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| main halyard for my friend's Hobie 18? http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=64366 |
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| Author: | serpa4 [ Sat Mar 09, 2019 4:00 pm ] |
| Post subject: | main halyard for my friend's Hobie 18? |
My sailing buddy (who owns the boat) has a 1970s 18. It has a 28' one piece mast. The main halyard is a single continuous line attached to a ring. We could never get it hooked when fully raised, then pain to unhook. Last year we cut the line and just raised the main without latching it or whatever. It works well when raising and lowering. We will continue to do this now esp since we have to reef often due to unpredictable winds. The issue is the halyard is very old and stretches something fierce. usually after an hour or so, the boom is so low we have to crawl to the other side when tacking/jibing. I'd like to replace it with some very low stretch line and continue to not use the continuous loop configuration. I can find stuff labeled VLS like this https://www.murrays.com/product/39-1410/ at about .4 to .8 cents per foot. What diameter should it be? I think 5mm 3/16 and 60 feet. What do you recommend? I don't' want to ask him because it will be a gift for often taking me sailing. |
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| Author: | srm [ Sat Mar 09, 2019 5:35 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: main halyard for my friend's Hobie 18? |
Main halyard should be 3/16 - 1/4” diameter. Issues with engaging the ring on the hook are probably the most often discussed topic on this forum. I highly suggest you figure out how to use the hook system as you will very likely continue to have issues with the mainsail “creeping down” even with a low stretch halyard line. You will never be able to get adequate downhaul or mainsheet tension (which could be part of the reason why you find you need to reef the main so often). There is a FAQ on this site specifically related to engaging the halyard hook. Some of the key points: - Make sure the boat is pointed directly into the wind when raising and lowering the sail. - If your hook has a “flapper”, consider removing it. - Know ahead of time which way you need to rotate the mast to engage and disengage the ring from the hook. - Use a ring with a separate, small loop on top for tying off the halyard and make the knot as small as possible. Once you have a good understanding of how the system is supposed to work, you will probably find that it works quite well. sm |
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| Author: | John Forbes [ Sun Mar 10, 2019 12:48 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: main halyard for my friend's Hobie 18? |
I agree with getting the hook to work properly. I recommend 5mm or 6mm prestretched rope. I doesn’t have to be spectra or dyneema. Look at the photo of the halyard, ring and shackle on my Facebook page under the album “Mobile Uploads”. Note the cut away bolt rope. This should help with raising and lowering the sail. https://www.facebook.com/Hobie18catamaran/ Also, it is easier to raise and lower the sail when the rig tension is loose/off. If you have the hook at the top of the mast with the flap/flipper then remove the flap/flipper as it can be troublesome. Enjoy |
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| Author: | serpa4 [ Sun Mar 10, 2019 1:21 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: main halyard for my friend's Hobie 18? |
John Forbes wrote: I agree with getting the hook to work properly. I recommend 5mm or 6mm prestretched rope. I doesn’t have to be spectra or dyneema. Look at the photo of the halyard, ring and shackle on my Facebook page under the album “Mobile Uploads”. Note the cut away bolt rope. This should help with raising and lowering the sail. https://www.facebook.com/Hobie18catamaran/ Also, it is easier to raise and lower the sail when the rig tension is loose/off. If you have the hook at the top of the mast with the flap/flipper then remove the flap/flipper as it can be troublesome. Enjoy Thanks. I see the picture of the cut bolt rope. I'll give it a try and pull the flapper. |
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| Author: | SabresfortheCup [ Mon Mar 11, 2019 10:56 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: main halyard for my friend's Hobie 18? |
I also agree you should try to use the system as designed, minus the flapper... I'd bet that a big part of the reason you're having to "reef" your mainsail is because it's way, WAY too full. If you're not getting proper downhaul on the sail, you're going to have a lot of draft ("belly") in your mainsail, and it will be too far aft, which is going to result in a lot of lift and drag, which makes the boat heel a lot and keep it slower in the water. When the wind is up, you need the mainsail hooked at the top so that you can crank in HARD on both the mainsheet and the downhaul. You'll also want to loosen up the diamond wires and rotate off the mast more. If you're just using the halyard, you'll never get enough tension on the sail, the shape will be all wrong, and the boat will continue to fight you when the wind is up, and be all around difficult to control. John has a good point as well about making sure the boat is pointing directly into the wind before trying to raise the sail. |
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