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PostPosted: Mon Jun 30, 2014 12:17 pm 
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I really don't know much about sailing but I hear these things are pretty easy to work. What do I need to know before I put these to work? I especially would like to avoid flipping.


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 2:52 am 
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Location: Auckland NZ
Welcome to the club 8)

Yup they are pretty easy once you have worked out what wind conditions you can go out in and where the wind is coming from when you do.

What you need to know in terms of how to sail can be found in a sailing instruction book or get someone to show you.

What you need to know about setting up your boat for sailing can be found on this forum and you should dig this info up via a search because a few small tweaks will make a difference.

You can and should read up on safety equipment and measures here in these forums and in boating/sailing books and magazines.

Whether or not you have amas, as a minimum you ought to practise getting back into your boat from the water if there is any doubt that you might not be able to do so in extremis.

FWIW I have said many times now that I personally prefer to sail my Hobies without amas - and I have taken an unexpected swim on probably four or five occasions over several years as a result. That said it is not a common experience and in any case the boat without amas is very easy to right after a capsize; as long as you can then get back on board without freezing to death or losing a leg to a shark you should find your sailing skills develop rapidly :lol: but not everybody has those luxuries on their doorstep as I do (so far!). With amas the boat will be much more difficult to capsize but in the event that you do capsize I imagine that it would be infinitely more difficult or maybe impossible to right it from a floating position in cold water...

Enjoy!!


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 02, 2014 9:15 am 
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I've practiced righting the boat with my old outback and re-entry. I'm sure the revo is easier. I couldn't imagine it being impossible with the amas I'm fairly strong and would have enough weight coming behind me as I right it.....


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 8:54 am 
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You're gonna love it.
It may be a bit slower than you expect in calm breeze, but find a nice 10mph wind and hold on! 8)


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 6:40 pm 
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What are the min and max wind speeds that I should be looking for?


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PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 7:10 pm 
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I guess there's no minimum, cause the only problem is you won't be going anywhere fast haha
Maximum is 10mph by Hobie's recommendation and anything much above that it will take skill and luck not to flip or bend the mast.


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 05, 2014 9:17 am 
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Really that's it? What if I furl the sail?


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 07, 2014 8:34 am 
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Reed422 wrote:
Really that's it? What if I furl the sail?

sure, you could half furl it and manage not to flip or bend the mast in 15+mph, its just not quite sturdy enough for stronger gusts (i dont think).


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 4:36 pm 
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Practice in light air, i.e. in the morning hours until you get used to the boat and then try it in higher winds. Real problem with light sailboats like this is when a sudden gust hits. It may be blowing at 10 knots but with gusts up to 18 knots. When the stronger when gusts hit you want to be able to release the line on the sail so it spills the wind. If you think about it, with the line completely released the sail becomes a flag with no force exerted on the boat.

The amas help with stability in part but in keeping the boat upright they also maintain the profile of the sail in the wind. This is why it is even more important to be able to let out the line/sheet of the sail to de-power it with a wind gust.

The ama rod can be adjusted to control the height of the amas above the water and to allow more heal with the boat. Something to experiment with to see how they affect performance when sailing.

Wear a wetsuit and don't worry about crashing and getting wet. It is a good way to learn the full capabilities of a small boat like this.


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 6:07 pm 
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The issues if you try to go out in stronger winds are 1) that the pressure of wind in sail is stronger and so there is a greater tendency to be blown flat (i.e. capsize); 2) that in stronger winds the mast bends and the sail deforms losing all of its 'sail shape' and the performance that goes with the intended foil-like shape.

The amas will help with 1 by providing more resistance to capsize - but this will then most likely lead to you being able to go out in stronger winds leading to more of 2 so ultimately without a less bendy mast what you gain on the roundabouts you will probably lose on the swings.

The answer to 2 is not really to furl the sail - if you go out in a wind that is twice as strong with half the amount of sail it goes without saying that you will get the same amount of mast bend as in a wind half as strong with twice the sail area. Furling the sail also spoils its shape and performance. The only effective way of maintaining sail shape and performance in stronger winds, in my experience, is to 'stay' the mast with light line so that the mast doesn't bend. This is not hard to do and is extremely beneficial w.r.t. sail shape and performance in stronger winds and the extra support for the mast also allows you to put up more canvas without compromising (breaking) the mast in lighter winds.

Hope these thoughts help!


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 6:33 pm 
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Thanks everyone, this is very helpful. The real question is do I leave the fishing gear behind and tool around with the sail before I start fishing heh.


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 8:29 pm 
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The previous replies are full of good advise and I think this is a "pick your poison question"......Since I am an old sailor, I put your question into the category of how I learned how to windsurf in 1975....I knew how to sail a boat, but not a sailboard......It took me 6 month to be comfortable sailing the windsurfer.....but sailing the Hobie kayak is different and easier since you are not standing up on a board, holding up the sail....so, if it were me, I would go out a couple of times, in your kayak, Not with amas (IMHO, training wheels) and really push the limits, so you get accustomed to the quick changes in the stability of the kayak...."capsizing is good" to understand how quickly things can change and how to recover w/o having all of your fishing gear in the way. A windy day will do more to "educated you" in what can quickly happen than a calm day sailing the kayak.
So, pick your poison as practicing/training is good :wink:

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PostPosted: Fri Jul 11, 2014 6:44 am 
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Reed422 wrote:
The real question is do I leave the fishing gear behind and tool around with the sail before I start fishing heh.

YEP! Get to know your kayak's characteristics under sail before you throw in the whole kitchen sink. At least, that's how I did it and have yet to bring along the fishing gear on a sailing day, and I'm glad I didn't because I would have lost my fishing gear (capsized)! Now that I am more comfortable with the sailing (but no expert by any means), I could probably carry some gear in the back as long as it doesn't snag the sail's mainline.

If you are interested only in sailing to and from the fishing grounds without trolling, ignore the next section...

However, if you are interested in trolling while under sail power, do a test rigging on shore first to see how the mainline from the sail interacts with your rod placement. Here's an example from when I was doing the same:

Image
Image

As you can see from my Revo11, the stock rod holders (as well as my milkcrate triple rod holder) with rods in them would interfere slightly with the mainline's route, and its pretty tight quarters on that kayak anyway so I try to carry as little as possible when its a dedicated "sailing" trip. I plan to bring only a SINGLE rod this weekend to see which of the 3 rod holders works best for trolling, and to see how quickly I can furl the sail once I have a strike on the trolling line.


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 22, 2014 12:04 am 
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Location: Newport Beach, California
Added this to my Revo 11, and it really goes to weather now!

Image

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Newport Beach

Hobie 16 with Tequila Sunrise sails (in the past)
Hobie Revo 11 for peddle, paddle, fishing and sailing
Hobie Eclipse 10.5 Solar Yellow
SurfTech 12' Touring SUP


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 8:03 pm 
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Location: Auckland NZ
...err ...just a thought... it might go to weather even better the other way up :lol:

...awesome sharksfin though 8)


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