Hobie Cat Forums

I went out on a 18 km trip at the weekend with a NE wind ranging from 5-10 knots. On the return leg of the trip, I had a 4 km run with the wind, which gave me a good opportunity to test my FlexiBoom and do some comparative testing with and without. For me, sitting in the saddle, the difference in speed was immediately noticeable. I wish I had a GPS fitted to record the data but all I had was the trusty old camera. I found that without the FlexiBoom, at no time could I catch a wave. The waves were just passing me by. However with the FlexiBoom, there was a definite speed increase so catching and surfing waves was mandatory. Due to possible changes in wind strengths, I installed and uninstalled it numerous times to get an accurate comparison. As usual, it’s hard to show on camera exactly what is experienced, especially minor speed differences. But I hope this gives you some idea of what was going on.



How cheap ? I think the whole thing cost me about $20.

To view the original post of the design viewtopic.php?f=69&t=30760&hilit=flexi+boom

BTW. How good is that new rudder ? The rudder is so positive and responsive that it helped make surfing these waves the best fun I’ve had on the AI to date.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Private video?? What a tease.

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Well I can see it Fly. Maybe your on his "foes" list?

Slaughter,
Another well documented and useful mod!
Looks like you were having great fun. We were out Sat in the TI and had 20 knot gusts off Patonga. Took out some friends who were so impressed they ordered a TI for themselves.
Caught up with a guy in an AI who knows you through work.
BTW- Your tramp is on upside down!

Stringy - I knew old 'eagle eye' would pick up that my tramp was upside down. In fact I did that on purpose so that I can attach stuff to the 2 tramp wrap-up bungies.

I just gave Udo a ring to tell him that I have spys everywhere. He's a great bloke and really keen to join us for a trip at some time.

Yep, I was really happy with the mod. It's the first time I've installed it on the new AI so I was keen to prove to myself that it did work as well as I thought.

I've also convinced a mate and his wife to get a TI. They have only got it wet a couple of times but are also keen on an outing. The east coast owner numbers are getting up there.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Shows it pretty clearly.

Oddly enough, when running downwind in a good ocean swell, it's hard to perceive speed. When you catch a wave at (8-12 kts) the camera makes it look like you are standing still.

Tasty guitar pickin. Is that you?

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"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

Fly4v - Sorry about the Privacy on the vid. I didn't realise on my YouTube account it defaults to Private. Nothing personal

NOHUHU - Yeah, thanks and I know what you mean about standing still. I'm also thinking that I possibly shouldn't have the main cleated in that downwind run. I spose a sudden gust could possibly flex the boom enough to snap and take an eye out. Or could it possibly pitchpole ? Dunno but I might just hold the main uncleated next time ready to release if necessary.
That music is Dante Bucci on the Hang Drum. If you like it have a listen to this.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Awesome!

Think we need another get together. My poor AI has almost forgotten what water is

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More like his goon at large list:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/30500008@N07/2858505566/

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Cows - You're not wrong. We could go back and try this again as a Christmas get together. Try for an Saturday / Sunday overnighter but if some people want to stay just the day, not a problem.

viewtopic.php?f=74&t=36074&hilit=wangi

Fly4v - I hope you didn't get out the red spray can on my behalf.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Good point. I guess it needs to be noted that before anyone straps on a boom, they should have a clear idea how to to take it down in a hurry.

Out here, without the ability to reef the sail, things could get interesting real quick. Flying downwind, you can't really monitor conditions behind you in real time.

That flexible boom makes things a little safer. It looks like your tent pole would, or could, be dislodged easy enough. What makes it even better is that it rotates side to side with the luff (I assume). And it's thin enough that a series of unplanned jibes in big wind will not knock you unconscious!

There's another low tech approach to squeezing a little more air out of the Hobie sail.

I've been able to get improved downwind (and upwind) performance using a simple adjustable bungee as an outhaul. It stretches to reshape the sail during gusts and still allows me to reef somewhat, in a hurry. It's quick and EZ to install/remove, though it can take 2 hands.

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"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

I need to cut off a few more inches to get the right length. Gut feel is that there is still too much bend in it. Once it's broken into thirds I stow it in the moulded rod holder.

A bungee outhaul sounds as though it would do the same job though.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Not quite as well as the boom, but it requires no time or dexterity to setup. And it self adjusts to conditions.

In other words it's pretty mindless to use, until you tack/jibe and forget to disconnect it.

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"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

I took Slaughter's FlexiBoom idea slightly in a different direction.

Instead of using shorter tent poles I used two driveway reflector fiberglass rods sold at Home Depot for $2/each. Using stainless tubing I made a slip coupling to join them. On the sail I sewed two webbing pockets, at the clew and tack corners.The rod ends are slightly sharpened to make it easier to slide into the pockets. With the mast and sail up and stretched I inserted one end into the tack pocket, compressed the rod to match the curve in the sail foot and measured where to cut the boom at the Clew pocket. To stabilize the boom I sewed several loops along the foot spacing them to support the sail and coupling. I left a slightly larger gap on the forward section to allow for removal of the rods.

To install the "Doggie Boom" (for DogsLife) you slide the aft rod through the loops into the Clew pocket. I have the coupling location marked on the sail. The FWD section you slide forward from the coupling up past the mast and then slide back into the coupling. Then you go to your open loop are and flex the boom to slide the rod into the tack pocket. Compression keeps the whole thing together. It is slightly harder to install then FlexiBoom but "Doggie Boom" was the right price without a lot of special parts...

I tried it during my river trip a few weeks ago and you could tell the difference against another AI. (~1:30 Min into the video)

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Paul
DogsLife
2011 Adventure Island (Little Dog)
2010 Tandem Island (Big Dog: "We keep a leg up on the competition")
2001 Wilderness Systems Woodsman Kayak 14.5 (Blue Dog)

http://dogslifeadventures.blogspot.com/

Tit for tat. I'll pinch your silicon grease idea for the front hatch. Now we are even

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.