Just acquired a Hydra, old. Rough. Fixed her up. Sailed her twice - dream.
I want some more info regards the Hydra. Particularly about rigging. It has no traps, I'm going to rig some up myself. Is there a set way for the Hydra? If not, I was thinking of running a shock cord from a block on the side stay, up and through the front beam and across to the other side. As there are no attachment points on the hull, and I can't get it under the tramp.
I have read nearly every forum post on trap rigging on this site. (Good site FYI). On par regards handiness to: http://www.working-the-sails.com/sailing_small_catamarans.html
I'm 6'4", 90kg, 25yo. Crew of two. Auckland NZ. Little to no small boat sailing experience. - Let's have it.
Also, is having an adjustable trap necessary as novice (perhaps I suppose even more so with a novice?)? Comments?
As you may tell, I am on a budget of dust.
Thanks all,
Daniel
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Daniel H
16ft Hydra fixed up with hot glue, no more gaps and no. 8 wire.
Auckland, NZ
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Hydra 16 - First boat, Auckland NZ, particulary trap advice.
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Posted: Jan 07, 2014 - 06:35 PM
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Posted: Jan 07, 2014 - 06:42 PM
Not my boat, but the Hydra:
And... http://sailboatdata.com/v…record.asp?class_id=6256
And, what is the most common way of keeping the centreboards at the correct height?
Edited by omamari on Jan 08, 2014 - 03:36 PM.
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Daniel H
16ft Hydra fixed up with hot glue, no more gaps and no. 8 wire.
Auckland, NZ
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Posted: Jan 08, 2014 - 07:26 AM
A trap is the least of your worries. You guys are upside down, all the time. How y'all even stay on your boats is a mystery to me
I once spent a entire winter(Canadian) driving around the N Island, Land of the Long White Cloud is sailing nirvana. Loved the section of the 90 mile beach up Cape Reinga(sp), & the Kauri Forest. Stayed at the Governors res in Auckland.
I assume you have a way figured to attach the the trap lines up near the mast hound? Many boats use a hound with double attach points, one for the forestay/shrouds, & another, slightly higher for the trap lines. This photo is from my Nacra 5.7. The trap lines are the upper wires. It uses 2 wires each side as it has double traps. (Clicking on many photos in posts will enlarge them to full size)
In your case, since you can't go through the tramp, (without adding grommets), use the front beam. I use 1/4" bungee through the beam for the front trap, with a plastic snap on each end, just where it exits the beam. This makes it easy to unclip from the actual trap line & prevents the bungee from snaking inside the beam. Try to make the holes you drill in the beam end caps smooth, or insert a plastic grommet, otherwise you wear the bungee pretty quick.
You may want a single trap further back on the boat. Just add a small pad eye to the hull at the appropriate place, & route the bungee to it.
Looks like this...(not my boat)
Adjustable on the fly is nice, I have them on the N5.7 & Mystere 6XL, but not required, especially if your budget is "dirt".
Murrays sells a little hard rubber clip that makes adjustment easy, but you can't do it while trapped out.
http://www.murrays.com/mm…Code=C-TRA&Store_Code=MS
I don't have a good photo on the web of how my Mystere (similiar centre board setup) controls the boards. Hopefully Andrew (MN3) has one of his that he can post. It's pretty simple when you see it, a bungee pulls one way. a line with cleats holds it the other.
It sounds like you repaired with hot glue? This may not stick to fibreglass. If you used it to repair a hole in hull, it might be advisable to redo it, with epoxy resin/cloth. Google fibreglass repair, there are hundreds of You Tubes on the subject. Lots of good info here;http://www.westsystem.com/ss/the-105-system/
Don't worry about the pumps, or the West branded product. You can use small transparent yogourt containers & popsicle sticks.
30cc=30ml = 1 oz(UK). Just use something like a cough syrup measure, or veterinary syringe, anything that will give you an accurate measure of 30 mls. Use it to measure water into your mixing cups, then mark a line at that level. repeat for the hardener if it is not just added by "drops/oz". Prep is the key. You can probable buy a few ounces of resin/hardener & cloth from a sympathetic marina...as you know there are hundreds of them near The City of Sails.
Edited by Edchris177 on Jan 08, 2014 - 08:02 AM.
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Hobie 18 Magnum
Dart 15
Mystere 6.0XL Sold Was a handful solo
Nacra 5.7
Nacra 5.0
Bombardier Invitation (Now officially DEAD)
Various other Dock cluttering WaterCrap
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Posted: Jan 25, 2014 - 05:02 PM
Hi Chris,
Glad you enjoyed Northland whilst you were here. I come from Ripiro beach, which is near the Kauri Forest. Longest beach in NZ (which is not 90 mile!). But sure as hell not a sailing beach.
