GENIUS best idea since tell tales

Got one for my boat and don't know how i ever lived without it!!!!!!!!!!

http://cgi.ebay.com/Hobie-16-cargo-net- ... _591wt_732

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Jack

Awesome idea, but the price is a bit spendy. If you go to www.cascadenets.com you can custom order a custom made net for about $70.00 Anyways thanks a bunch for passing along this great idea.

My original intention was to build my own... but the project proved (not unlike my current beach wheel project) to have certain parts that were damn near unobtainable. The premier piece being a correctly sized net. roughly 6x13 on the H16. My original intention was to have a forward tramp for my 18...this proved impractical without a forward crossbar at the bows. The cheapest netting I could find was from a company in New Hampshire for 168$ I bought one this last May and with 1 3/8" holes a lot of stuff stuck/fell through. Under tension the net's "squares" change in shape and size determined by which strands are load bearing, much like spokes on a bicycle wheel. A 1" square, in my experience, doesn't usually "grow" more than an eighth of an inch. So i found a net any bigger than 1" to be an issue. I ended up using the New Hampshire net to hold up a kayak in my garage. Then i tried a 7/8 golfers net...the holes were to small on average to string anything through; life vest buckles, paddle handles, etc. and if you can't secure things down you can't fly a hull without you gear just pouring out, same deal when capsize (although a double trap rig does help a lot!) That net is now on my friends boat. which brings me to this new net...

I bought it on ebay about 4th-of-july-ish for $260 and took my boat to lake Norris for the holiday. the net went on in about an hour and worked ok. When I bought mine it didn't have the D ring fasteners or the dog leash clips but just LOT's of 550 chord and a semi comprehensive list of knots to tie. The rear pylons were a mess to rig up and keep tight, you had to untie one of the front corners every time you wanted to work between the bows, and the net sagged extensively in under the dolphin striker. I wrote the seller an e-mail and WHOLLA, upgraded free of charge to the newer system THE NEXT DAY!
I was amazed.
The guy also said that the new stuff increased the weight rating closer to 400 lbs but he wouldn't be specific, and only the portion under the tramp. (sometimes I lay under the tramp using the net like a hammock on super hot days; it's not particularly comfortable but it is shady)
my only complaint with the new stuff is that the D's aren't stainless...but given the service i'm not exactly ready to write a letter of complaint.
If it's cheap or free it's for me

Long story short I've fiddled with this idea a long time and this guy has got it figured out! It's the beez neez!

now if only some one could make affordable beach wheels!

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Jack

Not sure I'd want to be around any kind of netting with a hook attached to my belly.

I'm sure I wouldn't want to add any "cargo" to the front end of a Hobie 16.

i use a ball and socket hook up...but whats the absolute worst that could happen? my freinds hav my old net and they sail with the standard trap rig no problem.
i do a lot of "island hopping" sail...camp out...sail...hike. so with all my gear i only add about75 lbs of gear and food. (two sleeping bags a tent clothes and mess kit)
i was stupendously pleased with mine,
just thought i'd bring it to the attention of th group

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Jack

I have personally known one person that drowned and another that nearly drowned when they were caught by their trapeze hooks underwater in a capsize.

That's the absolute worst that can happen.

And that's why I carry a really sharp knife (on a long lanyard) in the front pocket of my PFD and I have a quick-release trapeze hook.

Not something I've ever really be afraid of. Given, I'm no racer but i like hanging out an flying a hull whenever possible!
my two greatest concerns have always been power lines (172 KV arc at standard amperage can arc about 8') and the jib travelers. I swung off of the line during a pitchpole and somehow ended up going under the shroud, th jib traveler caught me on the way through and my right thigh looked like Cuisinart, 13 stitches, queered my girlfriend on sailing for a while.

what is it that people typically get hung up in?
and what do you hope to cut yourself out of, the harness?

I mean no disrespect, but i am very concerned/curious.

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Jack

I have never hooked my harness hook on anything that I recall. I wouldn't say it is typical, but does happen.

Tramp laces... rigging wires... sheets.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Bingo. I've been caught on tramp laces before - just laying down to snooze between races. It's pretty freaky when you realize you're caught. Your insinct is to pull away - which just makes it worse.

At the 2006 16 NACs in Rhode Island, my crew got her ankle tangled in the jib traveller line in a violent pitchpole. The boat went turtle and dragged her down. Fortunately, she was able to get loose enough to get her head above water to breathe - until the boat started to right itself. I ended up having to cut the line to get her free.

At the 2002 16 Worlds in New Caledonia, Hobie Cat President Doug Skidmore was racing with Laura Sullivan when they capsized. Laura's trapeze hook caught on the shroud, then her body twisted around, forming a loop in the wire around the hook. She nearly drowned, but Doug was able to save her.

Like I said, I have a quick release hook. A yank on the lanyard and it'll eject. The knife is for lines either I or my crew are tangled in. I also have a strap cutter that will make quick work of a trapeze harness' straps to free a person.

Exactly my point. Consider twisting your hook around in a cargo net! Think of a dolphin or sea turtle trapped in a fishing net.

Got caught on the tramp lace myself in a capsize. boat went turtle. Luckily it was at the rear end and my head was just above the water. I had to cut the tramp lacing to free myself since the rope also got twisted around the harness hook.

Since then quick release hooks and sharp knifes for my crew and me.

I was concerned about this and wanted to know the truth about "the worst that could happen" so i did some testing! put the boat in the local reservoir upside down, no mast, and then I "stood" under the net, OK no problem. time for deeper water!

First off, half the net is under the tramp (above when turtled) so no real worries there!
Secondly, the net is fixed to the dolphin striker and the bows in the front. meaning if the boat was turtled the deepest part of the net would be the very front.
third the net isn't affixed to the gunwale so theres a gap to come up through.
I pulled the net the tightest I've ever had it and swimming i could deflect enough net in the center to get my whole head above water.
so i called my friend Kevin
(because he's the kind of guy you call when you're about to do something dumb!)
and i tangle myself up in the net with his trap harness and he flips the boat over.
no problem...i survive....he's says it's not an accurate trial because I did the tangling up.
so he tangles me up and we decide the worst that could happen would be to get tangled in the net and then caught OUTSIDE the hulls. I'm 6'2" and could almost put the keel in my armpits, as before no issue! long story short, after 2 hours of Harry Houdini practice in this net there was only one instance we could find that was life threatening, and that involved being trapped face down between the net and tramp with the hook in the tramp laces. (a difficult position to assume intentionally let alone accidentally. )
NOT ONCE did i feel like a trapped sea creature!
true we knew when the capsize was coming and as a result there of, had a chance to take in a good breath before being submerged. Not a luxury often afforded to the victim of a surprise pitch pole or gust. we also had no standing or running rigging to deal with but our intention was to test survivability in the net!


so I feel pretty confident that my life is no more endangered by the net than it is by the righting line!

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Jack

Why in the world would you want to add weight to a boat that is known for pitchpoling?

Not to mention the additional stress to front of the hulls. There is a reason the getaway has a crossbar attaching the front of the bows together.

This looks like a very stupid idea to me.

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1992 Hobie Cat 18 #16943
Hobie Fleet 198, Rapid City, SD

I LOVE mine. first thing i thought when i got my boat was, "where do I put my (censored)".
It gets Pretty hard to keep 2 people, a lunch, all the ingredients needed for an old fashion, a type 4 pfd, a paddle, and a diddy bag full of odds&ends on a 6x6 trampoline.
For the racer type I can see the absurdity of it, but for the day-sailor it's prima!
The "tangle and drown" thing is a legitimate concern.

as far as the front crossbar on the getaway is concerned, isn't that for a forward trampoline?
There is no...let repeat, NO extra tension on the bows if there were any additional stresses the bridle wires would go slack.
the front of the net isn't tensioned until the the boat is fully rigged. you adjust the front tension with a line that runs through the shackle where the bridle meets the chain plate.

and finally the pitch pole thing...again. every Hobie guy whose ever seen my boat asks, "wtf who wants forward weight!" and i always have the same answer.
Not all of us spend all day on one hull.
I sail because flat water kayaking kills after 4-5 days of paddling, and the wind is cheaper than gas. I like get out there bare bones and scoot some times but most of the time I just like to get where I'm going.

I linked the Seller of the nets to this page and hope he joins in.

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Jack