Boomless Mainsail

We had our first outing on our brand spanking new H16. We (I) enjoyed a breezy day (15-20) without mishap. No bruises and not even a scratch on my crew or the pristine boat.

I have received my first official crew request. Is anyone out there in Hobie land familiar with a company that cuts boomless mainsails for the 16? I am perfectly willing to sacrifice some speed for space on family outings.

I was able to find a vid posted in French that has exactly what I'm in search of. It appears to be a "resort" setup.

Considering the end of the sail extends past the attachment point of the boom I do not see how this would work unless you had the sail recut. Honestly, Teach your crew mates to duck.

Point well taken, however, my quackers don't duck!

I have located 2 options. Firstly my dealer has a call into Hobie to check and see if the T2 main will fit on the 16. Other option is a roachless, battenless, square head.

Boom will be gone, and you are correct, the mainsheet will attach to metal clew plate/grommet assembly. Totally a resort setup ideal for non-racer crew, aka, family.

When I recruit some race crew, the big main goes back on.

Would be interested to see how to make one out of an old H16 sail that's seen better days. Any ideas?

Just curious - what is the quote for a T2 mainsail?

Might make more sense to trade over to a T2 / Getaway (both have boomless mains), I love my H16 - but the Getaway is hard to beat for hauling more than 2 people around.

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1978 H16 - "Banana Split"
2004 Hobie Bravo - "Cheap Thrills" [Sold]

Not sure why you would want a boomless H16. If your crew can't duck or sit forward on the tramp during a light air tack/gybe then either don't take them out OR buy yourself a Hobie Wave/Getaway.

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

Matt15: I'd rather have 2 sails than 2 boats.

Jdzl: Quote not in yet, but I'll let you know. The fiberglass hulls are twice as strong and half as heavy. H16 spins in the sand with 1 arm. The roto moulded hulls more difficult to manipulate with 1 person. However, I do like the Getaway once it's in the water.

There's a company in Fla that will cut me a boomless main for around $400. Considering a square head to reclaim the sail area lost at the foot. Wind is better up there too.

The key to performance in square top mains is sufficient leech tension. Very tricky to do with a boomless rig. Very tough to control outhaul vs. leech tension with no boom.

Those features are mutually exclusive. A square head sail, by the nature of it's design, adds roach to the sail. It also requires that the added material be supported by a minimum of one batten.

sm

At my old club, we converted a very tired H16 to a boomless rig, especially for newbies.
The sail was not very efficient, which suited our purpose.
So if you want boomless plus performance, I would not go this route.

Squarehead? don't go there, MBounds said it all.
I have a wonderful set of sails from Chip at Whirlwind... with a squarehead main,
It took us a whole season to figure out how to keep a tight leech.
(Rotate the mast fully, and CRANK down on the mainsheet).
Pinhead sails are preferred in older boats.

My suggestion is that you practice with your traveler.... to keep the boom under control and your crew happy.


Good winds

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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.'

I completely agree on the square top mains. They just don't work on a mast designed to bend.
So with this in mind how do you keep full rotation on the mast for a square head main - What is needed to keep the mast rotated? Especially a H16/14 where there is no rotation bar to use?

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

What John said - full rotation - only applies to boats with diamond wires. The stiffest axis of the mast is side-to-side because of the diamonds.

On a mast without diamonds, the stiff axis is fore and aft.

For a tight leech on a square-head sail, you need the stiffest mast axis to line up with the mainsheet load, so on a 14, 16 and 17, the mast would be under-rotated. But you can't do that on a 16 because it has no rotation control. (14 and 17 do - it's now class legal on the 14.)

The French use them a lot in the sailing schools. You can buy them here:
http://www.forward-sailing.fr/voiles-cl ... at-16-easy
http://www.forward-sailing.fr/images/ad ... 020714.jpg
http://www.forward-sailing.fr/images/ad ... 20easy.jpg

UK website here:
http://www.forward-sailing.co.uk/mainsa ... s-hobie-16

Their website says http://www.boatlocker.com are their US agents but you wont benefit from the weak Euro exchange rate.

Happy to post one on from UK if that helps.

Wow. This forum is worth it's weight in gold.

I now know more than I ever would via trial and error. Thanks to everyone who helped steer me clear of the pitfalls.

I hope to be able to return the favor some day.

My dealer has yet to deliver quote info. They are swamped with traffic down there. I am inclined to go for a standard cut main sail from the company in Fl. 25 foot leech and 8 foot foot. No roach and no battens.

Why no battens? My Getaway has battens. Hobie 17 Sport cats (boomlet) have battens. I would think you'd need them for proper sail shape with no boom?

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks