Tricks of the trade

Sail repair, batten pockets blown. Preventing normal wear and tear from getting worse. I replaced a batten pocket protector where the person before decided to sail with out it after it broke There are not very many threads Ive seen on sail repair I would like to hear how to salvage and prevent tears damage anything a set of 10 year old sails and still learn to sail fast. with my $600 boat not ready to spend $1000+ on a new sails yet. I just want to be compitive with what I got, eventualy I will go new after I learn to go fast I would like to be on the same leg as the guy in first place. Theory Buy a beater and learn how to drive then move up Main and Jib inputs requested

Thanks in advance

Todd

The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.
Dorothy Parker,

All ingredients for repair. It is an art not a science.
Lightweight sail repair tape is a must in your Hobie box. It is thin enough to make a luff repair if needed.
A sailors palm and appropriate upholstery needles and upholstry thread and a little knowledge of sewing with a high tolerance for pain and no aversion to blood (your own)
You can apply the tape and stitch in place for some repairs.

A good primer on sewing can be found at http://www.thru-hiker.com as well as useful material knowledge.

Overall however, this is information for emergency fixes. A sail-loft does a better job. My sails underwent years of patches until I had a sail loft replace a panel and the luff and bolt ropes and batten pockets and caps. It was still good when I sold it after another 4 years of use.

Hint on the Jib if have battens- foam battens and sewn shut pockets help prevent a lot of hang up.

Have fun Todd!

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The fact that this windy world is largely covered in water obviously means that man was meant to sail.

Stephen would you expand on foam battens

Pun intended?

thanx Jaime!

I had a sort of heavy duty flexible foam for battens. It was about 1/4 inch thick. Sort of like flexible foam material used to line swimmiing pool bottoms and walls also sleeping pads for camping. It couldn't be tightened to form a good airfoil like you do with the main but helped to maintain jib shape in light air. That help a little?

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The fact that this windy world is largely covered in water obviously means that man was meant to sail.

Todd from Lemoore:

Do you sail in Northern or Southern CA? I would guess from your proximity that it would be Northern area.

Let me state your first problem: You are sailing against some of the best Hobie 16 sailors in the Nation. You can look up the resumes of Mike Montague and Paul Hess at big event sites all over. It may be a bit harder to determine the caliber of some of the other sailors. One that comes to mind is Pat Porter. He does not go to many "big" events but is a great sailor, non the less. You also have some that have been sailing well against those sailors for years, Ron Katz, Jim Sadjek, Ken Nelson, Adam Borcherding and others. To top that off you have some sailors from So Cal that show up at regattas up there. John Hauser and Dave Dixon are going up there quite a bit, it seems. You get the picture. You are not sailing against "average" sailors.

Here is the second problem: old boat. I am not saying that you are doing the right thing by sailing an older, cheaper boat to get used to the game before spending too much on another boat. The sails, by the way, are your motor. You can have a very old car with a great motor and do well, but you cannot have a bad motor and go to the track expecting to be in contention.

If you think you need to do something to your sail it is probably already too tired. Check the feel of the material you have compared to a newer sail and decide if you even want to spend the $100 it would cost to put on a new luff rope.

As far as being near the top sailors at the end of the race. That is a lot to ask for. Figure out how the fleet is spread out at the end of a race and you will see that there are large decrepencies between the top group most of the time.

Ask questions. All of the people that I mentioned would answer your questions or take a look at your boat to help figure out how you could get a boost forward.

Remember we are here to have fun, be with great people, and enjoy the nature of sailing.

Later,
Dan
Southern Ca Tiger Sailor

Dan I totaly agree with what your saying The Comp out here is extremely talented Thanks for the motor advice. I know that no one walks in to a differnt boat and starts winning imediately my goal is to at least be on the same leg before I look at buying a new boat. I hope to see you in Santa Barbra I am planing to come watch. I am planning on having a blast with my 16. I have crewed on a Tiger awesome fun. I am looking forward to learning.

Todd


The cure for boredom is curiosity. There is no cure for curiosity.
Dorothy Parker,

Hey Todd,

One benefit you might have from racing in a really competitive crowd is that these sailors tend to buy new sail pretty often. Competitive sailors out on the east coast do it pretty regularly. You might let the word out that you are looking for a relatively new set of sails and see if someone is looking to part with a previous set. Don't know what condition yours are in, but if they are really worn, a more "crispy" set might make a difference.

While older boats are heavier and that is its own issue, maybe the added $ for a used, but newer set of sails will give you an extra hp boost you are looking for.

Andrej