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PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2007 12:48 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:59 pm
Posts: 586
Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
Well that's good news guys, if you both say that then I believe you.
My dealer has provided great customer service and has always answered my mails promptly but I suppose he hasnt tried the system himself and was incorrect on this one.
This Yak performed very well considering the horrible conditions that most ppl woudnt have bothered with but I was desperate to try my Sail. I knew the Northerly would get unmanageable as they always gain strength in the late afternoon whereas the Sou'Easters always abate. The turbulence in the lee of the breakwater didnt help.
Normally we get 90% good conditions here with moderate Easterlies and gentle swell in the bay.
Using the retrospectoscope I had the mainsheet routed awkwardly so that there was too much friction to release the pressure quickly, also, if I was a better sailor I may have been more of a participant than a spectator.
I only rolled once, I was able to catch it the other dozen times.

I will order the Rudder and procure a Block today.
Is the mainsheet supposed to run straight from the stern Deadeye to your hand or through the second cabin Deadeye near your starboard hip as well, or run through/tie-off on the cabin Cleat?
Does "Huli" mean capsize?

So the inflatable AMA is rugged enough for sailing and I dont need to make my own?

Thanks again.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2007 2:19 pm 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2007 2:43 pm
Posts: 24
Location: New Mexico
skymax, thanks for letting me know about this thread. I sail on lakes with gusty wind conditions that change directions. I highly recommend improving the rigging for a much quicker response. Attach a block to the stern eyelet. I cut a piece of wood to fit in the Revo's cupholder on the right of the seat and mounted a cheek block with a cam cleat just behind it. I also recommend a longer main sheet than the one they sent me. If you're running straight downwind you need to be able to unsheet the sail so that it is positioned straight ahead to survive strong gusts. Here are some links to the hardware I bought.
http://www.ronstan.com/marine/product.a ... No=RF20101
http://www.ronstan.com/marine/product.a ... o=RF20151A
http://www.ronstan.com/marine/product.a ... No=RF5000Y

A survival tip I picked up in another forum: Pedal straight (or almost straight) into the wind and pull the main sheet in so that the mast bends back and the sail is almost touching your head. This mast position helps you stay into the wind- like a windsurfer, and the sail is depowered and quiet. Always be ready to release the sheet if the wind direction changes!


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2007 2:53 pm 
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Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:59 pm
Posts: 586
Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
That is an improved setup, how come you fitted all that to a peice of wood instead of straight onto the plastic, can you post a photo?

I too, found that a longer main sheet would have been preferable on the downwind runs in strong conditions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Sidekick for Sailing good or bad question has created a stand-off between experienced sailors on this forum and the experienced sailor who is my Hobie dealer.

The camps are polarized with firmly held beliefs and the opposites have critiscized each others seamanship as the reason for it working/not-working.

Unfortunately this does'nt help me as all parties know more about this equipment than I do, I woudnt know the truth of this matter if I was standing next to it. However, my Dealer says he will fix the Sidekicks to a Revo and try it this afternoon, so at least he is willing to try this combination for personal experience/assesment.

I dont want to do Extreme Offshore Sailing, but I would like to be able to hold a course in a variable moderate breeze without constantly working the main sheet to avoid over-heeling.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2007 3:16 pm 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Thu Apr 19, 2007 2:43 pm
Posts: 24
Location: New Mexico
I like the handy, comfortable position of the cupholder for the placement of the cleat. Rudder on the left, sheet on the right- and with the cheek block, you pull the sheet towards the body to tighten. Also, I liked not having to drill any holes in my new boat. I will post some photos but it will be a few days before I have time to take them.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2007 3:34 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:59 pm
Posts: 586
Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
Dont bother about the photos i can prolly suss it out.
But can you tell me how you attached the piece of wood without drilling holes?

(Come to think of it how do you attach an image in this forum?)

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2007 7:03 pm 
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Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 6:56 am
Posts: 822
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Right on Dan and RR,
Your dealer sounds like someone with zero experience sailing a kayak. Sailing with my lobster pot outriggers is certainly a lot more enjoyable than without. I have been sailing comfortably in 15-20 knots (even though Hobie does not encourage anything over about 15, as I recall). The amas/outriggers provide just enough stability control, along with the Mirage Drive when coming about, that I no longer worry about going over under normal circumstances.

P.S. I have been using a Harken block on my stern eyestrap as shown here for several years now, and it made a huge increase in responsiveness of my main sheet.

Image

I also atached a second Harken block to my forward starboard cleat, and that further the decreased my response time to quick gusts of wind. Actually, I think this cleat is an add-on from West Marine that I installed for just this purpose (or for some other equally cool idea!). Anyway, it too works very nicely as intended.

Image

It's all good--have fun!

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Thu May 03, 2007 10:58 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:59 pm
Posts: 586
Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
Very good, I fitted a harken block to the rear today.

Maybe one more on the forward cleat like yours would be good.

I also fitted a 1.5 metre longer Main Sheet so I can let the sail fully out when downwind if necessary.

The sail goes into the sailmaker's next week to have a baton sleeve sewn on the foot so I can install a tensioned baton which gives the sail a better shape when let out downwind and reduces loose-footed luff.

