Learn to use the travellers?

I bought the basic catamaran sailing DVD Step By Step Guide from Murrays, it was kind of lame. I guess Im ready for the next DVD but does anyone reccommend one that is good for beginners, and will cover using the travellers in all points of sail?

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'81 H16 yellow hulls

Using the traveller is really pretty simple, I don't know that you need a DVD to explain it. You bring it in to go upwind, you let it out to go downwind. On a beam reach, set it somewhere around the hiking strap. If you're overpowered, let it out a few inches. Watch your telltales and adjust it accordingly.

Rather than spending money on a DVD, just go out and mess around with the traveller next time you go sailing. It's just an extension of the mainsheet system, so there's no real mystery to it.

One of the most important things is to have a smooth operating traveller system. Make sure the car slides freely in the track and that the line flows easily through the cleat.

sm

Hmmm. That reminds me, my main traveller is very hard to pull in under a load. I cleaned the tracks but I haven't lubed them. It it Ok to lube them? What kind? Sorry, I hijacked my own thread!

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'81 H16 yellow hulls

Use silicone spray, McLube, or dish washing soap. Do not use oil based lube, grease, wax, or WD-40 - these will all attract dirt.

There have also been several iterations of the Hobie 16 traveller throughout the past 40 or so years. Depending on how old your boat is, you may have an earlier design that simply doesn't work as well as the new system.

sm

Follow SRMs advice and with time on the water, sailing different wind bearings in various wind conditions will get you there. Also, don't forget down haul adjustment (sail shaping) and rudder control (finding & maintaining the sweet spot) are both important for boat speed.

Somebody just posted links to the hobieU site.. there were some specific H16 tuning PDF's in there.. might be worth a read.

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1982 H16 (C:\Worthy)
Yellow/White Prism type sails

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Happy Sailing,

David

One thing I just happened to see in a tuning guide video of Matt's is to tie a knot in the traveler line to keep it from traveling all the way out so that it won't crash into the corner casting and potentially damage the traveler.

It is a GREAT video. I'm not sure where I got it, but I got it, know what I mean? Forgive me for re-posting if this came off the forum. The quality isn't great, must have been digitized from VHS, but the content is outstanding - THANKS Matt!

Here's part 1:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VeBZOCJCoY

Here's part 2:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4b2NBTpBSQ

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'81 H16

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

This guy has some GREAT videos on YouTube.

He focuses mainly on mono-hulls, but his delivery is great and easy to understand.

Here's his one on using the traveler.

http://youtu.be/u0wfGzhlRhI


Enjoy!

Rob.

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'97 Hobie 16.

Skype: rob_arnolda

You're right! Sail twist is a lot more understandable now.

Thanks for the link!

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'81 H16

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