Pimp my Wave

Hey Indy...

How'd you do the sail numbers?

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"HOBIE....
Say it LOUD and there's music playing...
Say it SOFT and it's almost like praying.....
I just sailed my WAVE out the Marina !"
West Coast Story

I bought the sail numbers from the local dealer (Hobie dealer, that is). Unfortunately, I don't remember the manufacturer now. They had a catalog of several suppliers, some of which looked better than others. Some "international standard" numbers looked too blocky, so I picked a font and size that appealed to me and seemed to go with the Hobie insignia.

For the number itself, I used the middle four digits of the serial number on the hulls, like the other one-design boats at my sailing club. The IWCA has switched from sail numbers to 2-digit bow numbers for Wave class regattas, so I'm a little odd-looking when I show up with the regular racers (but what else is new?).

The numbers are adhesive-backed, and made of "insignia cloth" which is fairly thin nylon (I think). To apply them, I spead out the sail on the floor, and used a drafting T-square to draw pencil lines on each side somewhat parallel to the base of the Hobie H. The way the sail is cut, there are no right angles or parallel lines, so you really have to fudge it. (A large light-table would have helped getting everything to match side-to-side.)

Then I used masking tape to hold the number in place, while I peeled the backing paper away. I noticed afterwards that the "3" on each side looks tilted, even though it is alligned straight, because of the angles of the 7 and 5 on either side. So there's more to making it look good than just getting everything straight.

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What - Me Worry?


2006 Hobie Wave 7358
"Ish Kabibble"

Thanks for the write up mate, I appreciate it

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2001 Wave
2006 Laser
1988 Windrush (AUS)
1983 Laser
1980 Swinger (AUS)
1974 Manly Junior (AUS)

I found out today the Spin-brella works well in stronger air too, however... Version II of the spin-brella wil have some better way to secure it to the boat! A strong puff caught it and yanked it right off the front of the boat! I was able to run over it, but couldn't grab it. By the time I got turned around and back to it, it sank. I guess I need to add some floatation too.

_________________
What - Me Worry?


2006 Hobie Wave 7358
"Ish Kabibble"

Geoff Victor just posted a great video of his Wave modifications.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zp7WSKnmGag

Nothing new to add but I'll add my list so I can give you a note on on the block upgrade.

- Traveler kit. (By far the addition I enjoy the most.)

- Ratcheting main block. http://www.harken.com/content.aspx?id=13778
I actually only bought the top block in the link above to get the ratcheting happening. This is more of a luxury purchase as the sail is small enough it never gets too unwieldy. However, I suspect you will appreciate the added comfort it provides on sportier days.
Note: I'm not sure if it's because I cheaped out and did not replace the bottom fiddle block but I did find that it was stiff to release until I replaced the stock 5/16th main sheet with some 1/4 line I had sitting around. Now it works perfect.

- Pair of rear hatches. (Super handy for storage and getting a view inside the hulls, as mentioned).

- This year I think I'll add a home made tiller extension. Again, not required but I expect it will be appreciated.

-- While not a "mod"....
I can't say enough good things about this duffel style dry bag that I came across at MEC. It's all the little features that make it great. It has tons of places to conveniently anchor it to the middle of a club tramp, it sits flat so it doesn't roll around, has a purge valve so you can flatten the air out to make it smaller after you seal it and it also has backpack straps for when you are walking it around the beach. We use it for lunch, towels, dry clothes etc. Might have had a few beers in there too on occasion.

http://www.mec.ca/product/5030-821/mec-scully-30-duffle/?Ntk=productsearch_en_q32008&No=40&h=10&q=dry%2Bbag
Can't remember which size we have.