First time out. That was an adventure.

Bought a 91 18 with sx wings about two weeks ago. Went over everything and ordered about 300$ in parts to take care of some of the things that didn't look right. It was mostly rotten plastic pieces and steering stuff. So I rebuilt the steering and cleaned everything up on Saturday.

Sunday came with nobody to come out with me on my first trip. I have been sailing keel boats for quite a while but never a cat. Got the boat in the water around noon after struggling with a twist in the forestay for about an hour. Wind was about 13-15 Knots. The only thing I was worried about was if I capsize and cant get it back up. I have a 7' paddle that I am pretty sure I can use as a righting pole but don't want to find out that it doesn't work when its too late. So the boats in the water main sail is up (was only going to use the main for the day). I had a great plan on how to launch the boat from the beach (in between two docks about 150' apart). The plan was to let the offshore breeze push me backwards until clear of everything then sheet in on a reach and off I go. About 10 seconds after pushing off I got sideways with the wind on my beam and accelerated like a lightning bolt right toward one of the docks. I was frozen by the shear acceleration and the fact that the dock was coming at me at about 75 million miles an hour. I instinctively turned into the wind about 1 second before I destroyed boat and dock. So take two...... Got drifted back far enough away from the docks and shore, beam to wind, sheet in. Off I go. Ran back and forth on a reach about four times gybing each time and started to get the hang of it a little. Half way through gybe #5 the steering crossbar came loose from the port rudder. Again shock and frozen.... Then wam wind hits (had again got wind on the beam and didn't have sheet lose). Stbd hull starts lifting and I feel like I'm in a shot for cliffhanger as I climb to the high side and struggle to unsheet the main. I got her back on her feet surveyed the damage and limped back to shore with one rudder. Had all the spare parts and tools needed to get everything back in order and the second beach launch again drifting backwards went much better than the first. I sailed around for a few more hours without too much excitement.


I few things I learned.
The 18 doesn't tack well at all with only the main. No matter what I did I couldn't carry enough speed or backwind the main enough to get on the opposite tack. I am sure with the jib up it will be a much easier process.

The acceleration and loss of speed is a new thing to me compared with keel boats.

The part number called out on the hobie 18 parts diagram for the crossbar connection with the spring, 2 plastic cones, plastic washer and 1/4-20 bolt is too short. I thought it looked a little short as the nylon in the nut had barely engaged the threads on the bolt but I thought it must be right its what hobie calls for.

So I gained about a million exp points in one day and should have a handle on this by the end of summer.

Well, it wouldn't be Hobie sailing if you didn't have a few close calls!

All in all, sounds like a decent first sail. Too bad about the steering issue, you don't need something like that complicating your first time out. That acceleration is exhilarating and addicting, it's what cat sailing is all about!

13-15 is a lot of wind for solo sailing an 18. You really need to be on your toes! The few times I've been out solo and the wind's picked up like that, I loosened the diamond wires, cranked on the downhaul & outhaul, travel out 6", cleat the jib, got out on the trap wire and hold on for dear life! One good gust can easily take you over! It sure is a blast though!

Righting isn't difficult, but if you don't have the right weight/leverage, it's just not gonna happen. Even with a righting bag, I can't solo-right my 18.

You're correct, the H18 does not like to tack without a jib. In fact, cats don't really like to tack at all - they don't have much momentum to carry them through the tack. You need the jib to pull your bows through the wind! The other thing that helped me out a lot is a tip from "Catamaran Racing for the 90's." You can roll tack a Hobie. If you're not using a jib, it's almost mandatory. You need very exaggerated crew movement to do it, but as you're tacking you want to get your weight all the way back on the windward side, lifting your bows clear of the water as you cross through the wind, and nearly lifting the new windward hull as you come out of the tack. It's something that takes practice in low wind first. While tacking, you also want to keep the main sheeted hard until you're dead into the wind - then you need to release a foot or two of mainsheet to keep the wind from catching the other side immediately and holding you in irons. Once you start regaining speed, you can sheet back in.

Not sure about that connecting kit... I bought one last year and it worked fine for me. I wonder if something else is going on there? In any case, a longer SS 1/4"-20 bolt should easily fix the problem.

Glad to hear you're enjoying it, and keep on sailing!

_________________
Mike

'79 H18 standard 'Rocketman II' sail #14921 RIP
'78 H18 (unnamed) sail #14921
'08 H16 sail #114312
'97 H21SC sail #238

Tacking any catamaran is going to be a challenge if you're used to sailing keel boats. You think the 18 is tough, try a 14....

The 18 can be tacked reasonably easily without the jib, but it takes a bit of practice. Dagger boards need to be fully down. The traveler needs to be as close to center as conditions will allow, and you need to be sheeted in hard. Uncleat (but do not ease) the mainsheet. Gently turn the boat into the wind. When the boat reaches head-to-wind, ease off about 3 feet of mainsheet while keeping the rudders turned. Once the sail pops over onto the new tack, straighten the rudders or even bear off slightly and gradually start sheeting in. If you allow the boat to turn into the wind as you're sheeting in, it will stall.

