Sheet/line management?

I leanted to sail my Hobie on a small lake in the Midwest. When tacking you backwind the jib so all you have to worry about is the mainsheet at first. Get that settled then bring the jib over. I usually don't mess wiht the downhaul when rec sailing unless there is major change in the wind. You can also ignore the traveler lines until after you get under way.

I keep the mainsheet under my legs. My legs are long enough that they are bent so there is plenty of clearance beneath. I keep the main sheet on my side closest to the bow of the boat.

Nick,

I have been trying to "fly my jib" through the tack as best I can...sometimes sweet, most times not. By allowing the jib to backwind, do you find it helps the turn but slows the boat speed? Or does it make the tack tougher to complete?

I will try it myself, but I may not get out again this year.

Dave

Even when I have crew aboard I backwind the jib. Yes, it slows the boat's speed down, but reduced the amount of time it takes to complete the tack. Here is the procedure I use.

1) Fall off to gain some speed and add some momentum.
2) Begin to head up in a smooth and cotrolled manner. Sheet the main in as you do this. THe main should be near center before the next step.
3) As the bows point into the wind move to the new windward side.
4) After the bows have just gotten through the wind the main battens will "pop". When this happens sheet out about 6" to 12".
5) Finally bring the jib over and take off.

I have found that the boat will almost come to a stop. But, the backwinded jib will push the bows the rest of the way around. If you don't let the main out a little the boat will try to weathervane into the wind and you will have enourmous weather helm. So much that you can't keep the boat on the desired course.

When you get this procedure down you will be able to tack on a dime.
4)

Backwinding is most useful in heavy air tacking. In light & medium air flying the jib across is much easier (after some practice) because you keep your speed (and steerageway) up.

Dave, right now with the non-adjustable-on-the-water downhaul I just set it on the beach and then tie it off; I use the tail of that line to wrap up the main and jib halyards and hang them neatly from the gooseneck.

If I'm single-handing in light air I keep the jib sheet up at the front of the tramp and the mainsheet-traveler line in the center in the back. I dunno if you have the old setup like I did with a jam cleat on either side of the rear crossbar and two traveler lines for letting the mainsheet block out? Or do you have the newer style like I do where there is a single mainsheet/traveler line? Anyway... the biggest problem I've had is in heavy air and waves where the mainsheet will get washed off the back of the tramp, and since I'm trapped out there's not much I can do about it except stop, heave-to (always fun in heavy air and waves) and retrieve it. Of course if I have crew then I can holler at them to retrieve it and keep moving. If I"m on the wire solo then I usually steer with my left hand, have the mainsheet in my right, and I keep the jibsheet under my foreward toes just in case I need to adjust it. (I do not yet have the quick-adjust-with-line-jib-traveler-setup but I plan to get that here shortly along with a new tramp and running rigging. )

Nick and Jaime - thanks for the good advice.

I definitely like the idea of not mucking about with the jib during a heavy air tack - especially solo. Before I replaced the old Seaway jib blocks/cleats, that very thing earned me a couple of cold swims.

The backwind trick seems a little more reliable too. Once, when I blew my tack too close to a rocky shore in strong winds, things got a little dicey - to say the least.

Dave

Dave,

i agree with Nick except for 1 point. As I start a tack, I slack off the main sheet about 6 or 8" before putting the tiller over. As I come about with the jib backwinded, I wait until the main snaps over (fills on the other side) and then release and recleat the jib. With the main already slacked off, the boat will have come around enough to be ready for the jib change. Slacking the main also allows the mast to rotate which it may not do in lighter air. I seldom bother with traveling the jib out so it is in tight when I tack. I don't race so a litle loss in speed is not an issue.

I have been thinking about putting some mesh on the gaps in the tramp to keep the main sheet from ending up in the water. I wonder if anyone has done that?

Howard

howard,
I have often been bothered by the mainsheet being washed overboard between my two- peice tramp, and once it is gone it is verry diffficult to get it back onboard at speed, so i think some sort of mesh under the tramp could be a great addition. also, where are you in North carolina? I live and sail a little in wilmington but spend much of my summers at camp don lee close to oriental.

Scott,

I sail my Hobie at Jordan Lake and have a catboat on Kerr Lake. We did spend a week in June at Emerald Isle and had perfect sailing weather for the Hobie all week in the ocean.

Having the sheet drag in the water is a pain. Once, my son-in-law and I were out double trapped and the sheet went into the water. He went in and pulled it back up then got back out and put his weight on the wire. Trouble is, he had come unhooked and didn't realize it. I watch him go past as I went on without him. The wind was so strong, I went over about 300 yards away from him and turtled. I got the boat up alone with all that wind on the tramp and a power boat brought him to me. All because the sheet went through the tramp.

Howard

I have heard of putting velco strips before the holes/slots in the trampoline catch the sheets, but never tried it.

To help clean up the tramp, the crew can hold the jib sheet in one hand, and the traveler sheet in the other hand, and coil up the balance of the mainsheet and put it on her thigh, but allowing enough slack in the sheet for the skipper to work the main. With the crew holding the jib sheet in one hand and the traveler line in the other, it helps stabilize the crew out on the wire by creating a triangle preventing the crew's upper body from swinging fore and aft, and pulling on both sheets simultaneously adds feet to deck pressure.

I think Hobie actually sell a strip that laces up between the gap in the tramp to prevent the mainsheet from falling through

Hobie does sell that strip. It takes care of the disappearing main sheet problem.