Why is my boat way faster on starboard tack?

I was out sailing just now and intermittantly flying the hull on starboard tack (getting better at that. ) but when I'd come about to port tack then I'd barely have any heel, much less get the hull out of the water.

Am I doing something wrong? Is my boat messed up / rigged wrong? Do I just suck at sailing?

In other news, I have a bit of a sunburn.

Thanks in advance!

Warm regards,

Jim

P.S. While I was out on the lake a fella motored up to me in his fishing boat and said he'd always wanted to learn to sail and was asking me advice. So I chatted with him a bit and told him I'd take him out on my boat some time.

Hmmm... I would argue with environmental conditions... You sail on a lake wind conditions might not be all that consistent. There are also factors like the surface of the land surrounding the lake or the stuff that growth close to the banks that might have an effect on wind and speed.

Rigging the boat... most of the mistakes I can think of would have an effect on both tacks. Check if one of the hulls takes on water - the one that takes on water might be the one that would be more difficult to get out of the water. A few months ago I managed to attach the rudders on opposing sides (starboard rudder on port hull and vs.) - this results in quiet a bit of toe in - and some interesting stall situations when you actually try to sail with it (you would notice that with in minutes of sailing)


Keep us posted when you find out...


Patrick

Yeah, I thought maybe more water in one of the hulls, but it seems like the starboard one takes on more water than the port hull and yet it's easier to get the starboard hull up. So I dunno yet. Heh. I think my rudders might be on backwards but I'm not sure. I'll pull the boat out of the water this weekend to re-seal the top of the mast and I'll switch the rudders then too.

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Warm regards,

Jim



"A little crazy but with big balls."

It is possible that the hulls are out of alignment... One ahead of the other? That can be corrected with the trampoline lacing. How about the mast leaning to one side more than the other? One shroud longer? Use the halyard from the mast head measured to the rear corner. Jib sheet tension or car positions different from one tack to the other? Mast bent? Another idea would just be perception... Maybe you are not on the same wind angle on the one tack? It is possible that you are reaching on one tack and pointing higher on the other? If it wasn't a lake, I would also suggest current as a posibility.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Hey Matt, thanks for the reply! It might just be perception because the wind DOES shift around a lot on this lake and it didn't seem as noticable yesterday in heavier air. I think the hulls are aligned okay but what is the best way to determine that? Can I get some good numbers on transom-to-transom and bow-to-bow distances and maybe bottom-of-hull-to-bottom-of-hull halfway back or something? That way I could get good measurements. Also open to other suggestions.

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Warm regards,

Jim



"A little crazy but with big balls."

Measure the boat diagonally - top of rudder pin to opposite bridle tang bolt. Then compare to the measurement going from the opposite corners.

If the boat is significantly out of aligment (more than an inch or two on the diagonal measurements), loosen the tramp, rig your mainsheet on the "long axis" measurement, and use it to pull the boat square (maybe a little bit more, because the boat will "spring back" some). Tighten the tramp, then remove the mainsheet.

Of course this assumes that the boat is reasonably stiff to begin with. Otherwise, you're just wasting time since the boat will just work itself back out of alignment very quickly (like the next time you take it out).

Okay I'll try it. Thanks!

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Warm regards,

Jim



"A little crazy but with big balls."

I had a similar problem on my mono and "tuned the rig" by measuring the lengths of the shrouds with the halyards, once i got the mast straight the boat is a rocket on both tacks.

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The pessimist complains about the wind, the optimist expects it to change, the realist adjusts the sails.

Actually I got this figured out a while back. With one stock rudder and one fiberglass rudder I was getting different performance. I tended to pinch with the fiberglass rudder (slowing me down) but the plastic rudder would twist and cavitate if I pinched, forcing me to bear off and thus go faster.

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Warm regards,

Jim