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H17 sail advice
http://www.hobie.com/au/en/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=54687		 Page 1 of 2
Author:  Matt15 [ Mon May 11, 2015 4:38 am ]
Post subject:  H17 sail advice
Since a recent rebuilding of a H17 I picked up here in Australia and sailing it afew times now I've been disappointed in the performance compared to my H16. I attribute this to my fantastically coloured old H17 mylar main. It still looks great but up close its just about had it and I feel there is more life in this old H17 yet.

As with all my Hobie's I would love to keep genuine but I'm not really happy with cost, time and colour. The 'Smoke' is close to white boring, the cost for a H17 main here in OZ is just under 3k ($2300 US) and it would take approx. 2 months to get here from the US as Australia currently has zero H17 mains.
Not really happy with all this. I've considered buying a custom coloured one but at that price I could rock out a H16 Euro sail set.

I've been watching the market closely here and in the US as well as messaging around but there really seems to be no good spares around.

What quality alternatives are out there? (with colour)
I've contacted Whirlwind but get no response and just read that the chap (Chip) works for another sail maker if that's right??? Not sure why the site is still up???

Is there anybody else out there who makes a good quality coloured H17 main?

Some recent pics taken
Image

Image
Author:  srm [ Mon May 11, 2015 7:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: H17 sail advice
Is your current sail delaminated?

sm
Author:  Matt15 [ Mon May 11, 2015 6:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: H17 sail advice
I've just received a response from Chip @ Whirlwind so all good.

Cheers
Author:  jackB [ Mon May 11, 2015 9:43 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: H17 sail advice
I have a sail from Chip and quite happy with it. BTW, what is wrong with your current sail? Very nice colors. Looks like 1995-2000 (?)
Author:  Matt15 [ Mon May 11, 2015 11:44 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: H17 sail advice
Yep colours are great and as I said at a distance it looks great. But when you get up close you can see it's had better days and its starting to delaminate
Author:  Matt15 [ Mon Aug 17, 2015 12:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: H17 sail advice
Just an update guys - I took delivery of a new pin top tri radial main from Chip @ Whirlwind Sails in the US. I can't thank Chip enough, it's a bloody fantastic main and his communication throughout the order process was great. I can't rate the owner, business and product high enough!

So inevitably I sailed on Sunday to break it in - Video here: https://youtu.be/V82Dbwj_SW0
And pics here:
Image
Image
Author:  jackB [ Mon Aug 17, 2015 4:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: H17 sail advice
Awesome color selection!

Is it Dacron?
Author:  Matt15 [ Mon Aug 17, 2015 11:06 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: H17 sail advice
Cheers! and yes Dacron.
Author:  SabresfortheCup [ Tue Aug 18, 2015 10:41 am ]
Post subject:  Re: H17 sail advice
Great looking sail! Love the colors! And seemingly pretty quick turn around, shipping from CA to Australia!

And I tend to agree, Hobie's current sail color/pattern selection is rather dull and at this point, stale.

But the bigger question is, how does she sail!? Big improvement? Is the performance closer to what your expectations were, based on your experiences on your 16? Or too soon to tell?
Author:  Matt15 [ Tue Aug 18, 2015 11:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: H17 sail advice
Perhaps too soon to call but certainly a huge improvement on my old sail. Still I feel my H16 performs alot better solo but I am on the heavy side for a optimum H17 sailor so when trapped out on the wings my weight is further out. I'm keen to try my H17 without the wings for comparison and maybe adding a jib.

Absolutely agree with Hobie's sail colours being stale - the 'Smoke' series offered (red, white, grey) is about as boring as they get especially when we've seen so much of Smoke/HotTamale. I really wanted to keep my Hobie genuine so I considered a custom colour order but for me the cost was the biggest factor. Nearly $3,000 AUS which is just ludicrous and unjustified against the cost we pay for sails for other Hobie models. I'd love to know why.
Author:  gmhendo [ Thu Sep 17, 2015 1:13 am ]
Post subject:  Re: H17 sail advice
Hey that is a nice looking rig and boat Matt. Bit rude watching the H16 go by though. Take a stick to it next time...
Author:  Matt15 [ Thu Sep 17, 2015 10:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: H17 sail advice
Hahahaha, will do Graham!
I actually bear off in the footage so that I could capture his sail past. Before that he was struggling to make any ground the the H17 sure points higher
Author:  dorienc [ Fri Sep 18, 2015 6:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: H17 sail advice
I had 2 H-17s in the past. In heavy air, you can blow away the 16s and 18s. I'm 200# and when I trapped off a wing, I could keep the boat flat in anything short of a full blow gale. And I thought it points higher too.
I now have a Getaway, and I've been experimenting on speed vs point of sail. It seems to point higher when I furl the jib. Still won't point up like the 17 though.
Author:  Matt15 [ Sat Sep 19, 2015 10:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: H17 sail advice
How do you find the Getaway overall dorienc?
I've got my H17 on the market atm to possibly purchase a Getaway. I love destination sail camping which I currently do on my H16 but feel the Getaway is a safer option for when the weather kicks up. Alternatively i could add a furling battenless jib and reef points to one of my H16 sail sets, but the Getaway looks to be a great all rounder!
Author:  dorienc [ Sun Sep 20, 2015 4:34 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: H17 sail advice
I like the 17 solo. But as you know, load people on it, and it pretty much sinks. As my kids got bigger, we out grew it.
Later, when the kids moved out, I was sailing solo or with just my wife, so I bought another 17, used. It was pretty thrashed though, and I just never warmed to that particular boat, so I got rid of it.
The Getaway suits us. Not as fast or precise handling as the 17, but we often take grandchildren or friends and it handles the load easily. I can solo it easily. The wings are OK, but I liked the wings on the 17 much better. I'm considering fabricating 17-style wings for my Getaway. The forward tramp is great for the kids, gives them room to sprawl. My wife really likes the boomless rig, not having to roll under the deck sweeping boom on my old 17. Maybe if we'd had the 17 Sport Cat with the boomlet, she'd have been happier.
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