Rigging Alone

O.k... My crew (my better half) is not able to sail as much as I would like. That leads me to this question:

What is the best way to rig a H16 by yourself? Is a mast winch suggested/required? I have seen the Hobie rigging video where a guys sets it up alone, but I spent the whole time watching it saying "no way." Matbe I should go to the gym more.

Any suggestions?

Being a geezer, I don't like lifting the mast up and lowering by myself, so I made the rig at this link on the 17 forum- scroll down. Lots of pics. It is probably slower, but works great, and there is not strain on my body. I have changed the rubber bungees a little- two instead of a long one on each side. I also lengthened the temporary wooden crutch because I first use it on the ground to support the mast while I insert the stepping pin. I used this method all summer and it works great.

Single-handed stepping

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Alan
'86 H16, Sail #89057

That was the one the only Matt Miller in the video!

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Brad Stephens
[email protected]
(866) 786-5266 <--- Advice HOTline
http://www.sunjammers.com
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That video is how I learned to self rig. The biggest factor in ease of raising the mast is the bounce and then a quick follow through to fully erect .
Trying a slow dead lift is MUCH more difficult and dangerous since all that time and no momentum increases the opputunity for the mast to go somewhere else than where you want it to.
I W-A-S going to get some kind of step winch rig until I tried to raise it myself according to Matt's instruction on the video. It was surprisingly easy and much faster than winching it up. Of course I know nothing of your physical ability and I would NEVER put down someone using such a device. Chances are in the future I'll need one!!!

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1981 H16.
1993 Macgregor 26S

You might try the whole turning the boat on it's side, that is how I rig my5.2 and it works very well alone. It might be harder with the 16 because it won't stand as easy on it's side.

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Nacra 5.2 "Elsies"
Hobie 14T, "Blazin" I guess I am keeping her!

WHOOOPS!! Wait a minute. I thought that CPO meant Chief, so I looked at your profile. If your a Chief in Uncle Sams Canoe Club I'M SURE YOU CAN HANDLE THAT MAST!...BTW WAAAYYY back in 1984 my recruiter told me I'd Boot Camp and do Gunner's Mate "A" School in San Diego,I was really looking forward to going there. I ended up in Great Lakes Ill. WHAT a S*1+hole that was!...HE LIED!!...I'm still glad I did it. Although I was only in Reserves I really feel an allegiance to the US NAVY!

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1981 H16.
1993 Macgregor 26S

I saw Ashaftter raise and lower his mast at the "sweet 16" regatta and was pretty impressed with how easy it was. In fact we all watched him lowering it wondering, "what in the heck is that thing, that is coool". But when he was putting it up solo I asked if he needed any help and it was re-jected, and he certainly didn't need it. It was way easier than my solo method. He even beat me and my crew to the water after arriving after we did, granted I was changing out a really stuborn rudder before I stepped the mast.

But, if you don't want to invest in a stepping pole or any device like that, getting the mast up alone isn't really that difficult. It's a little tricky, and does take some muscle to initially lift the mast. It mainly just involves putting a pully onto the mast craddle and running a line from the jib halyard, throught the pully, lifting the mast, and then cleating it off while you attach the forestay. I figured it out basically on my own after running into the same situation, I want to sail but can't find crew and there is no guarantee that someone will be there to help me.

Let me apologize in advance, Hobie, I hate to do this. But, if you go over to catsailor.com there was a legnthy post about solo stepping.
http://www.catsailor.com/forums/showfla ... art=1&vc=1

My technique is on the third page.

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James
86' Redline Hobie 16
Sail # 76909

Most of my friends are too "chicken" to go sailing with me so I've had to learn to do everything solo as a matter of survival, if I wanted to sail. I did get lots of advice. If you can lift a 5 gallon container of water, then you can step your mast solo. You can do this without anything extra except an 8 foot extension for your jib halyard (usually with clips on each end for quick connecting and disconnecting). This will be used to anchor your mast to the bridle while you get off the boat to anchor the forestay.



I call it the snatch and grab. Once the mast is at shoulder height, your day is all downhill (except for the part where you try to get your boat back up on your beach wheels solo after you've been sailing all day ) Haven't figured that one out yet. By then, I can barely pull my boat out of the water.

Letting the mast down is easier than raising it since you can slowly ease it down by gradually allowing the jib halyard to ease through the cleat. I now have a crew but I still rig my boat solo. She only weighs about 100 lbs and dosen't like the rigging process. I, on the other hand, have gotten my system down and would actually prefer that she didn't help. I get it done quicker and I know everything's tight. Although she doesn't like to be involved in the rigging, she's a great crew (she has had her own H14) so this relationship works great for us. She also solves the problem of getting the boat back up on the beach wheels.

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Happy Sailing,

David

heh you got that right David. Stepping the mast is nothing compared to attaching beach wheels!!

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07 H16
Sail No. 110387

It's alot easier with cradles. They don't try to roll out from under the boat.

You're right Karl . . . but I have cradles, and it's still hard. And especially getting the wheels to that sweet spot. You know, the one about a foot and a half aft the shrouds ( i.e., the real center of gravity). Who needs a gym membership?

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Happy Sailing,

David

I look stupid doing, (as I do with most things), but I get the cattrax to the front beam then grab hold of the dolphin striker and shove them back with my feet. The toughest thing with the regular cattrax with out cradles is getting them to stay there when you go to tie them off at the shrouds.

I think most people have a problem with the rubber pads on the cattrax slipping towards the center, I put a screw in each side on my set as close to the inside edge as I could, it also seemed to help with them from rolling themselves out from under the boat. I think it gave it one less thing to roll on. The rubber doesn't rotate on the axle as well.

Try loading an HC-18 on CatTrax single handed.

Back to raising a mast single handed: The link to the 17 Forum is great.

Does anyone know if the “VIDEO" that was first referenced is available on the web, Youtube etc?

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John Latimer
'79 Hobie18 - Magnum
Sail#4854

It's only $14.95 from Hobie. I think thats reasonable. If you don't have a few Hobie Cats around to see how they rig it's a big help. I'm really glad I bought it.

Aid in justifying $14.95 + S/H....Pretend you need to run a decent sized powerboat for 20 minutes .

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1981 H16.
1993 Macgregor 26S

The video is also available from any Hobie Cat Dealer. A few dealers also have it listed within there online store for easy shopping.

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Brad Stephens
[email protected]
(866) 786-5266 <--- Advice HOTline
http://www.sunjammers.com
www.facebook.com/sunjammers