Hobie Cat Forums

Will one of these poles actually hold a TI with stepped but furled sail?

I have no doubt it would in calm conditions, but what about 10-15 MPH wind and 2 footish waves with a sandy bottom?

TIA

I certainly wouldn't rely on it. Sounds like anchor time.

They are great on a beach, but not safe to use in waves, you might crack a scupper. Or it will work loose.

I've used them, combined with an anchor to hold a TI at a crowded sandbar. Keeps you from drifting around as the wind and tides change. That can be an issue around other boats and kids.

It might work OK by itself if you take the sail down and don't stray far.

How fast can you swim?

These are the answers I expected.

The reason I asked is that I ran into a problem on my last outing. Conditions became about as I described in my original post along with an air temp of 50 degs and water temp of 40 degs so I headed back to the launch. It was a solo trip.

The wind was perpendicular to the shoreline and the waves were coming in at about a 45 deg angle. The problem was I would line the boat up with the trailer, but by time I could get to the front to pull it onto the trailer the wind/waves would push the stern around towards shore making it impossible to pull onto the trailer. After much effort I finally got it trailered.

I've been pondering solutions in case I ever find myself in that situation again. I thought about using rope and pulleys so I could stand at the stern holding it while pulling the rope to hoist the boat onto the trailer. Seems like it would be a hassle getting this layed out and hooked up. Then I thought of using an anchor upwind tied to the stern to hold in in place. This would work but still a bit of hassle. Lastly I thought of using a stake out pole on the downwind side of the boat to keep it from moving too far out of alignment. This might work even in the conditions I was in beings it would only have to hold for a few seconds.

I'll probably still try a stake out pole for holding the boat while I park the tow rig after launching and retrieve it before loading to keep from beaching it in calmer conditions. Would also like it when I hit a beach for lunch rather than beaching. The length of anchor line needed in those situations make anchoring impractical.

I guess it's time to get a stake out pole and an anchor.

For very benign conditions, I have a pair of Norwegian walking poles which had had the bases sharpened, which I keep in one of the paddle holder bungees on my TI. If I drive them into the sand about 4 inches apart, I can then figure 8 my anchor line onto them a few times and hold the TI without needing to beach it. I make sure the rope is lying on the sand to minimise the chance of the poles being uprooted.

I think your idea of using a stakeout pole for lining up to get on the trailer has merit, but when I have faced the same conditions I took my 25 metre anchor line and attached it to the rear of the TI to stop the stern swinging out of line. It was a bit of a pain, but much easier than faffing around without it.