I'm new to the H16 and am wondering what the rule of thumb is with regard to halyard tension. Also, do the class rules permit adjusting the tension during a race? Are blocks added to the bottom of the mast making it easier to adjust/tighten? I sail mainly on San Francisco Bay where the winds a generally pretty strong.
I know, too many questions. Trust me, there will be more!
I am new to the H16 as well but have learned this leason already. A hobie book I borrowed from a friend say there should be 4-6 inches of play in the forstay when you tighten the jib halyard. There should already be a block on the port side of your mast as well as a pulley on the uphall if you take a bite of line under the pulley, then put it under the block on the mast base you gain a lot of pull plus the block has four rivets (unlike the cleat which has only two) so it is a lot stronger. My sailing friend (who I borrowed the book from) was not aware of this. After our first day of sailing together My boat was much faster then his. The reason was mostly the jib tension!!! I have looked at all hobie photos I see and have seen up to a foot of slack in the forestay. But you still need to be concerned about MAST RAKE, there is a whole thread on it here. Have fun
Billy
There is a variety of opinion on this subject and how you set up your boat will be influenced by your sailing style, crew weight, mast rake, etc. In moderate wind (5-15 kts.) the concensus is a fairly tight jib halyard that will give you 1-2 inches of deflection in your shrouds. In light wind and heavy wind the opinion begins to diverge. I back off the halyard tension about 1 inch in light winds and 1-2 inches in heavy winds. In the heavy winds, you will now see the jib luff start to bow a little. This decreases pointing ability but I feel more is to be gained by footing and sailing fast.
As you back off the halyard, the mast will rake further back. Your ability to fully sheet the main may become an issue (main blocks are block-to-block). In SF it is essential that you have a 6:1 main sheet system.
Mast rake and halyard tension are probably the two most "individual" settings on a H16. Talk to other skippers and see how they set their boats up then experiment on your own boat to determine the right settings for you. Have fun!
I don't think there is a prohibition against adjusting the halyard during a race but it is not practical on a H16. Adjusting between races is permitted.
I have been sailing a 16 for several years and have explored this question through trial and error. True, loosening the halyard kills your ability to get up wind; this only happens when your forestay, not your jib forestay, starts to take the load that your mainsheet puts on your rigging.
I think that I get best performance out of my boat by running lots of halyard tension at all times. We are a heavy weight crew, and I do not want my mast to rake any further back in higher winds. I basically set my mast rake and keep it there. Loosening your jib halyard lets your mast fall back until the forestay takes over.
I have found that my boat performs much better to keep my rigging tight, and travel out with both my jib and main systems, keep your sails sheeted tight. If you are being overpowered, travel out a little more. This doesn't seem to hurt my ability to point with the other boats. When I was loosening my jib halyard, I could go fast but way low of the other boats.
David
I have never sailed SF Bay, but we do have some extreme winds in West Texas. We had force 9 winds in an April Regatta; I flipped twice in the first race; tightened my jib halyard for the subsequent races, my boat settled down, and we sailed much better races, without flipping....yea!
Sounds like there could be some heavy load on the jib halyard. What are you using?
Yes, anytime you sheet the main in tight, the jib halyard and the shroud wires are loaded. I am now running an Aussie Halyard.
The main thing I look for is that the forestay does not take the load. When it starts to take the load, the leading edge of the jib will sag off, cupping the jib; the result of this is that you cannot point very high and it tends to make your boat more tippy. It is like holding your hand out of the window of you car; hold it verticle with very little angle to the wind and you will not have a lot of forces on it, but cup you hand and turn the leading edge off the wind, and you will feel tremendous forces wanting to through your hand back.
David
I'm not familiar with the Aussie halyard. Is that where the halyard and the forstay are seperate but attached? or the type of line? I might want to try it just because it has "Aussie" in it!
The Aussie Halyard is the new style. I think all new boats come with it. Instead of having lots of cable; it has lots of line. It is suppose to render less mast loading, and the line will stretch in wind gust to let you mast fall off a bit. This is the first season that I have used a Aussie Halyard, and I like it. I am not sure that I can tell much difference in the way my boat performs or handles with it. It is probably better; all of the top racers use the Aussie Halyard. It is Hobie Part Number: 80660000 and cost around $100.00.
David
Thanks for all the info. This is a great forum and resourse for new Hobie sailors. See you on the water!