speed and power

Dear Jules,
I am not an expert, but over the past year I have finally come to realize that the powering down the jib sail in high winds is the trick. It sounds from your post that you powered down the main but not the jib. I have learned that the crew has an important job controlling the jib sheet. I used to think that I would tell the crew where to cleat the jib and that was it. Now, I know that I was wrong. They have half the power in their hands, and they need to adjust according to conditions.
Greg
H14, H16

Tighten the heck out of your downhaul and outhaul. Steve Leo showed me a trick a long time ago:
1. Tighten your downhaul normally.
2. With your boat on the beach pointing into the wind, sheet in block to block.
3. Check your downhaul, I bet it is as loose as a goose... re-tighten it and let off on your mainsheet.

Keep your sail-plane as flat as possible. Your primary control sail angle is the main traveler, so you should use it to spill wind. The mainsheet should be secondary.

Believe it or not, there are times when it is too windy for some people. Heavy air can be fun, but that fun can be turned into danger real fast.

Thats for all the help. ONe last thing is, alot of people are talking about the jib halid tentioning of a way to de power your boat. How effective is it since i feel i allways need to have it on real tight.

Jules

The tought is using the jib tension to help control the rake of the mast i belive. This is very helpful espcially to help keep from doing a nose dive. Just rember it helps if you rake the mast back to adjust the stays also if done on land.
Good luck.

Jody Abrams
H16 Modified 59457

I agree with giving experienced crew near total control of the jib. I like to sail by consensus. I started sailing by crewing with a friend who had only a little more experience than me. I experimented with the jib, and soon was in total control with my "little" sail. I was more adventurous and I was the first to suggest we sail wing on wing. Sure its the slowest point of sail, but it was beautiful... oh, boy, that was years ago... Now, we just ask, "Do you want to run jib or main?"

I like to think of the jib as the 'turbocharger', and the mainsail as the 'motor'. Sure, all the power is in the motor, but when you kick in the turbocharger, all hell breaks loose. The jib, instead of forcing fuel/air in to the motor,... it forces more air to flow across the main. More air across the main...more power! When you are sailing up wind, try leaving the mail set to one position, ...then tighten and loosen the jib. You will see the difference. Of course, the situation gets a little more complicated at different points of sail. Get a sailing book from the library, and read about air flow.

I agree the jib and the traveler is the trick to controlling the cat, but that balancing the H16 correctly is important as well.

thanks but ive still got th problem of not being able to adjust the joib tention since thats the only thing the others have on me i need to know how to do it better? The other thing is if you have the side stays tight and the mast raked heaps back ive heard its not always the best since it slows your tack down heaps. in terms of nose diving im not too worryed since the only times i really have to worry is when the wind pushes above 25. No offence at all but i think a few people are showing their age and this is coming from me but then again im only 16 so every one is old to me.

Jules

You are right, you are 16... and we can tell

Jules,

We sail heavy on my boat, around 350 lbs. I rarely ever have my crew on the wire, because I weigh 220, and she is a little timid when the winds "scream". In West Texas, we sail winds of 25+ knots frequently, so I have a lot of experience.

I agree with what everyone's advice.

Here is what I do:

I rarely ever travel out very far--6 to 8 inches on the main and 2 to 3 inches on the jib. I try to keep my travelers as close to the centerline as possible. It is critical that you tighten your jib halyard and downhaul as much as possible. The jib halyard keeps the angle of entry of your jib as straight and as flat as possible. If your jib sags, it cups...this catches the wind, and will dump you over. The downhaul on the main helps flatten the sail...depowers the sail.

The big trick is learning how to drive off a little (accelerate) before a gust hits, then pinching up with the gust to take the bite out of the gust. Once you learn how to depower your rig, the rest is helmsmanship. Good crew is critical in tacking and helping manage your jib.

Now that I said we sail heavy. I often sail my boat in extreme winds solo. I will travel my jib out further, because I have a hard time working both sails. Tacking is a bear solo, but it can be done.

Keep on practicing,
Young people have the advantage of quick reflexes and agility,

David

Thanks alot people. I will have to try it on the next windy day where i live which is probably at the next blue moon. Well i think i've got the idea but time will only tell. By the way, what do you mean you can tel im only 16 . ONe last thing whats pounds in KG.
Jules

Jules,
2.2 pounds = 1 kilogram.
Please now answer this for me.
In Australia are your next three months called the Fall or Springtime of the year? Old folks are sometimes pretty ignorant.
Greg
H14, H16

Greg,

In Australia our summer is over December/Jan so we have just hit Autumn - we don't use the term Fall in Oz. 'Springtime' is not used in Australia very much either, simply 'spring'.

