Flipped my Hobie 16 off the Georgia coast Saturday {Jekyll Island} and could not get the boat to rotate into the wind to right it. We tried moving fore and aft on the hull with no results. Wind was 8 to 10, I have a righting line and have righted this boat maybe 4 times before. My crew went to the mast head and moved it into the wind and she came right up. Any sugestions? Thanks!
Taking into consideration a few factors: The boat isn't turtled, The jib and main have been uncleated, both you and your crew are on the hull forward of the front crossbar, the boat should weathervane into the wind. BTW, if my crew and I are exceeding 300lbs combined crew weight, in 10 knot winds I don't know that we would necessarily need to worry about turning the boat into the wind. We just uncleat and start pulling on the righting line.
I don't have the patience to wait for it to come around. I just pull my self to the masthead and swim it around. It's just faster.
Try holding the bow while in the water to create drag, and let the wind weathervane the boat.
I may not be the world's best hobie 16 sailor, but I've flipped the damn thing over so many times, I know a thing or two about righting it.
I find 'playing anchor' works better than trying to swim the boat into position, I often just have my crew hold the righting line to stop the boat from turtling , while I either move forward to bring the tramp up and weather-vane, or I just jump in the water at the bows, and kick moderately against the wind and waves, essentially 'playing anchor' and really just letting the elements push the rest of the boat downwind faster than the part I'm holding onto - I find this tends to work really well.
In winds below about 18kts, it's enough just to get broadside and everything uncleated, in winds above this - ( I recently righted easily on a first try in ~30 kts, shocked me how easy it was) you HAVE to get in a close reach/haul position before attempting to right, no matter how much you uncleat.
In high wind and waves, I find there's no point in even trying to bring the boat up unless you have it in close reach/haul position, it'll just blow over the other way no matter what you do; and loosing energy righting a hobie can get dangerous (especially if a nasty lee shore with rocks is getting closer and closer).
Another trick I find, and I don't know how kosher this is, is I actually use the painter a lot as a righting line; I'll often have my crew grab the main line, while I throw the painter above the hull over my head, just behind the bow tramp post, I find this lets me dance forward on the hull to both help weather vane, and to help pull the boat up.
Anyway, hope this helps
Charlie
What do you all mean by weathervaning the boat into the wind? I have always righted the boat with the mast into the wind so the wind helps on the tramp. The only exception to that is when alone, I get the mast about 45 deg. off the wind so I can travel out the jib and pull the jib sheet to trap wind and help lift the mast. That method came out of an old Hobie Hotline many years ago. I can usually stand on the down hull, shifting forward or aft, to get the boat to swing broadside to the wind. I've been doing it that way for 25 years.
Howard
The mast into the wind works in light stuff, but as the wind picks up I find the best way to right the boat is hulls directly into the wind. That way when it comes up it doesn't go over the other way.
First, this is a Hobie 16 we're talking about here right?
Weather-vaning is pretty much what you're doing by shifting for and aft, to get the tramp to catch the wind and rotate the boat. I'm also big on having my crew stay on the boat, pulling the righting line to keep it from turtling, while I hop into the water at the bows and play anchor to slow the front end down, so the rest of the boat turns to about 45 degrees to the wind
however, I'm curious about what you're saying:
You can get a Hobie 16 up by yourself and keep it up broadside to the elements (say some pretty serious wind and waves): okie dokie please explain a bit more, and also, this jib trick - you're pulling the traveller into the water?
Mr Curious
I always turn the boat with the mast pointed into the wind when righting, even with heavy waves and wind. The trick to not having the boat blow over again once you right it this way, is to have your crew put all their weight on the righting line, and as you both pull, the masthead will slowly come out of the water. Once you see the masthead out of the water, you can be sure that the boat will be coming over very soon. At this time, I stop pulling on the righting line, and allow my crew to keep their weight on, and as the boat comes over I grab the dolphin striker bar at the front crossbar post and hold the boat.
I've found that if, (in heavy winds) you and your crew both put all your weight on the righting line and let the boat come back over ontop of you both, the wind will just push her back over onto the other side, regardless of whether your sheets are cleated or uncleated. By holding the dolphin striker, the boat comes over, and i can use my weight on the opposite side to hold the boat down and prevent it from flipping over on the other side, also it is easier to get back on the boat because you can climb on as the boat is in the righting motion.
I agree with Vinnie that it is possible to keep the boat from continuing on over as you right it. What I do is to quickly get over to the down hull and hold on. It isn't difficult.
As to the jib trick, move the jib traveler down toward the down hull. Pull the jib sheet through the block to get it tight but ahead of the jam cleat so that when you let it go, it will let the jib loose. It will trap wind and help lift the mast. To work, the mast has to be about 45 deg. from directly into the wind. As the boat comes up, let go of the jib sheet and get to the downwind hull to keep the boat from going on over.
I am talking about a Hobie 16.
Howard
Thanks everyone for some really good ideas! I cant wait to get out on the water and flip the 16. The hard part is trying to explain to the gas burners that yes we did this on purpose and thanks for stopping but we got it! The water here in middle Georgia is still warm and the early fall winds are nice. Thanks
Yeup, I do that stuff - letting go and grabbing the striker before the boat has a chance to tilt to leeward etc (maybe my timing is off?) - but I find, once the wind is over ~18 kts, forget it ... you gotta be at 45 degrees, not 90 (mast directly to wind), otherwise it doesn't matter how uncleated or how hard you hold on to windward (striker, etc), the boat just goes over again anyway.
Maybe you're doing something I'm not, but I find, if I can get the boat at 45 degrees, even in 5ft waves and 25kts, I can get the boat up and keep it up most of the time - if I'm at 90, I'm just wasting my energy bringing it up, as it's only going to go over again anyway, forcing everybody to start the whole process from the beginning: which can get dangerous as people tire out and the lee shore approaches.
The last time I did this, it was blowing 25 to 35 mph (not knots) and I used the jib trick to help. I don't grab the dolphin striker, I go to the down hull. I also make sure that both main sheet and traveler are uncleated as well as the jib sheet.
We had just come about and were started back across the lake when the main sheet started dragging through the tramp. My crew went in off the wire and pulled it back aboard then went back out and put his weight on the wire, not realizing that he had come unhooked. I immediately slacked the main sheet to keep from going over and I sailed away from him trying to come about. The wind was so strong that I couldn't so I gave it more power and just went over and turtled. By the time I went over I was 300 yards away so I had to get the boat up by myself. Meanwhile, a power boat had picked him up and brought him to me. We were double trapped and flying a hull most of the time that day.
Howard