Hiking out, steering... and a different seat?!

Took the TI out tonight and tried hiking out on my hakas for the first time. Wind wasn't much, 12-15 MPH for the most part, so reasonable practice conditions...

It worked, I was able to get to 7-8 MPH without the constant dousing from the leeward aka knuckle, but man steering is a pain. When I'm hiked out on the right haka, no problem - the hiking stick is perfect. On the left side, though, the best method I could find was to have the stick running under my left leg, sticking out to the side. I held it to the outside of my leg and push/pulled sideways, which worked, but talk about SLOPPY steering.

I thought perhaps I'd connect the hiking stick to the rear steering lever, and that *almost* works except when on the right side I can't get full left turn due to the angle of the steering lever. Aside from that it sure feels better than under-the-leg when on the left side.

Am I missing something? Another way to do that? (Right now I'm contemplating the rope system I saw on some videos by Hajime K on Youtube.)


And I can't believe I'm saying this, since the new seat was one of my main reasons for waiting on the '15 TI... I'm thinking about alternative seating! The Vantage seat seems to be a real problem when hiking out. I can't use the seat back as a reliable brace / handhold, and it's a bit clumsy to reach behind it and grab the aka brace. The diagonal cords that hold up the seat back are absolutely in the way - can't just slide sideways, have to move forward first.


Finally, is it my imagination or does the TI sail better on a port tack? I'd swear I'm noticing that I can point higher and go faster on a port tack. The effect is especially pronounced when the sail is partially furled. Don't know if there's a reason for that or it's all a dream..

Were you using the Hobie stick? I have not.

Yeah, leverage is going to change from side to side due to stick, Haka and body positioning. Same goes with handling the sheets through the cleats, to some degree. I use and adjustable hiking stick that is pretty darn short when collapsed and we made the connection double-jointed to allow for decent control at most angles (it's higher on the port side, so you tend to pull up and push down more on the tiller). Sometimes the tiller will bind on the hull when this happens. Make sense?

And maybe just switching the stick to your non dominant hand is contributing to the mushy feeling?

You could try a shorter stick and maybe putting an short extension on the tiller to give you finer rudder control.

I'll leave the Port vs Starboard tack debate to others. It's been kicked around here a lot. But you should confirm that your rudder is centered and the lines are adjusted evenly. This was more of an issue on the old T&S rudders.

But I was wondering how compatible the new high back chairs would be with the process of hiking out. At least they don't have big armrests like the other hobies... Thanks for the feedback Joe.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Of course sailing performance will differ slightly when the sail is partially furled, as the mast area will look like a "9" (eg the sail will come from one side of the mast). This will cause the mast to interfere with airflow differently on each tack.

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

I started out using a hiking stick and just didn't like the torque that was being produced. I decided to go with the setup from Hijame K on youtube and have been very pleased with the results. The other good thing about that setup is that it doubles as a back up for steering control if anything internal fails within the system since it is tied directly to the outside of the rudder.

I have the Hobie hiking stick. It works fine, just that odd position when hiking on the left side.

Good to hear someone else uses and likes Hajime's setup. I had already made a list of parts, just need to place the order. Think I'll give it a try.


I'd figured the thickness of the furled mast was causing the effect when furled. On port tack the leeward side has a smooth transition, whereas on starboard tack it has that sudden step of the mast. (Going on the assumption the leeward side is most important, makes sense to me and some "expert" said so in a sailing how-to video too... ) It surprised me to feel the same effect yesterday when I was running fully unfurled - so apparently the same shape on both tacks.


Oh, and I forgot to ask the rather more important question: Any suggestions on how (and how often) to dry the sail? I don't have room inside the house, have a big tree out front so can't unfurl it in the driveway, and the gates are too small to wheel the trailer into the back yard. I could just take the sail out back and unroll it, but laid on the ground seems like it'd wind up quite dirty.

As for how often, obviously if it's going to be a while before the next use (a couple weeks? a month?) I should but if I'm going out at least weekly, is it such a big deal?

Seems like even if I think the sail is dry when packing up I still see water slowly dripping from the bottom of the mast in the garage days later. Don't know if it's just water getting into the mast itself, or between the mast and sail pocket.

Most of us just treat our sails yearly with a UV protectant and simply let the sail dry on the boat after sailing. Just unfurl it and it can dry while you regale the crowd with sailing and fishing tales. (Best done while assuming the Capt Morgan pose). For salt water trips this works great.

But in fresh water w/ humid weather, you may want to stake a large PVC pipe in the ground and fully unfurl it at home too. Your neighbors should get a kick out of that. The dacron dries fast.

But honestly, the less you handle the sail the better. It will get dirty everyrtime it touches the ground.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

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2021 Dune Hobie Lynx

I have the same problem. Even if my sail is dry when putting it into my PVC carrier, if the outing was rough enough to fill the mast receiver up with water the sail ends up quite wet from the water leaking out of the mast itself.