Jules,

We can tell that you are only 16 by the standard of your spelling and grammar and by the general style of your writing.

Fair deal amd thanks.

Jules

Dave,

>We sail heavy on my boat, around 350 lbs. I rarely ever have my crew on the wire, because I weigh 220, and she is a little timid when the winds "scream". <

When I first saw this post, I didn't respond even though I've heard many times how much you prefer to be on the wire and let your crew sit on the tramp. And timid is not an adjective I think of when describing Lynn. But when I received this email from her, I just couldn't hold back anymore.

>Just tell David and I quote "The reason I don't get on the wire is because his big 220lb butt is permanently attached to the wire and he won't let me out there." regards, Lynn<

Looking forward to seeing you at Deep South.

An equal opportunity hull flyer,
Kirk

Kirk,

Okay, so I love to sail on the wire! I have been trying to figure out how to rig a trapeze wire on my Catalina 22, but it would be pointless, because this dumpy "bath-tub" will not accelerate and "fly" like the Hobie.

I sure hope it warms some before Deep South. I have been packing my gear on my trailer. We are going to try to leave early Friday, so we can do a shake down cruise when we get to LA.

Roger emailed; he has bought a H-18...going to give his son the 16. I do not know if he is going to try to make Deep South or not.

Fly Low...Go Fast!
David

ok i get that but the major thing is we're kind of light (120kg)so when th winds come in around 25+ the jib is enough to capsize us. If we have the travelor at the hiking straps and if we get hit by and BIG gust should i let the travelor out and pull it back in because i've heard a YES/NO answer.

Jules

Learn to see the gusts before the happen, and pinch a bit before you get there.

Jules,

When I cannot get my boat to settle down; that is, I cannot keep it with the windward hull just touching the water a large percentabe of the time. I will travel out a little, until I feel like I have control of my boat. Going upwind, you will always want your traveler as close inboard as possible. When you travel out it changes the angle of attack of your sails to the wind; therefore, you cannot point as high. You have to learn to watch the gust and drive up into them; this is tricky, because if you drive to high, you will kill your power or tack un-expectedly.

With time, you will notice that usually before a big gust, the wind will lull a little. This makes boat handling tricky. I always drive off in the lull, to keep my boat speed up, wait for the leading edge of the gust; if it is a lift, then drive up to find the grove; if it is a header, then you are in the position to drive off with it.

When the winds are gusty, learn to sail with your traveler in as close inboard as possible. I will ease my main, when I miss read a gust, and it starts taking advantage of me. I never work the traveler going up wind, except when I need to let it out a little to help me handle my boat better.

When I sail my boat solo, I will travel my jib way out and sail on the main only. I will keep my main traveled in close and adjust for the gust by easing the sheet.

You should keep in mind that sailing a Hobie 16 is like sailing a mono sail boat. The jib is most useful when it come to tacking. If you sail too far off wind, it can flip you over.

David

I think ive got the magor idea but its still the small bits that puzzel me. Like isn't it quicker if you use your travelor that the main sheet. I saw alot of people doing that in melbourn commenwealths.

To De-Power a Hobie 16

Starting from Full power
Both out on the trap and no problem with power
Rake is set so the main is block to block main leach is tight and the jib leach is tight.

De-Power in stages as the wind increases.

1) Drop main traveler about 3 inches and jib traveler one inch (this allows you to easily get back into full power mode if it get lighter). Add Cunningham.
2) Start to rake back a bit. Rake will do a lot of things. It will move your center of effort back, meaning you will be less likely to pitch-pole. It will move your center of effort down a little. It will present a flatter main (depth/chord length) to the wind. It will allow you to get block to block with more twist in the main dumping air. The last is maybe the most important
3) Drop travelers more and add Cunningham.
4) Rake back more
5) There is a point where you will probably reach a maximum rake and traveler down. It is most likely not the maximum attainable. At this point you probably need to pinch more and well. Tactically in this velocity it may be faster to sail in the lulls.

hard for me to imagine retensioning the jib halyard while racing, hard enough to do it on the beach. can you describe how you do it? is your halyard calibrated with marks? also how much slack is in your jib stay? when i'm cranked down block to block in heavy air the slack in the jib stay is used up, even if i start with 6-8"" of slack in the stay when i tension the jib halyard on the beach. in lighter air i would have less slack.

Ideally you want to get the halyard set correctly before the start. If you need to change it, a good crew can do it down wind. Don't try to do it up wind. My halyard is calibrated with marks.
Slack in the headstay will mostly come out up wind and I'm sure it will not be a factor when two are on the wire.
The good guys say don't worry about rig tension but rake is critical.