First day out on our new 18 brought both thrills and.....

disappointment. We had nice 15MPH offshore breeze yesterday and couldn't resist taking our new H18 out for her maiden voyage. I was initially concerned about being able to manuver the boat on her beach wheels but that turned out to be much easier than I thought it would be (with help). I did find raising the last 3' of the mainsail challenging (wow!) but eventually managed to get it all the way up and was able to hook it on the first try. I also found the standard downhaul I have to be easy and adequate. So far so good.

After loading my crew and backing the hulls into the water, I swung the bows around and heard a pleasant "pop" as the wind caught and shaped the main. Off we go - FAST. Jump aboard, Cap'n! Wow, what a thrill these boats are! We sailed with the main only for maybe 30-minutes tacking back and fourth never more than a mile from shore and then the disappointment struck - My swivel cam cleat tore itself away from the rear crossbar (see below). I'm not sure this happened because I had her rigged incorrectly (tried following jmenky's video instructions from memory) or if it was just the result of being an old boat, but we had to make our way back to shore with me doing my best Santiago from "The Old Man and The Sea" impression, holding the flopping mainsheet rig in my hand. Such a bummer. Things did end on a positive note as we were eventually able to limp our way back in and I unhooked the main on my second try. Also, the boat took on almost no water. Here's a picture of the damaged rig (the screws that secure the swivel plate to the crossbar ripped out and the plate itself broke)......

Tips for raising Mainsail.........
1. Make sure the H18 is lined up into the wind. Any sideways pressure on the sail makes it very difficult to raise the main.
2. We have often used the 'business end' of the paddle to push underneath a batten cap to relieve the pressure. Typically, we'll use a cheapy canoe paddle as the required 'safety paddle', and by lifting the boom and/or pushing up on a batten cap, one creates less pressure so it's easier to raise the main.
3. The condition of the sail track and the main sail's bolt rope also play a factor. The newer and cleaner, the better. Sailkote can help here, basically a silicone coating allowing for better 'sliding'.
4. If the battens are over tightened, that causes the main sail to jam.

I am assuming you know the tricks of using the mast rotator to 'hook' or 'unhook' the head of the mainsail.

Other than the equipment failure, great that you had a good sail. Wonderful to hear you getting excited about your new rocket ship. We had a wonderful sail on Saturday in our new (used SX18), and we are looking forward to a great season. Will be in touch if we come down to visit our cousins in Fairfield...

_________________
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.'

Sorry to hear of your troubles. But....Absolutely you had the main sheet rigged incorrectly. The lower main block should NOT be attached to the swivel cam. The lower main block should be attached to the main traveler on the rear of the cross bar. The swivel cam is used to control the outboard position of the main traveler. Watch the jmecky123 youtube video again (Part 2).

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QLltz31cy8&playnext_from=TL&videos=xi70pDczSGs

You can see beginning at the 3 minute mark in the video. At 3:30 you see how the main sheet blocks are attached to the traveler car.

Good Luck.

_________________
John Latimer
'79 Hobie18 - Magnum
Sail#4854

Ah ha! That would explain why the screws that hold the swivel plate to the swivel cam (part #1162) are so small; The screw hardware simply connects the "accesory mounting plate" to the swivel cam. Hard to believe, but I ran my mainsheet through the hole on the traveler my lower main block is supposed to connect to and otherwise left the traveler out of the equation. Dumb, dumb dumb.

Upon closer inspection, it turns out I tore out the single rivet that connects the accesory plate to the rear cross bar (and cracked the plastic plate as well). If I had a rivet gun and stainless rivets, this would be a $10 repair. Thanks very much for helping me sort through my errors.

John Lunn - I'm very much looking forward to meeting you when you come to visit to visit your cousins. If the weather is similar to yesterday's, we'll have a blast. Take care.

Not only are they not able to take the load, but with that rig you have absolutely no control on the main travel. This question may seem dumb, but I'll ask away anyway does the rear crossbar have a traveler ? You never know with used boats. It should slide freely on its tracks. Check the bearings inside the tracks to make sure they are not all worn out or you may find yourself without traveler control and hence no control over you mainsail if it (the traveler) pops out of its tracks because of old worn bearings. If this were to happen in medium air you would really have a problem controlling the main sail and the boat.

Hi Al, I do indeed have a functional traveler car but I did exactly what John Latimer said I did (good eye, thank you): I connected the main block to the swivel rather than the traveler car. Totally my fault. Had I taken a moment to think through the way the mainsheet system works, I probably would have caught it. I suspect I may have been more concerned about making sure I ran the main through the three holes like jmenky's video shows (I even ran it through the car if you can believe it but I still missed my mistake!). Lesson learned. I'm actually glad it broke through my rigging error rather than breaking as a result of having been abused by the previous owner. Should have her back on the water in relatively short order. Take care.

OK, good to hear. But do make sure the bearings inside the tracks are OK. Replace if worn.

And, there is this good discussion about this and other topics of interest in your new 18, Brian you might want to read the entire thread here.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=14327&hilit=traveler&start=30

When rigging your traveler, remember that the line goes through 4 things, in this order:

1) The cleat
2) The fairlead
3) The Traveler car
4) The dead eye

Tie a stopper, call it good.

Hope that helps.

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Sail Revolution
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I'm not sure where I'd be without the guidance and knowledge of this community. Everybody here has been a big help as has my local dealer here in Westport, CT. Would you believe the guys at The Boat Locker lent me their heavy duty rivet gun so I wouldn't have to go out and purchase a new one? That's what I call customer service! And thank God I had that big gun because those stainless rivets are diamond hard. Anyways, the new plate is now pretty much installed. Well, I have it riveted on at least. Unfortunately, the stock replacement screws no longer fit the old holes in the rear cross bar since the screws were ripped free. The good news is I went to West Marine and bought the next size up and they fit (I just need to hacksaw off the ends as they are a smidge too long and WM didn't have a shorter length).

Thanks again!

Ummmmm, Jeremy, can I add one thing?

We normally tie a figure 8 knot in the main sheet, between the cleat and the fairlead.

That is, we rig as per your instructions, and just before we tie off at the dead eye, we hold the end of the mainsheet steady, move the traveler all the way to one side, allow the mainsheet to feed in from the trampoline, then bring the car towards the centreline by 1", and then we mark where we are. Now take the main sheet out back to the outside of the fairlead and tie that figure 8 knot, re-thread and tie off at the dead eye.

In this way, if there is ever the need to make an emergency gybe (jibe?), the traveler car will not slam into the end of the track, and explode, as the stopper knot will prevent that.......don't ask how I know.

How many others do this?

Brian, I will try and dig up my PDF's and email you something.....

_________________
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.'

John, it´s just me but I would never gybe the boat with more than 60-70% travel, too dangerous even in an emergency. And of course the sheet is cleated all the time and this prevents overtravel in the opposite side.

I agree...the only time your traveler would slam to the stops in an emergency or accidental jybe would be if it were traveled out all the way on the original tack (which you shouldn't do anyway) or if the mainsheet accidently uncleated during the jybe. Sounds like unecessary additional setup IMHO.

Tom

Or make a split tail and leave it on the boat.

The other real advantage of doing this is that it prevents the traveller car from accidentially popping out of the end of the track. Make sure you set your stopper so your're an inch or so short of the cutout in the track.

sm