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PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2018 7:59 am 
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The arrival of my Torqeedo 403C, and my decision to install it via a PVC holder on the rod holders behind the rear seat, port side, escalates my doubts about which seat to seat on when sailing solo (90% times for me). So far I have seated on the front seat, but now I am considering the back seat instead.

So I come for the wisdom of this wonderful crowd before I decide:

1. Is there "accepted practice" about where to sit? I have to mention that I am a 6ft/1,82m tall and very large (275 pounds/125 kilos) TI newbie, so the back sit means
a) the rope snagging and rubbing on my neck/shoulder area with a lot of friction
b) an exacerbated feeling of loosing control from being so far from the sail and cleats.

2. If seating at the back, how do you cleat/un-cleat the lines?

3. If seating and the back and using a main line riser, which in my case would have to be quite high, doesn't it drastically change the shape of the sail? If yes, for good or bad?

As usual, thanks for your answers.


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PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2018 9:31 am 
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I and all my friends sit in the back. I just never think about or am bothered by all the "problems" you mention. I do not use a main sheet riser. One person I know puts a 60# battery in the front hatch for better boat trim.

I'm 6' and weigh 187#.

Keith

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PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2018 9:48 am 
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Chekika wrote:
I and all my friends sit in the back. I just never think about or am bothered by all the "problems" you mention. I do not use a main sheet riser.
I'm 6' and weigh 187#.
Keith

Thanks, Keith. I am not sure I would consider them "problems", but the "line-on-the-neck" definitely qualifies as a nuisance for me (snags on my favorite wide brim hat :)
Cheers
Carlos


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PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2018 10:03 am 
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Location: Central Florida
Most Hobie TI owners sit in the back. I'm one of the few who sit in the front for many of the reasons you mention. I tried the back a few times but never got comfortable there. I do switch with someone out for the first time in a TI so they get to try both.

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PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2018 10:29 am 
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One problem with sitting forward is reduced steering capability. Weight forward makes turning through tacks sluggish. Rudder is up and bow is down dragging through the water.

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PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2018 11:01 am 
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1. Is there "accepted practice" about where to sit? I have to mention that I am a 6ft/1,82m tall and very large (275 pounds/125 kilos) TI newbie, so the back sit means
I always sit in the back, I've tried the front but it's just not as good and the view in back is far better without the sail in your way.
a) the rope snagging and rubbing on my neck/shoulder area with a lot of friction
That rarely happens to me, if it does I just lean the seat back a bit.
b) an exacerbated feeling of loosing control from being so far from the sail and cleats.
There is no loss of control, in fact I feel more in control from the back. You'll get used to it.
2. If seating at the back, how do you cleat/un-cleat the lines?
The TI was designed to sail from the rear seat, everything works well. The only thing I added was a angled riser to the main sheet cleat which helps a bit.


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PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2018 2:55 pm 
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mmiller wrote:
One problem with sitting forward is reduced steering capability. Weight forward makes turning through tacks sluggish. Rudder is up and bow is down dragging through the water.


That is a great reason to sit back if there is one. Thanks for pointing that out, MM.


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PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2018 4:22 pm 
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
I can’t stand sitting in the back, no way to hike out to prevent capsize, basically you just watch it happen, helpless.
I have always sailed with a jib, actually only took the boat out twice back in April 2010 with no jib, it was a disaster, so never again without a jib. That kind of locks me to the front seat solo, no way can you control the boat with a jib from the back, the bow blows around out of control.
But then again my rigs were so far from stock there really is no comparison, my rig was specifically tuned with me in the front.solo, and me in the back tandem. This doesn’t apply to anyone else.
FE


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PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2018 4:46 pm 
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fusioneng wrote:
I can’t stand sitting in the back...my rig was specifically tuned with me in the front, solo, and me in the back tandem. This doesn’t apply to anyone else.
FE

Your boat had 2 motors. With you in the rear, that would have been a lot of weight there. I agree, "This doesn't apply to anyone else."

