....it's quite a bit heavier, which will make righting more difficult (unnecessarily).

_________________
Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16

I have been using a Baby Bob on my 1982 H16 for years and am not embarassed about it.

Since I solo most of the time, I don't want to turtle if I can help it since the top of the mast may end up hitting the bottom and get either bent or stuck in the mud/sand.

After a capsize, Baby Bob makes it a lot easier to right the boat since it keeps all of the mast above the water so the wind can get under more of the sail.

Even in a pitchpole, the Baby Bob helps to keep the boat from turtling since the boat usually ends up on it's side.




Scott from Sailsport Marine (http://www.sailsportmarine.com), has a good video on how to install a Baby Bob on an all-aluminum mast:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ccRjMWEOy4g

_________________
Tim
84 H16
82 H16
87 H14T
Tortola Sails: 115222
Blue Prism Sails: 88863
Clearwater, FL

I too would never install one on a H16. Plenty of buoyancy already in the mast and the babybob/mamabob will only add weight against you when your righting from a capsize/pitchpole.

_________________
2007 Hobie 16 - 'Slingshot'
1996 Hobie 18 - 'Onrails'
Hobie Bravo - 'Hobie Bites'

I wonder about folks who use the word 'never'.....

How about 'it depends'.....

Ask Matt Bounds about his adventure with the US Coast Guard at the H-17 Nationals in San Francisco a few years ago, and about leaking masts.
My suggestion is that if you can maintain your mast in a leak proof manner, you probably don't need a Bob.
Other wise.....

Sail safe and have fun

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'