I'm curious if anyone has considered if Hobie stepped the mast a little to far aft? I assume it is a safety feature, if rudder control is lost, the TI will fall off the wind head to. That is the safest for any number of emergencies, from the operator falling off to the rudder breaking. Bow to the waves the Hobie is in it's most stable state.
My contention is they overdid it, that it should be balanced in an average sea state, requiring no constant weather helm to maintain a close reach. Increasing wind would necessitate increasing rudder, with reefing restoring the balance.
The larger balanced sailing rudder improved the characteristics of the boat dramatically but changing the rudder is a bandaid not a solution.
Don't get me wrong, I love sailing my TI, I just wonder if anyone else has similar theories on mast step location?
Cheers,
J
_________________ 2011 Golden Papaya TI with a 250 square foot spinnaker! also a more manageable 100 square foot spinny... & the TI3 rear ama mod
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