Hi all,
Just sold my Farrier F25C and am buying a Bimare F18HT to hold me over... :)
Is it possible to reef a Bimare F18HT for solo sailing? (I know everyone will advise me not to sail this solo but I sailed my 25C exclusively solo and this is alot lighter than my H18SX).
If not, any advice on building a mainsail with 20% less area (i.e. take the leech off evenly from foot to head or take more foot off or take more head off)?
Has anyone ever gone boomless on the F18HT?
Thank you in advance for any guidance you can offer.
James
Bimare F18HT Mainsail Reefing, Boomless, New Sail Questions
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Posted: Apr 23, 2014 - 07:19 AM
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Posted: Apr 23, 2014 - 11:34 AM
I have owned a bimare ht for a few years now. I do sail it solo often. I came from owning a p18 for years and had sailed a few spin boats of my friends before the Bimare. There is a bit of a learning curve with the boat. Because it is so light with so much sail area things happen fast and with a lot of energy. I would not recommend going boomless. The boom gives you a lot of ways to depower the sail. What I might do if you want a smaller sail area is look for a used A-cat sail and add a pigtail to the halyard to make up the difference in sail height. THis will give you a platform similar to an A-Cat. The sail will not perfectly match the mast bend but you will have a light boat that is manageable and if the wind is light enough you can sail this boat single with the spin. The Bimare is a great boat, fast and fun. Once you get comfortable with just how responsive it it is you can be safe single in winds up to 15mph. I think with an A-Cat sail you could sail above 20 and still be safe. You will need the boom to flatten that sail out when it gets big and with the wing mast minimize the mast rotation will also slow it down a lot! -
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Posted: Apr 23, 2014 - 01:22 PM
Nice "stop gap" you got there!
Welcome to TheBeachcats.com,
Has your Javelin had it's rear beam raised yet? It seems that every one that I've seen (that is sailed often) has had the rear beam raised substantially to prevent it dragging through the water. Evidently a design problem.
Some have really elegant changes to the hull shape to raise it but often there is just another beam section the width of the hull placed under the beam to raise it.
The Bimare has a really nice light but delicate carbon mast, and beachcats in general are not setup to be able to reef, partly because of the way the mains hook at the top of the mast. You need to consult an experienced sailmaker who is familiar with your boat to design a storm sail if you want it to be less powerful. IMHO
Anyway have fun with it, I know we have a number of Bimare owners here.
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
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Posted: Apr 23, 2014 - 03:33 PM
Great advice, exactly what I needed to lessen the blow of giving up the 25C and hopefully others will keep the advice coming :)
I guess I'm not trully happy if there isn't some white knuckle sailing. Its kindof nice coming back to beach cats as maybe my reflexes needed resharpening and I do love the community.
Thanks again all,
James -
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Posted: Apr 24, 2014 - 12:57 PM
Let us know how things go, I've eyeballed the 18HT class since I solo a lot and it would be great to have a light boat I could use as a "big A-Cat".
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
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Posted: Apr 24, 2014 - 01:21 PM
I just parted with mine after six years Damon! and sailed it solo a lot. It's ever much like an A cat, light and responsive, slicing effortlessly thru the water with very fine bows. More buoyancy and weight than a A, but still easy to handle on and off the water. The stock main had great shape and controllability. And like any high performance cat, scary when overpowered. Raising the rear beam is a good mod if sailing in more than a one foot chop. And most boats have had the rudder system modified to allow them to kick up. And transoms need beefing up internally. My experience with the mast was that it was not overly light, and pretty durable.
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Posted: Apr 25, 2014 - 08:06 AM
Dave,
Can you access the daggerboard wells through an upper deck plate like on a Nacra 20/Inter 18 etc.? Or is the boat a monolithic construction like a modern A-cat or F18 where there is no deck plate?
I've been told the best part of the boat is the mast... -
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Posted: Apr 28, 2014 - 02:50 PM
I can't quite remember, there are a pair of ports aft of the rear beam, and I think there are a pair aft of the main beam, although ithey dont allow a lot of access to the dggrbd well.
Yeah, I liked the mast a lot, nicely mated to the sail. On mine the luff groove got a little soft at the entry point, so care was required when feeding the mainsail, or it would start to pull out and pinch the bolt rope. A pretty easy fix if you find one with that problem. -
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Posted: May 08, 2015 - 11:46 PM
Update and again thanks all for your direction. My avatar shows my F18HT with a 15 sq m main. 15 sq m still has alot of power for solo sailer especially since the mast is so tall but its cool to manage it by flattening and allowing twist. Also the boat has wings so my effective beam is 11 ft.
If you zoom in you can see I also added an outboard... well I'm old and lazy now and wind on the lake will drop to 0 when miles from home... and I'm solo on an 18 so 15 lbs on the stern is an acceptable trade off.
Last thing I need is a F16 Spin as 17.5 sq m would be better.
Thanks all,
James
Bimare F18HT w/wings
Farrier F25C -
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Posted: May 09, 2015 - 12:26 PM
Looks fantastic James! A suberb custom boat for solo sailing! I too have outboards on a couple of cats, to get to breeze, with the luxury of sailing until it's all used up, and then a relaxed motor home. I have a spin from my Stealth for sale if you're interested. PM me.
dave -
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Posted: May 15, 2015 - 06:26 PM
Hi all,
I had some inquiries on my solo mast step adapted from my Farrier F25C experience so I made a video.
https://youtu.be/W4cLtC26aRM
https://youtu.be/W4cLtC26aRM
James
Bimare F18HT
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Posted: Sep 03, 2015 - 04:08 PM
I have a Bimare F18HT that I purchased recently from a guy who hasn't sailed it in years. I have been working on it to try and get all the ropes and bungees replaced that are worn out. I have only sailed it a few times so far. The trampoline is starting to come apart on me. Does anyone know where I might be able to find a replacement? Also, how high are you talking about raising the rear beam? I have noticed it dragging. What is everyone using to raise the beam?
Thanks,
Philip Wilson -
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Posted: Sep 05, 2015 - 06:00 PM
I don't think you'll find anyone who can crank out a tramp for the HT without yours for a pattern. Is yours truly wasted, or does it just need re stitching? The thread dies well before the fabric in most cases.
The rear beam is usually raised about 3.5 to 4" to reduce the chop slamming into the rear beam. Keeping crew weight forward minimizes this, as does hull flying. I've seen it done with sections of alum tube the same dia of your beams, the width of the saddles, with a segment a little less than 1/4 of the circumference, sliced lengthwise, inverted and welded back to the remaining tube, creating a saddle for your beams that bolt into your existing saddles molded into the hulls. Similar units can be constructed out of carbon/fiberglass.
I'd recommend sailing the boat for a while before doing this mod. I contemplated it, but never did it, and using the boat exclusively on lakes in the NW, the slamming wasn't a big issue for me.
Have the rudder been modified to kick up? I'd do that first if not.
Dave -
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Posted: Sep 05, 2015 - 11:46 PM
I can make a new tramp, or repair yours. I would need a pattern.
