Raising and lowering the mainsail on Wave

OK, raising the mainsail on a 16 freakin sucks - I have to wear gloves, I always pinch my hand, I cant get that little ball to line up on the mast when I do get the sail up, rigging has to be done on land.

Is it like this on a Wave? I really want to be able to raise and lower sail while on the water.

It doesn't get much easier than the Wave.

My son watched the setup video and went outside and assembled the boat by himself. Age 12.

I don't think it was designed to set up on the water, but it's easy enough that you might be able to do it. The hulls have plenty of floatation and stability.

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2003 Tiger - Don Atchley

I always raise mine on shore, but it should be no problem on the water, as long as you're pointed generally into the wind. You're not lifting the weight of a boom, so if your downhaul and sheet are loose, there's nothing pulling back down. The wind tension may cause some resistance in the luff track, and mine tends to snag at the comptip joint, but that's the only time it gets tough. Hooking or unhooking the bead has never been a problem for me; there's plenty of slack until you tighten the downhaul, and not much angle is needed.

Also, I tied the bitter end of my halyard onto the sail hook to make a continous loop (after I skyed it a few times), then I use a ball-bunjie around the crossbar to keep tension on the loop after it's cleated. That prevents the halyard from tangling and makes the whole rig neater.

Bill

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What - Me Worry?


2006 Hobie Wave 7358
"Ish Kabibble"

I raise and lower my sail on the water all the time. Very easy. Spray some silicone on the luff and it goes up without much drama. Locking ball in/out is a cinch. Much easier than my old 14.

And Bill's tip is a good one. A continuous loop halyard is great idea. I did this on mine too.

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Jim

2007 Hobie Wave

Every time my friend and I sail across our local lake, we have to lower the sail and mast to get under a bridge. We usually dont even stop; he steers and i get the sail then mast down by myself and as soon as we pass under the bridge we put it back up. It really isn't bad

I have a bridge that is 22 feet above the water. Is is possible to lower my mast slightly, perhaps after taking the sail down, so I can paddle my HC 14 to the other side of the bridge?

It amazes me how much trouble people have raising the main on the Hobie 16... and other models. When it can be so much simpler. It is ALL technique.

I see people struggle at Nationals and Worlds, so even the top guys don't really understand how to hoist a sail properly.

Read my FAQ on sail hoisting. It is all in the feeding at the bottom.

http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=371

Pulling hard on the halyard is not going to get the sail hoisted. You must push the sail up the track at the bottom. The "feeder" can't do it alone.

Now... that said... the Wave is so easy, you don;t really have to feed at the bottom.

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

AND...you don't have to feed it at the pump either

yuk yuk

From my experience with the Wave it is much easier to raise or lower your sail if the mast is oriented in the same direction as sail. If there is some wind around when you raise or lower the sail (it should always be anyway) a certain force is applied to the sail from the side. I rotate the mast by hand to be aligned with the sail. In this case there is much less friction between sail and mast.

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Jernej