Righting the H-14

How much weight does it take to right the hobie 14

Not that simple. Depends on wind and wave conditions. The more waves & wind, the easier it is to right.

In a moderate breeze, about 160 lbs should be enough. There are various righting systems that can lower that figure significantly. Do a search on this site. It's been discussed - a lot.

I weigh about 160 and the only time I've attempted to solo-right, the H14 came up so easily I was surprised. I wasn't expecting it to be as tough as the H16, but I was really amazed at how fast it righted.

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Warm regards,

Jim

How were the winds thou.
Light
Mod
White Caps

Mark
Hobie 14

I'd say light to moderate. Obviously enough to toss me but not crazy.

Jim

Jim
Would you consider it suicide to take a 14 out in white caps soloing it.

Mark

Suicide? No.
Stupid? Maybe, if you're a n00b. Start in light winds and work your way up.

According to the Beafort windspeed scale, white caps start to appear at 12 knots and are really prevelant at 15-20. On the H16 15-20 is PERFECT. So I am happy to see white caps. But I also have lots of practice. If you just got the boat but you're planning to sail it a lot, I'm sure that by the end of this season you'll be happy to see them too.

Jim

Edit: one thing I learned quickly about the H14 is that unlike the H16 the 14 turtles very easily. Before you go out the first time, take your mast and hold it underwater. Look for bubbles that might indicate the mast isn't sealed properly.
Assuming it IS sealed, you're still not guaranteed not to turtle. I washed out an old gallon milk jug and glued the cap on, and I run that up the mast with the sail when I go out. It's got enough bouyancy to keep the mast pretty close to the surface when you flip.

How did you do that atache it to the sail or sring the halyard through the handel. Do you have any pictures of how you did it.

How I attached the jug to the sail? I just used a short cord to tie the handle of the jug to the shackle on the halyard. Very simple. I don't have any pictures, sorry.

That would flap around wouldnt it or was it like tied really close.

Yes, I tied it as close as possible to minimize flapping but there is still, of course, a little bit of that. If you don't like that you could always get the Hobie mast bob.

Jim

Nahh i will pay 3.50 and get my daily amount of calcium.

Wait!! Go back to the white caps post and suicide and all that.

A hobie 14 is really the most fun WHEN its capping out. Suicide is when you JIBE in 25 winds on a 14. My kid and I LOVE to go 14ing when its too windy for anyone else on the lake (mostly mono's). There are some crazies on a 420 with trap lines that will go out is anything, but usually its just us on 14s when its 25 or better. Bigger the better with the 14.

I agree - more wind = more fun on the 14. I sail on an inland lake, so my idea of "screaming winds" is a bit different than the ocean sailors on the forum, but it's good enough for me. When I'm out there in white-caps (all alone), I like to think of all the old folks living around the lake watching "that crazy SOB on the Hobie fooling around in this kind of weather..." A few tips I learned the hard way - make sure your rudder cams are in good working order before going out in high winds. If your rudders won't lock down properly, you'll have some NASTY weather helm that will wear your arms out in a hurry. Also, turning around is probably the hardest part of high-wind sailing. Jibing is tricky to do without going over, but the 14 is tough to tack in light wind, let alone high winds. I haven't tried this yet (just read about it this winter), but in the future I plan to backwind the main and turn in the opposite direction I want to go - this makes you basically sail backwards, turning the boat the right way for your new tack.

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-Bill

Conesus Lake, NY
1976 Hobie 14

I was trying to name my boat but i cant think of any would someone help me brain storm. I was thinking of calling her the "Jenny" off of my favorite movie forest gump.

Mark
Hobie 14 "Unnamed."