Sailing Jib Only

can you sail a H18 with the jib only without damaging the boat and still control it? im new to sailing i found a 1984 h18 for a good price so i bought it, the problem i have with main is once its up i cant get it down quick enough if the wind kicks up. ive already flipped the boat once due to a stong gust. i want to take it slow and get comfortable so i know how to act when the wind does pick up and its either to windy it freaks me out or so dead the boat wont move with both sails up. ive already got a load of good info from this site, its great. thanks for the help.

Possible, but sail balance is way better with the jib. You can simply furl the jib if you want to test it out.

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

You're going to have a very tough time getting the boat to go upwind under jib only. And since the balance of the boat will be so out of whack, you're really not going to get a good understanding of how the boat handles under full sail. You'd be better off modifying the mainsail so that it can be reefed and/or sailing with the jib furled. Otherwise, just be more selective about the type of wind you go out in.

sm

I went through the same thing recently when I started going out on windier days. I pretty much never cleat the main sheet and now I'm wishing 20-25mph gusts were sustained instead. The main sheet will give you a lot of control over heeling, small adjustments make a big difference and if an unusually strong gust comes through and you start to go over, just let go of it completely and the boat will pretty much take care of itself: you'll flop back down into the water. Just look down periodically to make sure the sheet isn't getting tangled up such that you can't release it when things get to hairy.

Sheet control plus steering up into the wind to help get things back under control - when I was still struggling I just tried to remember "pull to go faster" "release to get under control". Most of the time, both the sheet and the rudder need to go away from you to depower and be pulled toward you to go faster.

I'm no expert but I think if you sail jib only you will have a strong downwind weather helm which means the boat will want to go downwind if you fall off. Not good. Any chance you can get someone to sail with you or sail with someone who has a Hobie 18 who can teach you some pointers ? Also I remember reading that you might be able to rig a Hobie 16 main sail. Good luck ! Keep us posted !

It can be done, but don't expect to win any races or get very far. I was crew on an 18 in a race when the main's clew blew off because the sail was old and the rivets broke off.

thanks for all the input theres some really good tips in there. i kind of thought the boat would be difficult to handle with just the jib. i think finding the perfect day to sail will be what i need to get a grasp of how the boat handles and what she can and can't take. i'll let you know how it goes.

the guys that did the baja trip or whatever on a hobie 18 said they sailed jib only in near pitch black at night and it worked but they were extremely nervous about it breaking.

i never thought about the falling off thing. that would be a real concern. i would make sure a bungee cord is hooked up to the rudder to create a ton of weather helm if you decide to sail jib only.

I've sailed jib only on a light wind day when I was too lazy to put my main up to get back to the ramp after a long weekend. It was a short sail across a small a small inlet and was fine but super slow and boring.

I'd say you'd be better off going out on a lighter air day until you get a hold of things.

In the early 90's, one day it was to windy to windsurf, offshore wind 35mph with gust over 50mph, me and my friend were bored and decided to take my hobie 18 magnum out jib only. It did surprisingly well. We sailed along the shore in relatively calm water, 80 degrees to the wind out with dagger boards down, 100 degrees back. We were able to fiy a hull consistentily and had a blast. Jib was in decent shape before and looked fine afterwards. We jibed to turn around.

when you say go away from you with the rudder, are you saying push the tiller or hicking stick away from or the actual rudder blades?

The tiller or stick - push them away to sail upwind assuming you are sitting on the windward hull.

It is easy sailing with jib only, mostly easier to jibe than tack. If you are going out in high winds be careful that you do not hurt the jib zip. As stated by srm you cannot point as high with jib only, so factor that in when launching.

good deal i already feel more confident

With the help of this forum I have made a successful solo run on my 1984 hobie 18 no flipping no out of control feeling now I’m ready for 10 to 15mph winds I concurred the 5 to 10mph winds. Thanks to all.