New To Hobie 18 Racing

I just recently acquired a Hobie 18 and was wondering what some speed tricks for the boat such as weight placements, sail trimming, and what to do with the dagarboards. Hoping to get into racing soon. Anything helps. Thank you very much.

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Leo Doerger,
Aspiring Beach Bum
Ninnescah Yacht Club KS

Where are you located? There is very little if any Hobie 18 one-design racing still going on in the US. But if you happen to be in a spot with some other experienced H18 racers, the best bet would be to talk with them. They will almost certainly be happy to help get you up to speed and have another racer on the water.

For weight placement, generally you want the crew weight to be located at the front crossbar for light wind and move progressively aft as the wind increases. So in light wind, upwind, the crew will be on the low side and the skipper to windward both sitting against or on the front crossbar. This will be the same position downwind. Then as the wind increases, the skipper moves back by the shroud and the crew sits by the crossbar. Then as the wind continues to increase one or both sailors will go out on the wire as needed. Generally, fore and aft position is based on keeping the bow about half way submerged. If the bow is going under or close to it, then it’s time to move back. When the wind is solidly double-trap strength, you will want only an inch or so of bow in the water, especially if its choppy. Downwind, just try to keep the bow in the water about half way up. You don’t want to drag the sterns and you also don’t want to be sticking the bow under.

Sail trimming, I recommend having an upper and lower set of telltails on the jib and one set on the 2nd and possibly 3rd panels from the top on the mainsail. Adjust your jib leads so the teltails break evenly. The telltails on the main will tell you if you’re over or under sheeted. There’s a lot of subtlety to it, but this will be a starting point. Don’t be afraid to pull on the mainsheet hard when the wind is strong and depower with the downhaul and traveler as needed.

Daggerboards go all the way down upwind in all conditions. Bring them up when going downwind, but leave about 8-12” sticking out the bottom of the boat. You don’t want to pull them up all the way because the exposed daggerboard trunk will cause drag. It’s best to mark the boards with a line.

sm

Agree with everything that SRM posted.

In addition, the set up of the H18 helps a lot.
Make a mark, 48" above the base of the mast.
From that point to the bow tangs should be somewhere between 103" and 107" - that sets your mast rake.

Check this Forum for other hints and suggestions, such checking rudders etc.

Go out there and have fun.

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2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

you want to connect with Chris Bradshaw at https://www.sailandkayak.com/
they are the dealer in Kansas... and she is an avid h18 sailor!!

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Paul Evenden
NRO, RMMCC, CJ