Keith

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PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2018 5:17 pm 
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Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
I prefer to sit in the back when solo, or hiked out on haka when the wind gets up. I cantilevered my V3 haka so that it is easy to get up from the rear seat and sit straight down on the haka when needed.
Just to confuse things though, when I was solo testing the outboard and tacho, speed increased when I moved to the front seat. The boat was empty and I weigh 80kg.
https://www.hobie.com/au/en/forums/view ... &start=270


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PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2018 5:23 pm 
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Location: High Point, NC
I sit in the back when solo, for all the reasons already given.

By the same token, it is an easy matter for you to try both and decide for yourself which seat is preferable.


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PostPosted: Tue May 15, 2018 5:29 pm 
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Location: Forster, NSW, Australia
I am a bit taller (6'4") and a bit lighter (115kg) than you, but right from the start (when I weighed 130+ kg), I set my TI up for sitting up front. This puts the weight almost perfectly amidships, and all photos I have seen show the rudder properly buried and working well (eg, rudder lines only a few inches above the water.). I have never noticed poor rudder response...

Sitting up front gives you better access to spinnaker and centreboard handling, mainsail furling and anchoring plus easy access to tramps or hakas, while giving you increased headroom (especially important for us taller people).

I believe if you sat in the rear seat, your stern would be close to being submerged, while your hull would tend to have a reduced waterline length. I am not sure "lightweight" people could appreciate this! :D

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PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 6:23 pm 
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tonystott wrote:
I believe if you sat in the rear seat, your stern would be close to being submerged, while your hull would tend to have a reduced waterline length. I am not sure "lightweight" people could appreciate this! :D


Hehe. :P. My takeaways from this fascinating thread:
* like everything else, this has a lot of personal preference built in
* light people like the back seat
* heavily moded boats are anybody’s guess as for optimización
* backs seat is “normal”, as in “as designed”, for hormal people
* huge people should try both, ask their freinds whether the boat looks balanced when sailing on each, and then choose

Considering that I will have a couple batteries on the back (the torqeedo 403 is almost installed), weight distribution will also change for me... only testing will Tell, I guess


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PostPosted: Wed May 16, 2018 7:04 pm 
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Location: Laem Sing, Chanthaburi, Thailand
When sailing solo I generally sail from the forward position which seems to balance the boat better and allows me to hike out. However I don’t enjoy sitting forward as my visibility is reduced and I’m forever straining my neck looking up at the telltales. I set the main sheet so I’m able to jump back and forth between the seats. Handling the center board is no problem from either fore or aft (2016 TI).

As for uncleating the furling line from the aft cockpit, I run the line down the port side and have installed a cleat on the rear crossbar. I had to replace the furling line with a longer line.

Obviously when running on the outboard I am in the rear cockpit.

My setup works because I’m small and light and still agile enough to move between seats while underway.

Cheers,
John


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PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2018 3:00 pm 
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tonystott wrote:
I am a bit taller (6'4") and a bit lighter (115kg) than you, but right from the start (when I weighed 130+ kg), I set my TI up for sitting up front. This puts the weight almost perfectly amidships, and all photos I have seen show the rudder properly buried and working well (eg, rudder lines only a few inches above the water.). I have never noticed poor rudder response...

I believe if you sat in the rear seat, your stern would be close to being submerged, while your hull would tend to have a reduced waterline length. I am not sure "lightweight" people could appreciate this! :D


Tony, you were SO right! Evidently, the weight of the rider is a key factor: I tried sitting on the back this weekend, while I tested the Torqeedo motor. Oh my oh my...

1. With the motor only (sail totally reefed), the nose off the hull was barely touching the water (almost "planing"), and both amas were floating in the air up front
2. With the sail 1/2 open, the amas touched the water MOST of the time, but barely. Granted, I was running light on the sail because I was testing the motor, but still...

So, I shall do as you do: front seat it is for me (also, want access to the tramps, I am not that agile any more). :D


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