Leaving the mast up

As a newbie, I just learned that I cannot dock my Hobie 16 more than temporary for protection against staining the hulls, and, further, I cannot moor more than temporary for protection of a falling mast (the sails are down). On land, is it okay to permanently leave the mast up during the summer with the sails down? Or, do I have to lower the mast every night after sailing? Thanks.

Leaving the mast up is fine, but make sure your boat is securely tied down so it can’t flip over in a strong breeze. On a sandy beach, you can dig a hole and toss in a cinder block or other object with a heavy rope attached to use as an anchor. On dirt, you can use a heavy duty auger style anchor.

It’s recommended to use rigging or electrical tape on the split rings for your shrouds so they don’t snag on anything and get pulled out. Also tie your main and jib halyards in such a way that they don’t clang against the mast in the wind, otherwise you’ll drive your neighbors crazy.

sm

Good question....the wind force on even a bare mast can be more than one might realize. It's also a good idea to snug up the rig. On the H16, we attach the jib sheet to the bridle and tighten it up good. Otherwise, the mast/rig can get jerked around pretty bad in a storm. I sometimes do drop the mast out of an abundance of caution, but only when at at very exposed beach and when severe storms are likely.

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16

Snugging up the rig is the recommendation given to me a while back. I take my old jib halyard and run from the bridle to the main traveller cleat and pull it tight. This allows me to leave the jib sheets tucked under the cover out of the sun. Either way will keep the mast from banging back and forth, which can be damaging. I always wonder if I am stretching out the wire stays though, so I try to snug it and no more.

To add my 2-cents for snugging up the rig, my H16 has a new forestay and the rig is remarkably slack. The mast can flop around in the wind. I got a 3-ft length of stainless steel chain from Home Depot and attach one end with a quick-pin shackle on the bridle adjuster where the jib tack would attach and then attach the jib halyard to the other end and then tighten up the rig with the jib halyard. So far seems to work pretty well and it’s an easy thing to do.

I used to use the jib sheet attached to the bridle adjuster but I noticed it does cause the bows to flex in quite a bit when snugging up.

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H16 2002 "Islands" Sail No. 107432

So I read this thread 2 days ago. I thought, "Heck, that boat weighs 300+ pounds, no need to tie it down..."

Then, yesterday, this storm came across our lake. A lot of storms this time of year, and I didn't think much about it. It was pretty, though, so I took this picture:



About 20 minutes later my boat skipped across the lawn and ended up against our well.



Resulting in this...



Well... you live and learn.

It was pretty much tornado force winds, and I have some other damage to the house and whatnot. I am going to make an insurance claim and get a new or used mast.

Bummer!

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

I have seen boats flipped on their sides a number of times in high winds so it is not uncommon. What we used to do is go to a mobile home supply store and use a mobile home anchor to secure the boats. No digging required, you just need a big wrench or something to screw it into the ground and chain the dolphin striker to the anchor.

Randy

I have even heard of them ending up in trees.

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

whoa

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H16 2002 "Islands" Sail No. 107432

Yeah, Wow! crazy

Gee talk about flying a hull. That’s crazy. If you are expecting high winds as in a tropical system, I have removed the trampoline before just to make it more difficult for wind to get under the tramp. I figured it might be enough to make a difference. Highest winds to hit my area was 90 MPH from hurricane Mathew and it did not flip so I think it works.

Randy