Jib Halyard Question

Hey guys,
So my friend has a Hobie 18 that we took out for the first time Friday. I am used to monohulls so I tensioned the jib halyard so the line was taking the tension and not the forestay. As we were sailing the halyard snapped and we had to go back in. The line used is very skinny and im not sure if it was the original or not. From there on we just let the forestay take all the tension.

Was what i did right or wrong?

Cheers

On an 18, the forestay takes the rig tension. The halyard just tensions the luff of the sail.

Yes, on the 18 the forestay takes the brunt of the rig tension, not the jib halyard.

You need to pre-tension the rig prior to tensioning the jib halyard. To do this, hook your main halyard to the back of the boom, hoist the boom up about three feet off the rear crossbar, and secure the halyard. Then hook up your mainsheet blocks and pull on a moderate amount of tension. This will pre-load the forestay. Now set your jib halyard tension.

You can also just hoist the mainsail and sheet it in to pre-load the forestay, but you run the risk of having the boat blow over when doing this if there is any significant breeze.

sm

Ok thanks!
Does the jib tension matter much in different winds since the forestay takes the brute force?

Jib halyard tension does not make much of a difference. The general rule of thumb would be to tension until most or all of the wrinkles are gone from the leading edge of the jib.

sm