Second trip report: I took little blue to Jordan Lake this past tuesday after work and it was awesome! Maybe not very exciting to all you experienced sailors, but it was overcast and a weekday so the lake was pretty much empty, and it was just a little breezy so it was perfect for my wife and I to get out and learn the boat and sailing in general a bit more. I wasn't feeling at all confident that I would be able to skipper but it all just came together and the boat seemed to be sailing itself. There were a few times when the wind died completely but as if by magic the helm remained responsive and we just putted along very slowly, we just laid on the tramp and enjoyed it. Then a few times the wind got up pretty decently and we really got moving, big smiles across both our faces, it was a blast! I have no clue how fast we were going, probably not very fast at all.
srm wrote:
The jib looks normal and having to manually pop the battens across in light wind is just one of the wonderful features of the Hobie 16 design. You can minimize this by trimming the battens as short as possible so that they only stick out far enough to properly tension them and no more. Or you can purchase "Super Battens" which are more flexible than stock and tack across more easily.
I'll try to trim them first and see how it does. Hacksaw and sandpaper should do the trick, yeah?
srm wrote:
For the mainsail, it is probably mostly due to the sail being old and worn out. There are some things you can do. Spray McLube dry film lubricant all along the bolt rope. Clean the luff track in the mast and also lube it with dry film lubricant. Do NOT use any type of grease as it will attract dirt and make a huge mess of your sails. Also make sure the sheave at the top of the mast is running smoothly. They can wear out over time. Also make sure your boat is pointed directly into the wind when hoisting.
I looked into McLube at your suggestion, I got some of the Dupont dry film stuff since it was cheaper and on Amazon Prime, I cleaned the track and put a bunch in there this afternoon. I'll do the sail next time I hoist it. If it doesn't seem to work that well I'll get the SailKote stuff. Thanks!
FiftyDollar wrote:
Congratulations. I have been reading your thread. This is somewhat new to me....so my opinion with a dollar will get you on the city bus.
It seems you need an outhaul rope at leech of main. Also from reading....I believe you need to lower your upper shroud connection point. I only post out of curiosity as I’m a little behind you for my first sail.
Thanks, sir! I've been reading your thread too, that's my kind of stuff right there, it's looking great! I hope to restore my boat to it's former glory as well. To your points, I think I will start putting my shroud stay adjusters on lower holes from now on. Some of the stuff I've read says that I should be able to point better if I do, and I think it will help a little with the jib batten interference (it may not be a large enough difference to matter, but geometrically raking it back should increase the clearance). I've got an outhaul, that's it hanging mid boom. I do appreciate you giving the photo a good once over though, cheers!
abbman wrote:
Most people go as low as they can on the shroud adjusters, trying to get the mainsheet as close to block to block when fully sheeted in upwind. The forestay attachment point really doesn't matter much, as it just holds the mast in place before the sails go up. Once you tighten the jib, the luff wire of the jib essentially becomes the forestay. The jib halyard is what tensions up the rig. The actual forestay becomes very loose at this point.
My shrouds are on the bottom hole of my 86' 16.
You may already know this, but Vista Point is where to go on Jordan for easy access to the water. There is a group of experienced cat sailors that meet there pretty often.
hrtsailor wrote:
Vista Point has a beach area so you can launch and walk the boat over to the beach to finish rigging. By the way, I always like to connect everything I can that requires little rings and pins while on the trailer in the parking lot. If you drop one you can find it.
When the jib is up and the halyard tight, the forestay will go slack. Some people have added an addition adjuster on top of the first one where they connect the forestay. They then connect a small piece of bungee cord to pull it over, putting tension on the forestay to keep it off the sail. The jib, of course, is connected to the lower adjuster. This is easier to see than explain. In 27 years of sailing my H-16, I never noticed any wear on the sail from the loose forestay. Much of that sailing was done at Vista Point.
Thanks for letting me know about Vista Point, I think I might hit it tomorrow, I'll be solo, maybe I'll see some Hobies and maybe some of you guys there! I used the Ebenezer Church launch on Tuesday since it keeps me having to drive round to the other side of the lake, it's like 15min from my house. It has a launch with no dock and a little muddy "beach", it was perfect for Tuesday, I figure it will be my weeknight boat launch.