Will this line rope you in? Help with sheets/lines/hauls/etc

Hi All,

What rope types & sizes should be used for halyards, hauls, sheets, lines, and cords on the H16?

I'm looking for some help with rope types/sizes for the sheets, lines, hauls, and cords. I think this might be a good thread to discuss rope generally, and perhaps the resultant answers could be consolidated and added to the H16 FAQ.

Background: My wife and I are learning to sail a new-to-use H16 from 1981. We have communication problems while we are sailing over which rope is which. Also when we pack the boat up on the trailer at the end of the day, it can be difficult to see which rope goes where. It occurred to me to that if I replace the sheets, halyards, etc with different color ropes it would be easy and fast to identify. My problem now is that I don't know anything about rope: i.e. which rope to use, where to get it, how strong it needs to be, how long to buy, etc.

My specific questions are about cord types & size used for halyard, downhaul, outhaul, and trampoline cord. My outhaul slips out of the cleat within seconds of cleating it, so clearly isn't the proper rope. But, I think it would be useful for the forum to cover the cord types & sizes used for everything, and then put it into the FAQ section.

I live in a place with few marine shops, and the ones we do have look at me funny when I mention sailing. So, I'm hoping that at least some of these cords can be purchased at a hardware store if I know what to look for.

https://imgur.com/KMF7GLN
a line list from this thread:
https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic. ... ce#p301666

Hobie catalog p.27 has a bit of info:
https://static.hobiecat.com/digital_ass ... 1562951283

west-marine rope info:
https://www.westmarine.com/rigging

a reference to dyneema (I'm not sure what that is, but it is on the west-marine page)
https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic. ... ce#p299390

Thanks!

https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic. ... hilit=rope

I did the same in regards of different colors for different sheets to make solo sailing easier for this noob! Plus I like the look of the red and blue on my boat.

I used the polyester line from West marine as there is one near me and it is relatively inexpensive. I have used the sheets I bought for my 14turbo for 2 years now so I have had good luck with it and to me it has a good feel in the hands.

The Hobie chart gives you all the sizes but the only thing that might not account for is if you have changed any of the blocks from the originals. You might find a slightly smaller line to run smoother for instance through your blocks. My original jib blocks didn't like the 5/16" it wouldn't flow nice and smooth so I went to 1/4" and like it much better.

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84 14T Redline #67 Blue Hawaii faded but still working!
82 Yellow hull16 '81 Boomer nationals 20.9 on GPS
83 White hull 16 No sails "Clean and Purty Now!"
87 White hull no sails no tramp

Just saw this thread.

I haven't ever tried hardware store rope on my Hobie but I suspect it would be pretty awful. Proper sailboat line is very high quality compared to cheap camping line, meaning it will resist twisting, the inner core will stretch with the outer cover, etc. If you don't have a marine store near you, call a decent Hobie dealer and they will send you the right stuff. Backyard Boats is one near me; they do lots of mail order. Tell the salesman you want different colors where possible.

Different colors are great. I have blue for the jib sheet, which makes it easy for inexperienced crew. "Grab the blue line and..." If you aren't racing, you're probably only going to have two lines on the tramp anyway; the main sheet and the jib sheet. Just make them different colors.

Main sheets have gotten thinner over time, helped by the change from 5:1 to 6:1 blocks. Thicker line is easier to hold for the heavier effort required for 5:1, but thinner line runs through the blocks much easier. My last main sheet (I have 6:1) was about 3/8", which is thinner than I used with my old 5:1 boat, but my new 8mm one is thinner yet. It runs MUCH faster through the blocks, but some of that is because it's new and different. It would be painful with 5:1, though.

The main halyard is a specific Hobie part because of the steel cable. Just buy the Hobie part. You can make the small cord on the jib halyard a different color, though.

For rec sailing, the downhaul, outhaul and jib traveler lines (if you have them) are used so infrequently that there isn't much of a need to color-code them.

Sizes are pretty well covered in the Hobie resources, and deviations as far as size and brand go are all over the forums. Hobie uses Lyros for the main sheet, but sailors like Bzzz, Salsa, Robline, and others. My new main is English Braids just because that's what my dealer had.

You might want to just sit on the rigged boat with your wife and review the terminology before every sail. It's not hard to learn, and she's way better off internalizing what "ease the jib sheet" means than "ease the blue line".

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'00 H16 #104691
'78 H16 #32692 ex-rental [gone]
Old Holsclaw trailer
My Hobie 16 pages