Tips for flying a hull?

What are your best tips for hull flying?
My dad (who can still do it better than me, which is both frustrating and a point of pride) taught me to leave the sheet alone and do the work with the tiller.

Get your head out of the boat and watch the water upwind so you can see and prepare for the gusts and lulls before they get to you.

Don’t limit yourself to just the tiller or the sheet - use both.

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You (I) really need to use both, you can see in the video, main and rudder are always moving. I like to sit further out on the rail so as the boat comes up I'm still sitting on the rail, it's more stable and I'm not worried about sliding down the tramp. The wind on our local lake is never consistent and seems to have a lot of small, quick osculations. As time goes on see if you can find a pattern to the wind; maybe 5-6 sec after the puff coming across the water hits you, it shifts 10* one way or the other, be ready for it and adjust as required to keep flying, it may stay there or change again. I find Lake Erie is more consistent so your not moving as much and can cleat the sheet at times.

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Buxton
18' T16 Silent Lightning (16' T2 Hybrid)
11' H16 White Lightning
79' H16 Green Lightning

Definitely best to use both the tiller and the sheet. If you head up too far in a strong puff, you lose so much speed that there's not enough momentum/flow over the rudders to fall off when you need to (to keep the hull up). Also pay close attention to how the wind feels.....often you can feel the puffs coming and begin adjustments before the strongest part hits.

Instead of just trying to fly the hull high, spend some time practicing keeping it skimming or just above the water. This way you're less likely to stall the rudders and you can get lots of rudder/sheet work with less likelihood of capsize. Skimming the windward hull (to reduce drag) but not flying it high (and spilling wind) is fast. As I got into racing, I practiced this a lot, and it greatly increased my boat handling (and hull flying) ability and confidence.

Then go make your Dad proud by kicking his butt at hull flying!

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16