The mast fills up to the level of the water in the mast receiver via leakage around the mast base. I have tried sealing the base with silicon but that only slowed it down.

Anyone have a good idea on how to seal the mast base without drilling out the SS rivets to remove it? I thought pouring something inside the mast would work but never thought of what would be good to pour into it.

I have the older mast with the male bits. Has never leaked.

Is this a symptom of the female type?

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Misogyny at work?

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

On the Starboard vs Port question. It does make some sense since the board is in the starboard rail area. Would be deeper in the water on a port tack and maybe some other balance of sail, board and rudder makes it better on Port somehow. Then again... I know boats that are symmetrical and people claim differences between tacks. Some of it can be wind and chop differences. On one tack you may be more side to the chop and on the other more into it. chop is not always symmetrical to the actual wind. Wind also can oscillate differently on one tack vs the other. You may get a series of lifts on one tack that would be headers on the opposite tack.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Wow, had a fantastic night on the lake tonight. Thought the wind was going to die, but it increased. A north wind, which on Hefner means some nice big, wide rollers along the south shore. A blast to splash around in!

Whipped up a bench seat today for testing. Just cut a 2x4 down to two 40" planks, then held them together with a couple more blocks underneath. Set it right in front of the aka brace and strapped it to the brace with a couple cam straps. With my hakas to either side it was an excellent seat for sailing. Not so hot for pedaling... Gonna have to do some more work on that! Might be enough just to build in a back rest so I can lean against something.

The hiking stick worked better tonight, perhaps due to the bench seat. I was able to sit farther back on both sides, as well as on the bench, which meant I wasn't right on top of the steering lever so had a little better angle with the stick.



And I made a short video of the evening's soaking wet activities! Forgot to recharge the camera, so only got the first hour. Went 13.2 miles in just two hours, fastest time yet. Averaged 7 MPH for the most part, and at one point was sustaining 9 MPH for a while, even with all the waves!

https://youtu.be/GxaQSLB9Kl0

Great to see you hiking out RJ!
It makes for a much better sailing experience, as you've no doubt discovered. Looks like you've got the TI nicely balanced. I've found sitting aft of the rear aka bar the best position for getting the bow up when solo. I made my version 3 haka a bit longer to allow for this.
I don't understand why there aren't more getting out to experience this best sailing position. You go faster and stay drier and moving around to hike out makes for a more comfortable day on the water as far as I'm concerned. No more numb bum caused by sitting in the same position all day. I couldn't go back to just sitting in the seat ...unless the winds are light and I need to pedal.
BTW in those conditions, as seen in the video, you should try removing the drive (tethered of course). The TI will go faster and tack better without it in.
I'm not sure what you've done for easier sheeting when hiked out, but the Harken X-treme angle fairlead works well and is a simple and cheap mod. More info on P73 in the haka thread.
Re washing sails: I stopped washing the sail when that new boat feeling wore off a couple of months after getting my 08 AI, so the 2010 TI has never had it's sail washed. I read somewhere that the salt residue prevents mould and that's been my experience.
Both my AI and TI masts get water in. I just store them on an angle so they drain.

My hakas do overhang a bit, I could put my bench behind the brace. Would need to pad it (or build the Real Thing a bit higher) to get it flush with the brace which is a bit taller. I also need to strap the hakas on with something a bit stronger than bungee balls, not quite ready to trust my weight to a couple of them at the far end when cantilevered!

I think I may also want/need to put some sort of grippy material on the top of the hakas. Everything was thoroughly drenched last night, and they were pretty slippery. I didn't notice any sliding while sitting on them, but moving onto / off of them was tricky at times. On the other hand once I have the bench sealed as well it might make it easier to switch positions if I can just slide side to side - and I hate to ruin their current good looks...

I thought a couple of times about taking the drive out last night. Not sure why I didn't. Once I'm out to the middle of the lake it's rarely needed - and I did get rather annoyed with the pedal grabbing my lines from time to time! I did have to use it to tack last night, couldn't get through it no matter how fast I was going even when turning as hard as I could. Of course as difficult as pedaling was from the bench I just wound up jibing instead.

Speaking of lines - I need to figure out a better rope management strategy! Bad enough to see something trailing behind when sitting on the right haka and see the excess main in the water alongside the hull. Worst were the several times I looked down to find it wrapped a couple times around my leg! Or the big snarl I wound up with at one point... (As I mentioned on my anchor thread, I can tangle a rope just by looking at it! )

I haven't done anything with the fairlead yet and definitely need the wider angle one. Will be ordering it along with a few other items shortly.

Re: the mirage drive --- I think if you lash it so one pedal is forward and one back, the underwater profile is pretty sleek. It shouldn't slow you down very much at all. If that slot is open, and you're moving fast, the water will be shooting in--trust me on this. Also, less chance of losing the drive overboard. I think the bungie with the hook near the drive is supposed to secure it.