Had an INSANE 1st real sail on the boats 4 time out!

Every other time ive taken the newly restored hobie out, theres been mabe 7mph winds. Today on lake lanier, is was blowing a constant 16-19mph, with large gusts to 26mph.

Noticed a few things.....nothing broke, but my righting line broke off (the other line broke holding the righting line to the rear hulls) which ended up being not good.

secondly, when jibing i usually let the main out as im heading off the wind, then sheet in hard through the jibe to keep speed. Apparently, when its windy like this, screw that. We got knocked over into an INSTANT turtle. And i mean instant. The SECOND the boat came around, (i didnt sheet in hard enough) the boat just when WHAM and turtled (the mast is sealed!).

Because my 1st problem happened, it took FOREVER to get the boat up, plus i could not for the life of me get the bows into the wind. It was blowing to hard, even tried both of us on the front, and nothing. the wind was hitting the tramp (once we got it out of turtle) and pushing the boat backwards. Motor guy came and threw us a line to spin the mast around, and the boat popped up.

pitchpoles are fun. Especially when your able to save yourself and back out from a huge one!

Weather helm. Ive got a hell of it. My rig is raked back, and ive got 3/4inch rake, so that should tell you something. Plus i dont have a hot stick yet, just using the tiller....my arms about to fall off as i write this. i was holding the tiller with two hands today, my crew was controling the main sheet with locked jib/traveler.

Mainsheet/traveler line knot. Double that sucker up, I had to re-reeve on the water, and i couldnt remmeber how to do it correctly because it snapped loose.

Windy conditions? Get a trapeze. My wires are on the way. hiking out for a constant 4 hours wears out your body...my abs and my ass are toast.

This leads to installing neoprene on side bars is a MUST. Also ordered and on the way.

Also leads to either take breaks, or carry water. we were both dehydrated after being on the water that long.

Non-Hobie sails SUCK. We met up with another 16, and they just sailing past us every time we came around- it was a 1980. Looked like it had newer sails. The could head higher than us because of my undersized off-brand jib. Everytime i tried to head up, it would luff....its small- doesnt even go past the mast, and no battens. I would assume this is my major drawback as it de-powers the boat a LOT.

All in all, this is the most fun ive had on the water state-side. If i had the trap lines, it would have equaled sailing hobie 15s in Antigua double trapping.

Yay for Hobie building a boat that can go through with what i put it through today, and come out in one piece!

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1981 Hobie 16
1982 Hobie 14 turbo (sold)
1996 SeaDoo GTI
1999 Hunter 340

Great job with the wind today.

I wanted to get my H18 out on Lake Lanier today but had other plans already in place. The whole day I was looking and the wind and thinking about sailing.

I have had the H18 out 4 times so far this year since I got it operational and every time I had good wind. Of course if the wind is dead on a weekend on Lanier it is no fun so I did not go.

You need to get a hot stick and traps. I have the wings on my H18 so it is like trapping out while sitting on a comfortable seat.

another question/problem.

with a worn mast base, my mast WAY over rotates....would this cause the boat not to be able to point as high as well?

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1981 Hobie 16
1982 Hobie 14 turbo (sold)
1996 SeaDoo GTI
1999 Hunter 340

Get the main to flatten out. Tension the battens, tighten the outhaul well, get a good downhaul. Make sure you're getting the jib flat too. You may need to rig it differently so you can sheet in more. Get the boat flatter to go faster. Getting out on a trap will help a lot.

Don't worry about the sails. As long as they have good shape and the mast is behaving the minimal differences shouldn't really be apparent in the real world. Make sure the main has a nice flat leech and not a hook/"s" shape. Get everything tightened up and she'll fly up wind. Catamarans don't really point that high too FYI.

In other words, there is a lot more to worry about than just sail area. The overlap you were concerned about is actually one of the best places for the light lil hobie 16 to lose sail area. It doesn't really need that overlap for powering through waves, etc etc. We just kinda skim over em =) Good luck.

Glad to hear you survived a tough but fun day! We had those same conditions here in NC on Friday. I took a friend out for his first time hobie sailing and we were double trapezing in no time. When you get your wires installed, it will open up a whole new dimension to your sailing, I promise. There's nothing like it and hopefully you should be able to run down that other 16 and pass him next time with all the extra speed you'll have.

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1990 "Formula 1" H16 (# 009)

6:1 downhaul cranked down hard
battens were tighten in their pockets
mainsheet was block to block. Ive got the rig raked back to allow it

the other hobie looked stock 1980 (he said it was an 1980) with newish sails. Straight up/down mast, no rake, and he still blew by us.

