New to H16 sailing - Avoiding Capsizing

I'm new to Hobie 16 ownership/sailing and am looking for some advice. I purchased my h16 in the late fall and haven't had a chance to sail it yet. The area I'm planning to sail is on the southern coast of Maine where the water is pretty chilly even in august, so I would like to do my best to avoid capsizing. I'm not looking to race or really push it, just cruise around a little farther and faster than my sunfish could take me.

Speaking of the sunfish, I've managed to sail it without capsizing once (knock on wood) in 2 years. I never hesitated to push it a bit and get it leaned way over, I would just let the main out when it was getting a little too far and felt like it would go over. Can I do the same with the hobie? Just keep the main un-cleated when the windward hull gets light so I can let it out? Any other advice on keeping the boat upright? I see lots of posts about capsizing, and plan to practice my righting techniques in a lake near here where it will be a little warmer, but is capsizing really the way of life with a hobie or can it be avoided?

Thanks for any advice!

Cats in general, are much more sensitive to 'trim', that is your fore-aft weight balance.
So when you are going upwind, your body weight can be focused at the shrouds.
As soon as the wind pipes up, or as soon as you start to run, move your rear end towards the stern.

Watch the leeward hull like a hawk. Hobie 16's are prone to bury the bow of the leeward hull, and before you know it,
the hull starts behaving like a submarine.... don't ask how I know.
In anything over 10 knots, keep the mainsheet uncleated, and play it by hand.
Later, with more mileage, you can vary this approach.
Especially as you become more comfortable with hiking out.

If it is really puffy or choppy, keep the traveler line close by, sometimes you'll want to set the traveler 4" to 6" out to make the sailing easier.

good winds

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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.'

Yes and no, I only capsize when I'm pushing it and sailing the boat hard or playing around flying a hull. But that is when the boat is the most fun. Sure you can cruise around and not capsize, but you lose some of the fun factor having to avoid it. Its that way for me early and late season when I really don't want to go for a swim. I actually have more fun on the boat the more I capsize, I know I can recover from it. I've never accidentally just tipped over sideways, but a pitch pole is less predictable and also not as easy to save. Go out and practice righting your boat, especially in cold water you will want a quick recovery. You will enjoy the boat much more knowing you can handle a capsize, at least its that way for me. Safe and Fun is what its all about!

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2012 H16 Hot Tamale

Yeah, water off Maine is cold. You can look up Fleet 448 in Rhode Island, who will start sailing in May. I'd strongly suggest going down to some of their events. There's also a race off Hampton Beach in New Hampshire. It's usually around Father's Day weekend.

But I'd dress for a capsize, even on days when the chances of going in are slight. You don't want to stay too long in the water in Maine even in August.

Feel free to contact me by PM if you'd like some help figuring out your boat.

Best of luck,

Jim Clark-Dawe

Mike11787 - These boats don't capsize or pitch pole. We do. We occasionally screw up and we sometimes push our boats hard and take too many risks. You've gotten good advice so far; especially from jclarkdawe - dress for a capsize. I'm assuming that you already have a righting line and a righting bucket if you're light weight and plan on occasionally sailing by yourself. But, your question was about how to avoid a capsize.....
Sheet out and travel out, but also push on the tiller and point your boat closer into the wind. After you get more experience you should be able to control your boat better just by using the tiller; but in a panic situation, when your boat is going over fast, sheet out quickly with one hand AND push on the tiller with the other hand. Also, always stay in your comfort zone. As you gain more experience your reflexes will get sharper and you'll learn to relax and enjoy your boat more.
Be safe and have fun!

If you are not turning over you are not really sailing a Hobie 16 the right way. Sail on the razor edge of control or turning over. Get a good cheap wet suit good righting system and burn the water. practice practice righting in calm water and light winds. Think if you had a Corvette would you drive around at 25mph all the time.

Former Hobie Admiral Gary

In wind speeds of about 10 MPH and less, easing the mainsheet will pretty much always prevent a capsize. I would definitely stick to lighter winds for your first few sails and let your experience guide you into stronger winds.

In higher winds, dumping the sheet upwind will still generally allow you to avoid capsizing. Downwind however, dumping sheet is not always the best option. Turning the boat downwind may also be necessary. It takes a lot of skill and experience to sail a H16 successfully downwind in high wind.

The bottom line is, there is no guaranteed way to avoid capsizing a Hobie 100% other than staying on the beach. You should definitely dress appropriately and be prepared for the fact that you could end up swimming - it is just the nature of the boats.

sm

I've always found it so counter-intuitive to sheet in when hit by a gust while running hard down wind.
All part of the learning and swimming curve.
I like Admiral Gary's perspective, go out, have fun, be safe and enjoy.

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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.'

Thanks for the advice everyone. Very helpful. I'm definitely not afraid to capsize necessarily, just wanted to get an idea of the likelyhood and some tips to avoid it when possible. I have a light wetsuit I wear pretty much any time I go out, and will continue to wear it with the hobie. May look for a heavier one or a dry-suit although they're pretty expensive. Looks like the main plan will be to practice capsizing and righting in the lake a bit first, and then stick to lighter winds on the ocean until I get the hang of things. Eventually I would love to push the boats limits (that's why I bought it rather than a wave or something more forgiving) but baby steps first.

No one mentioned hiking out on the trapeze wire to counterbalance the tipping moment. I guess it's second nature

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1985 Hobie 14T
2014 Hobie T2

Let me get this straight !!! You want to sail a H16 using a technic that will guarantee that you won't capsize !!! C'mon, Mike !!! You're killing me !!!

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Happy Sailing,

David