2 questions and some story time

My comp tip is done and the boat has seen the water nearly 15 times already...and its not yet July! I had the thing in the water just as the snow was melting-requires a burly wet suit and a penchant for misery...ha ha.

I really have only one silly question now: the leach of my jib seems to vibrate or rapidly flutter at high speeds. Through keen observation, I noticed my friend's new Hobie 16's jib has a small copper plate (clew ?) at the heel of the sail. This gives you the option of where to run your jib sheet through their pulleys. My boat is a cherry 77 and has only one hole in at this point on the jib...leaves little choice for where the pulleys attach.
I can mess with the traveler car, pull the jib as tight as I can, and mess with "point of sail" and all of this just barely tones down the leach flapping. Is it because my jib lacks the multiple points of retention (the several holed clew plate)?
What can I do to stop or lessen the incessant flapping?

I also just wanted to yabber a little about the epic sail my wife and I had yesterday. We sailed a nearly 30 mile loop on Flathead Lake, Montana. The lake is the largest, natural freshwater lake outside of the Great Lakes. I sail out of Bigfork on the North end. The prevailing winds usually come from the south to south-west. This leaves our end of the lake with 4-6 foot rollers in short succession. WOW!! I felt like I was flying an ultralight instead of skippering a cat. There is nothing quite like flying a hull while curling off the top of a 6 foot roller. The trough just falls away underneath and time stands still. The ride was violent and fast! My hands grew tired of gripping the main sheet (when needed) and tiller. It was one for the ages. I've been getting 30 or so Hobie days a summer for the last 3 years, and this one was one of the best! "Red Flag" lake warning actually means get your boats in the water and hang on!!!

That brings to mind another question. My wife loves the trapeze and I'm thinking of getting another trap set for the boat. Our end of the lake produces (censored) wave trains, even during a moderate breeze. Often times I have to take my foot of the gas (ie dump some power off the sail) in order to keep her down, even with my wife in trapeze. I fantasize about a double trap set up. I've skippered from the trap several times in low to moderate winds, but found the 5 foot waves almost unmanageable from that precarious position in space. I had to install a "o (censored)" safety line in order to keep my wife (standard crew mate) from flying around the fore stay. It is a real rodeo in big wind. I waste hours on you-tube gawking at boats and their techniques (I've learned this technique watching ski porn...it makes you a better skier...ergo watching Hobie videos makes you a better sailor (?)) Whenever I see the double trap going on, it is in relatively calm wave conditions. I guess my question is: the double trap--reserved for calm water/big wind scenarios? How does the skipper manage to stay on the rail when in thrashing conditions coupled with big wind? It's a bizarre question...the likely answer is operator error...ie: the pros double trap (when needed) no matter how big and frequent the waves are.

Thanks for the time slot and to all of you folks who so bravely answer my quandaries, cheers! Bones

The boat is a lot more controllable out on the wire than trying to sit on the tramp when you're overpowered and in rough conditions. Sometimes with one foot on the rear of the hull behind the tramp and the front foot against the corner casting. I've known a number of people to use a footstrap for the rear foot. We have them on the rear of the wing tramp on our 21 and have needed them a few times.

I can't remember if those old sails had a "leachline" on them or not- a small line that puts tension in the leach and is secured by wrapping it around a little round plastic washer looking thing-probably not, but if by some chance it does, a little tension can decrease the flapping even at the expense of the leach hooking a bit.

It's quite possible that it may need a few tucks by a good sailmaker. They do stretch out after a while.

1st, the jib leech flutter is an indication that the jib is worn out, this actually happens if you use it often rather than leave it safe in its bag at home. Get a new one, you will really appreciate it, the new ones come with the clew plate with many holes and they are slightly less wide so they go through the tacking process without hanging up on the mast. With the amount of time you're sailing with wife, explain to her that you deserve it and tell her it is a SAFETY ISSUE to have better equipment to keep her safe on the water (works every time for me).

2nd, you AND your crew should be out on the wire as soon as you can at all times and especially in waves (with your new jib) sheet in keep the power on and ease the main traveler to control how high the hulls are coming up, this may be a new job for your crew but it works GREAT. Work together to keep the speed up and the hulls down, skipper sheeting in and the crew easing the main traveler to control the hulls (make sure she only does this if you ask for it or you will be tea bagged along with her).