best upgrade

Being in college, i don't have quite as much cash as i would like to put into my '81 Hobie 16, which was a fixer-upper. owever, I did come into a little bit of spare cash, but i am torn between getting both a Aussie jib halyard and a 6-1 down haul, or just getting harken 6-1 main sheet system. Currently I have a 3-1 down haul (I believe it is original) and converted original 5-1 seaway blocks to low profile. I don't race my boat, but I am on the Saint Mary's college offshore team so I sail pretty my Hobie pretty hard, usually with another team member or solo (always with a righting bag!). I usually can get the down haul tight, but when it comes to de-powering when it's nuking I can't get it the last little bit out of the down haul, but that was before I installed a bearing kit (haven't tested it out yet). For the main sheet, it works fine currently, but it’s not exactly easy to sheet in/out in lighter air and I have problems with it cleating in heavy air as well as sheeting out quickly in big puffs, especially downwind. Also, i never actually cleat my main sheet whenever it is above 10 knots or so (and i rarely go out below that), is that good/bad? Which should I get? The down haul and Aussie halyard, or a harken 6-1 main sheet system?
p.s. I am 6' and 145 pounds and usually sail with a crew of about the same weight and height.

The mainsheet upgrade will give you the most bang for the buck. It's not just an improvement in operation (sheeting / cleating), it allows you to rake further back - probably further than your current set-up.

Aussie halyard comes next.

6:1 downhaul is a distant third.

Depowering is done more with the jib halyard than the downhaul.

I have to agree. I'm in the same boat (college student) and my next upgrade will be a 6:1 Harken Block setup.

Another cheap upgrade would be to change your jib block setup like this

if yours isn't already adjustable.

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Zach

That is the jib setup i currently have. my next question for getting the harken blocks is that they are cheaper separately, but for the ratchamatic bottom block i see that some have beckets on them and some don't. for the ones that don't i see that there are pad eyes on the reverse side of the cam cleat, but I'm not sure if the block comes that way or is upgraded to that. which one is the "proper" block?

The 6:1 mainsheet is definitely the first choice. You don't need the becket for 6:1....mine came with the padeye for the dead end. Since you didn't mention it specifically, you will also need a new mainsheet of proper diameter and length. Search here for recommendations. Finally, learn how to adjust the angle of the cam cleat bracket on your new lower block to get the right sheeting angle. I found that my optimum, critical (hard wind/on the wire) angle was between settings and installed a wedge (available from Harken) under the cleat mount.

You won't be disappointed.

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16

I think i have the right main sheet, its 44' by 3/8''. Its not great line, it gets really heavy as soon as it gets wet and is hard to ease in a hurry, but I'm not sure if that's just the current blocks.

Word.

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Here's a better barber haul system.



I used Trentec cars with Harken cleats mounted between the track and the mast base for 20 years. You can add additional lines to set up a barber haul system to set the cars where you want them. It's a bullet proof system.
[...]
The Trentec cars pull to the center with a bungee that passes in front of the mast through a pad eye.

The barber haul lines (red and green) go around a cheek block pop riveted to the corner casting, through the pad eye, through the lance cleat for adjustment and are tied to the shrouds.

The jib sheet is tied off with a figure eight knot in the Trentec car. It goes through the block on the jib, through a block that’s attached to the car with a shackle, through the Harken cleat and to the crew.

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Nice choice!