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I'm into, I guess my 2nd real season with my 21SE. A couple of important notes on what I have learned:
1) You NEED shroud extensions and quick-release tensioners on the side stays. The boat just about cannot be righted without them unless you have a jetski or boat nearby. The concept is you have a Hyfield lever-type tensioner (Hobie 10049, I think) that allows you to loosen the stay, then you pull a pin to release the shroud, a short (16"") "pigtail" keeps the shroud attached to the hull, but effectively lengthens the shroud by that amount (roughly). The upper hull then is free to flop back past vertical toward uprighting position, making gravity work for you. You and a buddy and a righting pole should be able to pull over, or you and a righting pole and water bag. The BIG caveat: you MUST have the bows into the wind and when you flop back over, the wind blowing, effectively onto the short-shroud (not released) side of the boat. If the wind is blowing onto the lengthened side of the boat, you will have a terrible time re-tensioning the rig, etc. To do this and stabilize my boat, I immediately throw out a "sea-anchor" that's affixed to a bow by a length of line; it slows things down, gets you into position, easy to stow, cheap, etc. To use this righting system, you have to buy the quick-release tensioners, have your shrouds shortened by that amount and add a pig-tail that's nico-pressed with a thimble over the shroud (sized so it cannot slide off-obviously) and pinned to the tensioning assembly. Once I get mine completed, I will try and post pics. This is a well-established solution and appears to work very well.
2) Check all your ring-dings,shackles, etc. FREQUENTLY - it doesn't take much time, and a roll of self-sealing/fusing electrical tape on sharp things, ring dings that don't get removed often, etc. will stop a lot of tears and personal scratches/cuts should things "get fun". Example; I trailer everywhere I go, giving me the luxury of bringing the boat back to my house, wash-down and inspect. Took the main shroud shackle for granted, and when I removed it to take my shrouds into my local rigger, found it was a bit...oblong. Yikes! Get a new, high quality shackle and more packages of ring-dings... Cheap, considering the alternative of failure.
3) The mast-ball socket (aka aluminum mast base) wears. Make sure the socket still captures the ball. Hobie still has both mast bases and balls quite readily available and they aren't expensive. Should you extend the shroud and the mast pops out of the ball-socket...bad day.
4) The boat CAN be man-handled by two adults on cattrax/beach wheels, but it's not an easy/light affair. Not miserable either, just heavier than say a Getaway.
5) My best time to rig from trailer to launch is 60 minutes thus far. Trying to hit 45, but without short-cuts. Not that it's complicated, just don't have a consistent routine yet. Expect that this time is typical
6) You need a gin pole to raise mast with any ease. Properly done, this makes raising the mast as easy as a Hobie 16 mast, but maybe not quite as quick. Me, it's about 15 minutes start to finish raising mast with care and slowly.
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ChuckC
H21SE- 408
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