If you blow a tack, you need to do a K turn. Position your body on the windward side of the boat for the new tack, uncleat the mainsheet and push the boom as far away from yourself as possible (you will dump 10-15 feet of mainsheet) while also pushing the tiller away from yourself. The boat will back up onto the desired tack. Then pull the rudder towards yourself and gradually start sheeting in the mainsheet.

sm

I'm glad (sort of) to hear I'm not the only one with a fail on first attempt with a Hobie. Saturday, I decided the wind was "perfect" to really give it a shot. The day before I had to paddle back as the winds died before I could get started. So, not really reading up on what "perfect" sailing wind for a cat is, I got my Hobie 16 tied to the windward side of a dock in 20+ knot winds... Gusts almost 30. "Gosh, this is gonna be great!". I got the jib up without a issue. The main was giving me trouble the day before as I absolutely could not get the swage to come over the top and lock in. So I got it as high as I could and cleated it off. My son was just about ready to step aboard when I began sheeting the main in... too soon, as one of those gusts caught me which ended up burying my son in sail cloth and dumping me. I thought I'd read enough about righting this thing, but thought I'd do it in the privacy of the middle of a huge lake. Nope, I was surrounded by kayakers and fishermen and those having a picnic on shore. Ok, how do I not look like a moron who doesn't know what he's doing (though I deserved that title). (By the way, reading this blog and watching videos is no substitute for the real thing). Because of a YouTube video, I was fairly confident I could right it, though I (correctly) figured a gust would push me back over and I was done entertaining the crowd, so I pulled the main down (is that the correct term it's it's on its side) I learned three valuable lessons. 1. Righting a Hobie is easy. 2. There isn't a Hobie in existence that can stand a 30 knot starboard wind while tied to the port side. 3. My mast was full of water, which I was unaware it made a difference. MAN! Water is heavy when trying to pick up five gallons at the end of a 25ft pole! Lesson learned. I righted the boat quickly (much to the chagrin of the spectators who thought I'd have to call a tow truck or the Coast Guard). I ended up sailing using The only the jib (by the way, not an easy thing to do), and fixed the leaks in the mast when I got home. No more 20 knot winds until I'm a lot better (maybe in a week or so...haha haha!)


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You always want to put up and take down the main with the boat facing into the wind, for 2 reasons:
1) if you are broadside to the wind, the force on the sail will bind up the bolt rope in the mast sail track, preventing the sail from going up
2) if you get a sudden or strong wind gust, it can topple the boat and/or the boat could take off on you, before you're ready

If the hoist ring will not hook in at the top of the mast, check the way that it is tied. The knot may actually be inadvertently holding the ring out away from the hook and preventing it from hooking.

It's not necessary to drop the main to right the boat, but you do need to uncleat the mainsheet. That way, the sail will not try to scoop up water as you try to right it, and the boat won't try to take off on you once it gets upright. When upright, if you point the boat into the wind and cleat the mainsheet tight, the boat will "weathervane," continuing to point into the wind. If you do this accidentally, it's called getting "stuck in irons." To get out of it, you'll need to backwind the jib & main, back up/turn, then bring the jib in on the new course with the mainsheet loose until you pick up some forward momentum. If you drop the mainsail while on the water, you will not be able to get it back up without going back to land, as the boat will not stay pointing into the wind and you won't be able to hoist it for the reasons listed above.

Sailing with the jib alone is very difficult. You've effectively greatly reduced the sail area and moved the center of effort so far forward that you will not be able to sail very much up wind, and you will not be able to tack - only gybe. You need the mainsail sheeted hard to point the boat higher into the wind and force you through a tack. Under normal conditions, there is a balance between your sails and your rudders. They do not do well when fighting each other - jib sheeted hard and trying to turn upwind, for example. The force on the sails is much greater than the force on the rudders - the rudders will stall and the boat will slide. The wind force on your jib trying to turn the boat downwind will overcome the force of the rudders trying to turn upwind. Likewise if you were to try to turn downwind without letting out the mainsheet - the wind force on the main trying to turn the boat upwind will overcome the force of the rudders trying to turn downwind - causing the rudders to stall, the boat to slide, the sail to fill with wind and probably capsize.

That said, I made the same mistakes my first time out, too! With a little more sailing experience and some relevant reading, you'll be amazed at how much your sailing skills will improve! Glad to hear that, difficult as it may have been, your first time out was still a fun one! Don't get discouraged, just try it again under calmer conditions and I'm sure you'll get the hang of it!

At the very least, you always want to secure your boat to the leeward side of a dock, not the windward side.

sm

I'm loving this sport. Failure makes me work harder, but also do my best to not repeat it a second time. I never thought about lowering the mainsail while on the water and the related issues mentioned. Thanks for the heads-up on that, otherwise, it's be looking for a reason why. So far, I've found sailors to be most helpful. I shied away from the sport for years as I've heard they were snobby. Not so and thanks for the help. As a famous governor once said, "I'll be back"


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Welcome. Use the jib, really make the H18 sail better at all points. Don't cleat the main if your uncomfortable with conditions. And most important have fun.