Thanks for the pic, one day I'll figure out how to post one.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri May 04, 2007 6:26 am 
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Joined: Fri Nov 19, 2004 6:56 am
Posts: 822
Location: Tallahassee, FL
Max,
Posting pics is faiirly easy--just a little indirect since you have to go thru a picture hosting service. I, and 41 million of your closest friends, use Photobucket.

http://photobucket.com/

Just sign up for an account (free), follow their instructions, copy the URL of your pic and then paste it into your post. Use the second from the bottom form of the URL (IMG Messages for Message Boards) and voila, you pic appears in all its glory. Although they will also re-size your pic automatically, I have found they are still too large, so before uploading to PhotoBucket, I use Photoshop Elements (or you can use something that may be already be on your computer for handling photos) to re-size to a max or 8x6 inches--works pretty well. Have fun!

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Last edited by Apalach on Fri May 11, 2007 6:46 am, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri May 04, 2007 12:18 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:59 pm
Posts: 586
Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
Righto mate, I'll give it a go!

Thanx.

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri May 04, 2007 1:00 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:59 pm
Posts: 586
Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
Sorry I dont understand, "Use the second from the bottom form of the URL (IMG Messages for Message Boards)"

I dont see any selectable option for that?

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri May 04, 2007 1:07 pm 
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Hobie Team Member

Joined: Wed Dec 07, 2005 11:04 pm
Posts: 598
Location: Hawaii, Big Island
sky

some shots of sidekick in action. Close hauled IIRC

Image[code]

Image

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri May 04, 2007 1:55 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:59 pm
Posts: 586
Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
Excellent shots with Bone in Teeth Dan, thanx very much.
I think the "Bananas on a stick", appearance looks a bit dorky but I feel that a Float that is shaped to push itself up out of the water can only be good.

Yesterday I ventured out BEFORE the wind got strong and had a very pleasant slow sail around the bay.
As the wind picked up and the puffs became stronger the boat would pick up speed but then I would have to keep dumping the air out of the sail to stop the boat entering the heel Danger Zone, this was frustrating as it meant that the upwind speed of the boat was limited by the amount of roll it could manage.
Also it's tiring working that Main constantly and my right arm/shoulder was sore at the end of the day.

Then I went home and watched all the Kayak Sailing videos I could find on the Net. All the outrigger craft I viewed were hooting along, even an inflatable that had the OR's mounted up near the Nose, (sorry, "Prow", I'm an old Pilot).
One designer said, "The sail efficiency increases when it is held more vertical by the Outrigger and this more than compensates for any drag caused by the Float." This made sense.

My Hobie Dealer, whom I have never met personally, is a nice guy and his Customer Service is way above what you normally get in Oz, however he doesnt seem to like OR's, sometimes this is just a personal thing.
He is open-minded enough to go try a Revo with the Sidekick's so he may modify his outlook, we will see.

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 Post subject: Apalach's Mods.
PostPosted: Fri May 04, 2007 2:16 pm 
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Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:59 pm
Posts: 586
Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
Ah, a new morning and my fresh brain scans your photos of improved hardware.
Firstly I noticed you used a shackle to attach the Block to the stern Clew.
Is there any particular reason for this?
I tried that at first but being a minimalist I thought that the shackle just added more hardware to bounce around on the deck so I connected my Block directly to the Clew. Havent tried it yet.

Re-scanning your forward block attachment Pic I notice the original Cleat in the lower right of the photo so you have added a new Cleat in a better position, (the standard Cleat is mounted down too low IMO), so what kind of fasteners did you use to attach it?
Wellnuts, Self-Tappers, Internal Nuts ?

PS: Buying bits for boats is as expensive as buying bits for Aeroplanes :(

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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri May 04, 2007 3:25 pm 
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Hobie Approved Guru

Joined: Sat Nov 12, 2005 10:46 pm
Posts: 3017
Location: Escondido
Max,

You have lots of options. Here's a cleat mounted directly to the padeye. Note, this is a swivel cleat. You might be better of with a non-swivel version as these tend to let your line twist around itself if not completely de-biased beforehand, thereby jambing your sheet:
Image

I copied Apalach's forward block concept so I could pull the sheet back rather than forward, as pictured here. The other way works fine too though.

Image

You can get a snap hook to attach/detach your mainsheet quickly:
Image

You can make a matching quick disconnect "tail" to secure your furled sail:
Image
Image

Here's an example (white plastic object next to cup holder)of one of many jamb or cam cleats you can use to secure your sheet in light winds (note the better pic of the forward block for the mainsheet; ignore the black rigging line that is temporarily using the jamb cleat). Note the flush mount:
Image

Finally, here's a simple loop attached to the forward hatch to help secure your mast when stowed (yours would be a little different on the Revo):
Image 8)

PS: when mounting gear to the hull, always use stainless nuts (nyloc self locking if available), bolts and washers if possible, especially if there sill be a strain on the equipment.


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 Post subject:
PostPosted: Fri May 04, 2007 9:10 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sat Apr 28, 2007 11:59 pm
Posts: 586
Location: Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
Ah darn it, I had a non-swivel cleat on the boat but it did not have a free enough range of movement and sometimes the rope just would not run on the wheel, so I took it back to the shop and exchanged it for a more-expensive swivel type :(

Nevertheless these are all useful practical mods and I will certainly be making all of them, particularily the far-forward block which seems a much better place for it.
I tried trimming the main with the sheet coming straight off the rear block and into my hand and gave myself a sore shoulder and arm in just an hour.

Interestingly when I replaced the main sheet with a longer one at the Chandlery and asked for rope the same quality as the original the shoppy said, "We do'nt have any rope that good quality, that's nice rope".

Just one question, what do you use to secure the other end of the mast when stowed?

Thanks muchly.

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