I have never fliped my Cat

Until today! We were out in some decent wind today and pitchpolled hard then the boat fell to its side and then turtled! So i did what i had read and we had the boat up in less then 4 min. But when we flipped it we were facing down wind and it caught the wind and flew a hull and the finally went upwind and we climbed on. So Why wont my bow stay above water?
I was on a beam reach with the jib traveled in and pulled tight and the main in and tight. Should i ease out on the jib to keep the bows up? and what about tighting the tramp. well Im alive and i fliped my boat pitchpolled and turtled all in 1 shot.

I'm sensing that Matt Miller should put in the FAQ section a lesson in how to rig and sail a Hobie to lessen the chance of pitchpoling.

A pitchpole is a standard feature on cats, and to make it less likely you need more rigging and sailing experience. In rigging, rake the mast aft to put more power over the rudders and less over the bows. In sailing, learn to shift your weight to achieve proper trim. Let the traveler out a little more. If you have regular crew, they, too, will learn when to ease the jib without your command.

Tightening the tramp will make your boat more responsive and is recommended, but has little to do with a pitchpole. Read this post for more info: http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewt ... line+tight

Welcome to the club.

Thanks. I have tried to rake it back but i think im havinga problem with the fact that i have new shrouds and an old forestay. I have doubled up the chain plate in the front and it still barley reaches. I have a new forestay so ill replace that this week. I have also had a problem with my jib. When i tension it i put a good amount of slack in the forestay but occasionaly when im on the water (and i think its when i have the main sheeted in hard) the tension is back on the forestay. Is there somthing wrong with my jib? Any ideas?

Yeah, you're not tightening and securing the jib halyard properly. The forestay should be slack until the jib halyard is loosened. If you don't already have one, download an assembly manual for the 16 and check if you are rigging the boat correctly.

Sounds like your jib halyard is stretching- sorry, but clothes line won't cut it You need to get a good quality, low-stretch jib halyard line. Any decent sailing supply shop will have it. Then it's just a matter of making sure your cleat doesn't slip.

The jib on the 16 is everything when it comes to preventing pitchpoling. If the crew doesn't pop it in time, it will pull the bow right down. You and your crew need to move back on the boat and ease the jib in the gusts.

sm