Hobie Cat Forums

Am planning on installing a righting pole on my 18. Question.. How effective is it when needed to right a TURTLED 18????????Feedback is appreciated. Thanks, DJ

I don't think the righting pole will do anything for a turtled boat. One generally needs to move all your crew weight to the stern of one hull in order to pop the mast back to the surface. I tried the righting pole for a single day and removed it. It was difficult to install, cumbersome to deploy/stow and gave no more leverage than a simple righting line tied to the dolphin striker. Also, it is NOT a solo righting system (and not marketed as such) if that is what you are thinking.

I would think the main advantage of a righting pole would be stability.

From what I have read on these boards, a righting pole doesn't install well on a H18 because you can't rivet it to the underside of the front cross bar due to the sloped design of the trampoline (do so and the stern end of the pole drags in the water). One poster, Dan P., made a very slick aluminum bracket and mounted the righting pole on the bottom of his dolphin striker center post (see link). I'm currently torn between a pole like Dan P.'s or making a less expensive homemade "Solo Right" (use the search for more info. on that)......

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=6558&hilit=righting+pole

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Irie, mon....
'82 Hobie 18 SE with '85 Nationals Prism (White) sails
'73 Laser HID# 3463

I made a bracket that fits at the bottom of the dolphin striker and a aluminum pole. The problem I found is that the bracket sprays up a lot of water when a wave hits it. I will be making a soloright this winter.

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DVL 1989 H-18 Worlds Boat, Magnum Wings & Spinnaker

dale.vanlopik"at"att"dot"net