My setup at the top of the mast is quite a bit different. But i take it, that the important thing is to get the trap lines higher than the stay attachments. And having the traps going straight down to the front beam looks like the best option. Luckily I already have holes in the beam, maybe something to do with return lines for the job cleat travelers (Which I don't have). I won't be double trapping, as I've heard the masts can't handle it.
I find it fascinating the differences between skiffs and multis, regards the shock cords pulling down the trap ring, or pulling up the trap ring. Looks like multi sailors are just a bit more scared, and want their ring always pulling up on their hook. However, I've only seen shock cords pulling down in NZ! - both on cats and skiffs.
My signature is a bit of a joke, kindof three things you don't want near a boat. Don't worry, both my hulls were cracked well proper. So I've done legitimate fibre glass job on them. It's amazing how thin the were made, only a single layer of glass.
Thanks heaps for replying, the photos were good too.
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Daniel H
16ft Hydra fixed up with hot glue, no more gaps and no. 8 wire.
Auckland, NZ
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Posted: Jan 25, 2014 - 06:23 PM
I think you misunderstood something along the way, the shock cords can only pull down, all they do is take up the slack so the trap wires don't flop around when they aren't being used.
There is a difference though in the commonly used system for high performance skiffs vs cats in that the bungee arrangement on the cat keeps some tension and the skiff system lets the trap ring fall off the hook as soon as tension is relieved by coming in or pulling yourself up by the handle.
I've heard explanations that the skiffs do this because of the speed of the tack means it's worth the tradeoff to unhook fast and sure, but I bet it's just that's the way skiffs started so their you are, same with cats.
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
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Posted: Jan 25, 2014 - 06:28 PM
Your boat looks good, congratulations.
The reason why the trap wires are attached higher is to allow you to move forward and aft the side stay while out on the trap, but it will still work if attached at the same point, if you find room.
I like the ring pulling up, it stays hooked and gives you more freedom of movement while sitting on the boat. The problem is that it needs more shock cord length. If you move all the way back you will find that the shock cord is too tight or maybe not even enough, and then when not in use it will be probably too loose. What I did was to install two small blocks inside the beam, on each side, and run three lengths of shock cord inside the beam: start on one side, go through the opposite side block back to the other block and back again to the opposite side. This way you can move further back and the tension is much more constant. The second trap, that is behind the side stay, runs below the tramp and at first i made a triangle similar to what you described, which was ok but not perfect. Later added a second block to make a longer path.
There's a good reason to adjust the traps in your case: likely, sometimes the crew will use the trap and perhaps sometimes yourself. Very likely you will need different adjustment. I doesn't mean that you need an adjuster, which are pretty expensive, but probably you will need to pre-adjust on the beach depending on the case.
Good luck!
Edited by Andinista on Jan 25, 2014 - 06:29 PM. -
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Posted: Jan 25, 2014 - 06:36 PM
Also, Daniel, Welcome to TheBeachcats.com! Did you get those 110 degree temps like they had in Australia during the Tennis?
I've never seen the Hydra before, do you have pictures of the sails and any logos? Any literature or manuals? Over the years I've tried to gather as much info as I can about the unique cats that get lost to history.
There is a folder in the photo albums called "Beachcats Identification" and in there is a "Identify these unknown cats" album.
http://www.thebeachcats.c…pictures/?g2_itemId=3436
Could you take a look and see if you recognize any? Might be some from around your side of the world.
There is one that was found in New Zealand, doesn't look like your Hydra though.
http://www.thebeachcats.c…pictures/?g2_itemId=3126
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
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Posted: Jan 26, 2014 - 05:05 PM
Thanks for the info guys.
Sorry, don't recognise any of those. I'll take some photos and put them up. I have no literature. All I know is that was a practice boat for the 18ft Tornado.
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Daniel H
16ft Hydra fixed up with hot glue, no more gaps and no. 8 wire.
Auckland, NZ
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Posted: May 12, 2014 - 04:13 AM
I've updated the Hydra album with a few recent photos.
http://www.thebeachcats.c…ctures/?g2_itemId=107201
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Daniel H
16ft Hydra fixed up with hot glue, no more gaps and no. 8 wire.
Auckland, NZ
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Posted: May 12, 2014 - 09:06 AM
Thanks for creating and adding pictures to the Hydra album!
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
How To Create Your Signature
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