Sailing mods for Outfitter (mast, jib, extra seating)

Hi Tracker,

Adding the front drive when sailing solo will surely change the helm balance. Instead of having lee helm (with your jib) I guess you will get strong whether helm (with front fins straight down).

With lines added to both front pedals so that the position of the front-fins can be adjusted from the back seat, it must be possible play with the helm balance while sailing. I think it must be possible to steer a bit by influencing the helm in this way. That would be fun! (Maybe even experiment sailing with rudder up?? Well, maybe not...)

Probably I go try this also. I've not done it yet as I don't think I want it as a final solution, because I'm quite impressed by the amount of dragg an extra drive gives.

I look forward to hear of your results!

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skua

That's a great pic Tracker of your Outfitter in action!
Impressive speed results.

Hi Ya Tracker
Nice Work
So there, Im ramping up my posts a bit more now
Kepnutz

skua,
I think you are on to something about having an adjustable daggerboard in the front mirage slot when sailing with a jib. Since the drives are so expensive (probably not wise to ahve it hanging out there unattended) , I think I may make a daggerboard out of plywood, but make the depth of it adjustable so that the yak can be properly balanced acccording to the jib being used. For starters, I'll probably rig up something with c-clamps so that I can move it up and down. Once the balance is right, then I'd probably make something with a permanent size. This should allow all of our custom jibs to be custom trimmed for each yak.
These Hobie yaks are sooooo much fun, partly because there seems to be endless ways to play with them with relatively inexpensive and quick modifications, as you can tell by the hundreds of pages and pictures in this forum

I'll have to wait to test out the front daggerboard/jib combo though, as my yak is put away for the winter. In Minnesota, USA, the wet sailing season is over, as it has turned chilly. But...if the front daggerboard turns out to be a good icebreaker...

-tracker

Hi Tracker, your yak is put away for the winter? The climate can be harsh there in winter isn't it? I guess I would be severely depressed if I had to "bury" my yak!
I sail mainly in the warmer season, but yak all year (in winter here it's normally between 5 and 10 degrees centigrade). I'm thinking of buying myself the right clothes so I can sail in winter as well. Otherwise I will miss it badly... Btw, I actually did some ice breaking last winter, but I didn't like to damage the hull so I chose an other route.

An adjustable dagger in the front drive slot would be great.I guess you know Stringy's great "dagger plug" (http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=3176&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=15). That could do it.

But because the waters can be weedy here, I think prefer a leeboard kind of solution, attached to the sidekick bars. That would make it possible to release weeds when sailing solo, and that position should be the right one with respect to the helm.

Kepnutz, I always enjoyed your pics up here, please leave them up here!

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skua