Dumb Newbie questions

I'm pretty clueless on how to sail. I went out yesterday and was amazed that I actually got my boat to move. It was a blast. I can't wait for some real wind. We were sailing off and on with 0-8mph gusts. It was probably a good thing since I'm new. The bungee on the tramp is shot. I can get free rope so I thought about just using that. Or is there a better option such as some decent cheap bungee somewhere? What length do I need? Also, I don't think I have the rigging right on the jib. I don't know much of the lingo, and my search isn't going well. The sail seems too close to the mast. I have to help it across every time we jibe. The battens keep snagging on the mast itself or the mast line. Is there a good diagram or pictures somewhere that makes the rigging process idiot proof? I've checked the manual and I can't tell by those pics. Thanks for the help

Don't use bungee for the tramp lacing. It was a racer thing that has long gone out of favor.

"Free rope" can be worth what you paid for it. Get the "right" line (there are no "ropes" on a boat), even if you have to pay for it.

The jib on the 16 does overlap the mast and the battens can hang up, especially in light air. It's the nature of the beast, but can be mitigated. Do a search on "jib battens" and you'll come up with a bunch of answers.

The best thing you can do is to find an old salty Hobie sailor in your area. Go to The Hobie Class Association website, http://www.hcana.hobieclass.com/ and click on "contacts", then "fleets". Scroll down and maybe you'll find a fleet near you. Contact them and there'll be no shortage of people that will be glad to help you out with the intricacies of setting up and sailing your boat. If you can't find a fleet near you, a dealer may be able to reccomend someone, or reply to this post and let us know where you are and perhps someone will either volunteer to help you or put you in contact with someone who can. If you are in NW Louisiana, East Texas or SW Arkansas (we locals call it the ARKLATEX, don't laugh!) I'll be glad to help you out. Tomorrow I'm setting up my second Hobie 16 in less than a week for a high school sophomore who just got his first boat.

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Mark Van Doren
H16 Seabreeze #112205 (Richard Petty Signature Edition)
H14T Fantasia #47787
San Juan 28

Thanks alot for the replies. I'll put my location on my account. The lacing from hobie is cheaper than I expected, so I'll get that along with some extra parts and the mast bushings. That stinks about the jib hanging up, especially when I'll be sailing alone. Maybe I can trim a little off the battens to reduce the snags, and wrap the main sail hoisting line(sorry about the wrong terminology) around the back side of the mast to reduce the snags. I'll learn quick, and I already talked to a guy on craigslist who has a tramp for 30 bucks who has been really helpful over the phone. I'm gonna try to meet up with him and check out his boat. I'll also look for a local club while I'm playing on the net tonight. Thanks again.

What you call main sail hoisting line is the main halyard. The other is the jib halyard. When you hook the slug on the main halyard up on top of the mast, take the line around the shrouds (mast support wires on the side) before you tie it to the cleat. That will keep it back clear of the end of the jib battens. When the jib halyard is cleated, it runs along the mast where it will sometimes hook the battens on the jib. I use a piece of line to pull the jib halyard back by tying it to the downhaul line. They used to sell a clip or hook that fastened to the mast for that purpose. You would clip the halyard to it to hold it back on the mast. You will still have some trouble with it hanging up but not in good wind. When the wind is light, you can get it over manually.

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Howard

Ahhhhhh, Ahhhhh !!! There are indeed two ropes on a boat !! Bars of chocolate for the right answers !!

Sorry to hijack, but this was a question in a quiz ages ago and I've always remembered it !!

The only one I can think of that applies to Hobie Cats is the bolt rope sewn into the leading edge of the mainsail. Since it's sewn into the sail, I don't really consider it a "rope" or a "line" - it's just a part of the sail.

On old sailing ships, there was the bell rope (a lanyard used to ring the bell), footropes (the loops that hang down from yardarms to allow sailors to move out on the yard to deal with sails set on the yardarm), and a tiller rope (used to lash down the tiller for a crude "autopilot").

I thought it was a "luff rope" that ran vertically along, well, the LUFF, and then the "bolt rope," or "foot seam" sometimes, that is the luff's companion or continuation along the, well, FOOT. LOL

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'81 H16

If it ain't a blowin', I ain't a goin'

Don't the trampoline outer edges have a bolt rope as well?

Bolt rope - Sewn into the luff of a sail.
Tiller rope - temporarily tied to a tiller to hold course.
Bell rope - pull to ring.
Rope - Can be any line aboard not assigned a designated purpose.
Foot rope - Stood on by sailors of square rigs when reefing (Definetly not found on Hobies).

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1981 H16.
1993 Macgregor 26S

Hi , I see your in Auburn IN, Where do you sail your Boat? I own a 79 H 16 that I sailed a lot till I got a H18 and have been using that the last two summers . I keep my H 18 on lake James and live in Ft Wayne, would be glad to meet you and give you any help or advice I can.......Jay

this may help with the visual aspect ..

http://www.hobiecat.com/experience/learn.html

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'99 WAVE
Gulf Breeze, FL