Ok since you all know i have the Reynolds 21 it is set up like a hobie everything is basically the same it is a CATAMARAN, i am coming from a MONO HULL learning, so i know there is some different in sailing techniques !

ALL i see is different in the boat compared to a hobie is maybe 700bls difference in Displacement and Sail Area 190 SF of Main 66 SF of Jib. So is there any tips on tweaking her for SPEED? like air flow thru sails is there any sweat spots on Hobies? how do u know without instruments that your in a good Air Blow?
I know i need tail tails on stays i am working on that.

thanks

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1980 Reynolds 21 Catamaran #38
1988 Farrier 27 # 31
2002 Hobie Getaway
Pennsylvania, PA.
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3-4 years racing a 16-18' cat---no substitute. Pete

i always have a winvane on the bridal and full set of tel-tales on the main and jib...wouldn't do without...

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Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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Bill Dont forget the kegger and the sun tan lotion for the hotties. After a board meeting for the firm a sail and a hull fly is in order.. Right?? (Thats "Hull" fly.. Not levi fly).. H

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Hal Liske
Livermore CA
H 16 (6+ 1.. Friends) H 3.2 N 5.2 (2) H 17 (2) H-18
Nacra 5.8 (son's) H 20 (Friends)
It's a Sickness

I Need a A Cat Please
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Bill PS.. H 18 just joined the fleet. 1200 and she is a hotie!! H

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Hal Liske
Livermore CA
H 16 (6+ 1.. Friends) H 3.2 N 5.2 (2) H 17 (2) H-18
Nacra 5.8 (son's) H 20 (Friends)
It's a Sickness

I Need a A Cat Please
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well does she have wings or are you riding her bareback hal?...few beers and who cares!!!

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Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook!
bill harris
hattiesburg, mississippi
prindle 16- "BLUE RIBBON"
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On the Wings and bruskies. What a ride.. I love it when they take the sheets and tie me up!! Prolly the only time I get a real good rinse cuz they push me over the stern ( on the windward side) to hole er down. Those chicks are HOT!.. H

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Hal Liske
Livermore CA
H 16 (6+ 1.. Friends) H 3.2 N 5.2 (2) H 17 (2) H-18
Nacra 5.8 (son's) H 20 (Friends)
It's a Sickness

I Need a A Cat Please
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~~ Soulofsailor.... I had a 21' Pearson (mono) at one time, so I to went from a mono to a cat... This is important to know, I just hope you never haveta deal with it. MOB--(man over board).. "tackin" to get back to yer MOB is different from a mono to a catamaran.. Your moving 2 hulls instead of 1. A mono will turn on a dime, and can "pinch" into the wind better. Also take into account the wind & waves..... Try it sometime--- Throw a lifejacket overboard without the person inside of it, keep the kegger/cooler of beer on board to have after ya rescue the PFD Maybe thats something we all should do--- practice MOB and Drinkie-Doo's

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~ Vietnam Vet 69-71~ 17 Hobie w/big jib, ~18 Hobie mag,~DN Ice sailor,
and other toys.......
~~ I live in NY state on the north shore of Oneida lake in
Bernhards Bay. ~~~~~~
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There are several tricks to make a cat go faster and handle better - Sail trim is of course important and the old adage of if in doubt let it out still works. A lot of sailors have a habit of over trimming the jib This can push the forward third of the main in so that it loses shape and lift. The control surfaces under the water also need some attention Fairing the boards - even going so far as adding material to the trailing edge to get the correct shape. The angle of the rudders in the vertical plane can ease the amount of pressure used to steer the boat and therefore make sailing more enjoyable. Back in the days of the Hobie List there were tons of post about this kinda stuff. I have no idea if Damon has this in his archives or not but maybe he can point you in the right direction if he does

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Lee - On the BIG Lake in MS

Harstil Kaulua 31 - Current Project Boat
Cal 25 - What ? Time to freshen it up again??
MC Scow 16 (1 in the water and 1 parts/project) SOLD
Capri 22 - What do you mean you wont deliver it??
Chrysler Pirateer 13 - new addition to the fleet
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I'll toss in one other idea that goes along with what pbegle said: Find a sailing buddy.

I don't have a ton of experience on monohulls, but with a catamaran, especially in a good blow, it's easy to point up on the wind, sheet in hard, get up on one hull, and THINK that you're just FLYING. Ten minutes later you realize you've made practically no headway because you oversheeted and are essentially stalled. Watching your buddy's boat blast past you at a sliiiightly wider angle off the wind is a great way to let you know that's what happened. (It's also a great way to learn to swear like a sailor!)

Some other ideers:

Don't move stuff around if you don't have to, especially on light wind days. Cats are very sensitive to tiller input. At the very least moving the tiller around will cause drag. At the worst it'll shake the shape out of your sails and de-power your boat.

Find the ideal sailing attitude of your boat and stick to it. If you hear gurgling coming off your transoms, that's energy being dissipated as something other than forward motion through the water. Move your crew weight forward. (But if you start to risk stuffing a hull, get weight aft!) On my Prindle I put two tape marks on the insides of my hulls. If I kept the water between the two lines, I was doing it right.

Catamarans can go fast enough, and are light enough, aerodynamic drag plays a real role in boat speed. Keep your deck clear, and keep a low profile. I love getting all Captain Jack Sparrow, standing up and holding onto my stays as I face bravely into the wind. But it makes for a slow boat. If in doubt, watch some ACWS footage on Youtube and see how the pros do it. (Ok, ok, the whole part where they hike below the surface of the decks for an hour at a time... er... no. Gimme a trap wire and a beer!)

Keep one hull just touching the water at all times. This is a catamaran's most efficient heeling angle. The sail is still almost vertical, so you're still extracting the maximum power out of it. And you have half the wetted area of your hull, so you've minimized drag. I think it was Randy Smythe who came up with the idea of sitting on the leeward hull on low wind days, just to keep the windward hull out of the water.

All of this helps with straight line sailing. Which is nice, but it's not the whole picture if you're thinking of racing. Honestly what kills a lot of racers is tacking and jibing technique. One slow tack is enough to drop you by several positions in a race. Learn to roll tack quickly and efficiently without losing much boat speed. Jibes are faster by definition, but directly downwind sailing is one of the slowest points of sail for a cat, so you want to spend as little time pointing downwind as you can. Jibing technique is equally important.

This last bit probably doesn't need to be said, but I'll say it anyway: Apply all of this with a measure of caution for the sake of your crew. There are two very different ways to sail a boat: as if you were racing, and as if you weren't racing. If you always sail as if you're racing, eventually friends and family can get tired of the Captain Bligh act. If at any point you hear yourself saying, "AVAST ye scurvy dogs! Hard alee! HARD ALEE! MOVE!!!" it's time to point a little lower, let out the sheets some, and let that F18 blow past. Don't give your crew reason to chuck you in a long boat and sail off to Tahiti.

Tom

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Tom Benedict
Island of Hawaii
P-Cat 18 / Sail# 361 / HA 7633 H / "Smilodon"
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Book -- Catamaran sailing: from start to finish by Phil Berman is a good intro to cats.

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Jack B
Hobie 17
BC, Canada
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