Thats why im thinking

a. my mast was way over rotating and spilling wind (it was over rotating, i need new mast base)
b. my crappy non-Hobie jib. I couldnt get it flat because of its crappy design/shape. It would always luff when ever i tried to point, and my tell tales on the main were perfect

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1981 Hobie 16
1982 Hobie 14 turbo (sold)
1996 SeaDoo GTI
1999 Hunter 340

Hi, s30series!
I was in the 1980 H-16 that was hanging around you on Lake Lanier. You guys must have been freezing. We were in wetsuits and were still cold.
From what I saw, your jib was definitely "fat". If you are getting flutter on the leach of your jib, it is time for a new sail. The fluttering will disrupt the airflow over the jib and put the luff of your main in turbulent air.
Another thing that may have helped us was the psychological advantage to having the hydrofoils. There was a few times when I was building speed to get ahead of you, that I buried the hull as I was pushing through the rollers. I mean BURIED!! The hydrofoils allowed the hull to pop back up on top of the water without missing a beat. Without them, I would be alot more cautious about pushing the boat in those wind speeds. Also, you not having a hiking stick may have also helped us.
As a side note, we regularly go to Jekyll Island when the winds are forecasted to be dead on Lanier. It would be great to have another Hobie at Jekyll to race around the sound. Let me know if you are interested.
It was a lot of fun on Lanier on Sunday and hope we run into you guys again.

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Eric Weller
2006 F18 Capricorn
1980 H16
Keep the pointy side up!

Thats awesome!

Did you see the rip in the leach as well? Its a non-hobie sail, and its super small compared to your jib I'm confident that with the correct sized jib, I'll be right there with ya!

How old are your sails? They looked almost brand new!

Also, i noticed you didnt have your rig raked back at all, and were using the stock mainsheet system?

It was def. a great day out, and i can't wait to get all the rest of the parts to make it "easier" once i get back out on the water....i had some much wether helm i had to use two hands to steer! A hiking stick and adjusting rudder rake will help out for sure. It was extremely difficult to keep the windward rudder out of the water because of how i was steering

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1981 Hobie 16
1982 Hobie 14 turbo (sold)
1996 SeaDoo GTI
1999 Hunter 340

The sails are brand new. I wanted to get the original sail colors for the year, so I had FX Sails make them for me. The design is called "Hot Flash". Not exact, but close enough. They only have 4 outings on them.


Unfortunately, I ripped them already when a batten popped out of the luff pocket last weekend at Jekyll. I need to send the sail back to get the same colored material.

I have a Harkin 6:1 main sheet system. You are right that I do not have any rake. I would always be banging my head if the boom hung any lower. Does raking give you a notable change in how much more you can head into the wind? How many degrees difference could be expected.

Also, as you are probably aware, you can adjust your rudders to improve weather helm. I adjusted mine and it made a world of difference.

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Eric Weller
2006 F18 Capricorn
1980 H16
Keep the pointy side up!

Ahhhh well that must be nice....from what i've read and know, brand new sails make a world of a difference with boat speeds!

If you dont mind me asking, how much were they?

As for the rake question- yes more rake = greater ability to head to wind....thats why if you noticed i was able to sheet in block to block heading up (closer to than what you were heading at the time). My problem is my poorly shaped Jib wont let me head up anymore than i was, even though the main was perfect. My hobie jib is missing one batten pocket, but i might just say to hell with it and sail with it instead of that piece of junk blue one!

Im re-drilling my rudders this weekend getting ready for some EPOs. Once i find the correct setting for my rake, im going to use them as a template for the EPOs, so i only have to drill once.

Then we'll have a re-match

Ive got lots of weight too

Combined weight is over 400lbs

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1981 Hobie 16
1982 Hobie 14 turbo (sold)
1996 SeaDoo GTI
1999 Hunter 340

The new sails were about $1350 for the main and jib. That price included new battens for both sails.
The sails are very well made, but there are some issues with window and reefing point placement.
The performance difference between old and new sails is noticable but not that huge. The big difference is how good the boat looks.
It has been a 2 year effort to bring this boat to its present state. I just finished re-conditioning the trailer (what a job!!!), so now the boat and trailer are completely rebuilt and ready for nothing but fun.

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Eric Weller
2006 F18 Capricorn
1980 H16
Keep the pointy side up!

You might check your toe in/out on the rudders next. If you've ever put your rudders on backwards before you know how much their alignment can slow the boat.

Make sure you tighten the tramp, raise the rig, and the sails before you adjust the rudders too fyi. This little tid bit is often overlooked and makes a small difference.

My trailer is very sloppy and made adjusting the rudders nearly impossible thanks to the two hulls twisting on a twisted trailer... I put my hobie up on blocks last time I adjusted the rudders and even if I can't feel the difference it is nice to know my rudder alignment is that much more precise. My rudder hardware has so much slop in it I highly doubt it made any real difference! None the less, using em until they break! I'm starting to understand why people buy new hobies still.

Nice looking sails. How's the build quality compared to oem Hobie?

The price seems to be just about the same (I realize you wanted special colors)

The wrinkles make them look like they are made from a thiner matterial.

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1990 "Formula 1" H16 (# 009)

Just to clarify, when you tension the battens you want the sail to flatten out. If you over tightened them then it would add a curve and actually promote light air/over powered sailing. Just a thought.