furling jib w/ halyard

i got an h16 last year that came with some parts for a furling jib. i just used the standard set up last year, but i'd like to use the furler this year. monday i spent the better part of the day trying to get it to work, but with limited success. i've read through other posts about rigging the hobie jib furler, but i have a few unanswered questions. i've read that there are two main options for the furler set-up: with or without the halyard system. i'd like to keep the halyard since i don't want to leave the jibsail out (i know there's a snorkel available, but if i can remove the jibsail altogether at the end of the weekend that would be better for me). so here are my questions:

1. when i tension the jib fully hoisted along the forestay so that the jib does not have any slack, the pressure on the forestay is transfered to the tighened jib halyard, effectively making the halyard bear the load for both the jib tension and the mast forestay. my jib halyard is 3/4 cable and 1/4 line (the cable portion of the halyard runs through the block at the top of the assembly just below the pigtail/swivel barrel, the line portion is what would normally be tied off at the cleat on the base of the mast in a standard setup). this seems like too much load for the line portion of the halyard; but if i slacken the halyard so that the forestay keeps the mast load, then the jib luff hangs too loose. am i missing something in the setup, or is it ok for the halyard to accept the load of the mast when the jib is fully raised? i've read that i need a special jib for this set-up; has anyone used the standard jib sith success?

2. what is the best/cleanest way to shackle the forestay, the jib tack, and the end of the jib halyard to the stay adjuster on the top of the furler assembly? i seem to have a jumble of shackles (well, 3) that lean over/press on one another and i think it's just wrong. i saw a photo in a hobie manual saying to attach the jib tack much lower on the adjuster, but then the sail itself rubs against the other two shackles at the top. do i also connect the halyard shackle lower as well?

3. what is the purpose of the two flat, sharp pair of metal tabs on the front of the furler assembly? if nothing connects to them, is this a job for electrical tape to cover these to protect the sail, or has anyone removed them? they seem like a sliced arm (or worse) waiting to happen.

thank you very much for your help!

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getaway on long beach island, nj

Can not answer 1 or 2 , but if I remember correctly, the Sharp metal tabs have square holes in them for a bridle fly like the telo cat wind vane

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Sail Like you Have a Pair
Bluish gray 73 - 83 H16
Super Nice Yellow 84 H18

take a look at what hobie is selling ... at the top i will have remake the pig tail with the swivel... the one that hobie sent was too short for my boat.....

and

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•Present boat -1998 Hobie 16 Solana Sails furling jib[/size]

thanks waldorf. these are great photos. i see you are using the jib luff wire as the forestay, so there is nothing else attahed to the furler or the pigtail/barrel. what if i want to also have the aussie halyard included, so that i can raise/lower the jibsail without having to step the mast?

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getaway on long beach island, nj

The only way to use something like a halyard system for a furler jib would be to attach it to the top of the pigtail above the swivel. I think you would have to pull the forestay aft to the mast when sailing and move it back to the bridles before lowering the jib.

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

Since the pigtail is too short you will need to add an 8 or 10 hole adjuster to the top of the furler or above the pigtail, you also might need to use the original pigtail to increase the length as well (above the swivel pigtail.) This will make it it longer so it will attach correctly and give you good mast rake, since you apparently have the newer type, (shorter), shrouds. I had to do this when I added a furler to my h16.
DO NOT try to make some homemade connector as it probably could not safetly handle the load.
I would just take the original jib halyard off and buy a hobie snorkle, it protects the jib, comes down and of easily and you won't have to worry about the original jib halyard getting in the way or hanging up. I've had my snorkle up all summer with no problems and no damage. Just keep your old halyard and sail for emergencies.
You could even make your own snorkle using a sewing machine, sail cloth or sunbrella material, and just use snaps instead of a super long zipper!

Good Luck!
John G.

I also have detaild instructions for installing the furler in the thread below.
John G.

http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewt ... ght=furler

thank you all for your advice. i used a bit from each to try out the furler/halyard combo...no catastrophic failures and a fun sail yesterday. i have the forestay rigged to the mast tang with a shorter pigtail and the barrel roller in between. then comes the aussie halyard block and then the forestay itself. at the bottom, the forestay shackled to the topmost hole in the adjuster that slides through the furler (hobie). the jib halyard in this setup is not long enough to be only the wire portion, so the jib luff wire is connected to the jib halyard (wire) at the head of the sail, and the other end of the halyard wire is extended by a small ~6 foot section of halyard line, and then again by a longer section of halyard that can be removed with a simple caribiner clip once the jib is hoisted. the jib liff wire is shackled to the lowest available hole in the adjuster that runs through the furler mechanism, and the end of the halyard is shackled to the jib luff shackle (top hole in the adjuster). this setup allows the jibsail to furl around itself in an acceptable manner.

one note: when hoisting the jibsail, i've taken care not to apply more tension on the jib halyard than there is on the forestay; this way, the mast and mainsail/boom are all weighing on the forestay, not the jib luff wire/halyard. for some reason, the jibsail i got with this boat only has one clip that fastens to the forestay, so the rest of the luff hangs a bit away from the forestay. i am sure this may be laughable for those of you competing, but for me, it seemed to work fine and we were still able to get one pontoon out of the water in our trial sail yesterday. all worked well!

thanks for all your advice!

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getaway on long beach island, nj