Traveler Rigging

Greetings, With fond memories of sailing a Hobie 18 for a summer in the 1980's, a few years ago we bought a Getaway to teach our young daughters how to sail. They are old enough now that we just traded up to a (used) Hobie 18. It has no rigging that controls the traveler position, just the mainsheet run through through traveler and boom blocks (i.e. let the mainsheet out adn both traveler and mainsail go out). I have searched the Hobie website, downloaded the Hobie 18 SX/SE Manual and the parts listing and NOWHERE can I find a diagram that illustrates the correct way to rig this. Can someone please help us out?

Many Thanks
AndrewandSusan

Sheet line should tie off on the block becket and then wind thru the blocks and exit at the cam. You will then pass the bitter end of the sheet thru the swivel cam mounted on the crossbar, thru the traveler and then tie off on the eyestrap mounted to the back of the crossbar. Remember to have the swivel cam positioned so the cam action holds the line as the traveler moves outboard. Hope this helps.

Common problem, especially at the beginning of every sailing season.

Follow the previous advice, and then go backwards and do one more thing. At our club (check us out at www.kanatasailingclub.com), we teach our students to test where the traveller line will be when the traveller is fully out to one side. Then mark the line, unthread it, tie a stopper knot, then re-thread and tie off to the eye-strap.

Then test it on dry land.

The idea is that if you are on a screaming reach, and you have to do a crash gybe, you can let the traveller go flying over and not have to worry about the car hitting the end stops and exploding, as the stopper knot will prevent the car from reaching the end. Don't ask how we know this!

Happy sailing

_________________
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.'

NCMBM , John,

Thanks so much for taking the time to wrtie a reply and help out. VERY much appreciated. I hope that someday I can do the same for someone else. I gotta say though, after a lifetime of looking through books on rigging and tieing knots, I just can't believe that this isn't drawn out SOMEWHERE!

Thaks again,

AndrewandSusan (on Cayuga Lake)

Pretty limited, but it is covered in the H18 manual.

http://www.hobiecat.com/support/pdfs/H18&SX_Manual.pdf

Page 15, item 10 (references figure 37)

<<10. Attach the three boom blocks to the hangers on the
boom. Secure the ratchet block to the top of the traveler
car. Thread the mainsheet through the blocks as shown
in Figure 37. Slip the other end of the mainsheet
through the traveler jam cleat, then guide the line
through the center of the traveler, and secure at the
dead eye on the back bar.>>

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

Matt,

Thanks for the reply. Much appreciated. Well, as I said in my posting, I downloaded the manual, the parts list (and ALL their supplementary literature), so you must have wondered how I missed what you referenced. The last owner replaced the three boom blocks with the newer version of the same (sorry, can't think of what Hobie calls it; a single fitting with 3 pulleys). In any event, I'm looking for a diagram (which I would have bet my last dollar is out there SOMEWHERE), instead of trying to decipher (perhaps wrongly) how somehting with only a written description applies to somethiing that doesn't resemble what's being described. Guess we'll just keep trying until it feels right; and then, sure enough, JUST when we're sure we've got it, someone will come along who REALLY DOES know the rigging and.....

Cheers,

Andrew

Andrew,

There are pictures of 6, 7 and 8 to one main sheet blocks in the murry's and Hobie catalog. I am sure if you do a search on either Catssailor.com or the beachcats.com, you will find someting like what you have.

http://www.catsailor.com/forums/ubbthreads.php

http://www.thebeachcats.com/

do a search for Main Sheet blocks or something like that.

Sam

This comment just caught my eye...

Certainly the mainsheet control is supposed to be separate from the traveler. We have been trying to describe the traveler system to you here.

The system on the 18 works the same as what you had on the Getaway. There is a mainsheet system on the Getaway with two "triple" blocks. The lower block has a jam cleat to hold sheet tension. The end of the mainsheet (bitter end) is threaded back into the traveler swivel cleat (mounted on the rear crossbar) front to back, jaws first then the eye behind the jaws on the swivel cleat... out to and through the traveler car and back to center to the stainless bar "dead eye" (stainless bar) riveted to the rear crossbar (underside and angles up and back). Pass through the dead eye fron to back and tie a stopper knot.

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

Here is a pic of my Getaway setup, the same as the H18. It's operated by two separate lines, one controls the traveler the other the main sheet.

thanks guys,

I appreciate all your comments and especally the stopper knot idea! Wouldn't you know it Matt, but the diagram number 37 covers the traveller part of threading the main sheet!

Dan

_________________
Dan St. Gean
'82 H 18
'96 H Wave