weather helm, super difficult tiller

Yeah, just wait a couple years until the tendonitis sets in you elbow.

I had the same problem the first time I sailed my 1983 H16. It drove me crazy.

It turned out I had the the rudders reversed. It was an easy fix but it took me two days to figure out what the issue was.

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1980 18 foot class A Unicorn catamaran
1977 Super Sunfish (sold)
1979 Hobie (sold)
1983 Hobie 16 Hawiian Sunset (sold)
1981 Hobie 16 Tequilla Sunrise (sold)
2008 Hobie 16 (sold)
2023 Hobie 16
Founding member of the "San Dimas Yacht Club"
John

Ouch! I already have enough problems. I think I will start reefing my main before i hurt myself.

Pawnking,

If you reef, it will reduce the weather helm by moving the center of effort on the sail forward. Because of the shape of the Hobie sail it is not as big a change as on a conventional sail. I also own a Cape Cod catboat and if I double reef, I can't get the boat to come about because of the strong lee helm. Jibing would be all I could do to come about so I no longer double reef. You must have an older boat if you still have reef points. Hobie did away with them with the introduction of the comptip mast.

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Howard

Now that's funny.

So is the capsize guide.

Yes, the best benefit of being a cheap sob, my sails have reefing points
For boat balance and less helm I would actually like to get more sail area forward somehow I thought about trying a little less mast rake. Right now its raked all the way back, with the shrouds on the bottom hole. I think this makes the jib battens rub the mast more that way and even more unbalanced for the weather helm with it raked all the way back. Im not sure if improving these things outweigh the benefits of having it raked back though, and I dont think I want to find that out the hard way!

Its fun to say Wagga Wagga, even if there is no wind.

Learning the "hard way" is a quick pitchpole.

By far... better to adjust rudders to account for weather helm rather than raking the mast more forward.

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

In the Summer 2010 issue of HOTLINE, on pages 14 - 19 there is an interesting article on "Setting Up the Hobie 14" by Wayne Schafer, Bob Curry and the Hotline Editors.

Is there a similiar article somewhere for the Hobie 16?

With regards to Mast Rake, Bob Curry has an interesting method for measuring mast rake on a Hobie 14.

CURRY: I take a more quantitative approach. The first
thing you want to do is step the mast on the trailer. Then, using a carpenter’s level butted up against the shroud chain plate on the sidebar, level the boat.
Undo your main halyard and attach a 5 lb weight, like the crescent wrench shown in the photo above right. Measure the distance from the halyard to the bottom of the mast cutout for the mainsail. A good ball park number will range between 45"–57" depending on your body weight. Lighter skippers will favor the
larger number (more mast rake) and heavier skippers will favor the smaller numbers (less mast rake). Since I weigh 160 lbs, I opt for a 55" mast rake.


Is there a similiar method like Bob Curry's for the Hobie 16 and recommended ranges based on body weight?

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Tim
84 H16
82 H16
87 H14T
Tortola Sails: 115222
Blue Prism Sails: 88863
Clearwater, FL