Lateen Rig on Hobie Cat?

I am getting closer to having my Hobie Cat ready to put back in the water, and now I find that issues of rigging and sail performance are becoming more and more prevalent in my mind.

I've never actually sailed the boat - it was damaged when I received it. I do know, however, that heeling and capsizing are design characteristics of these boats, neither of which will impress my 73-year-old mother who would like to sail with me on it this summer.

My question is, how difficult would it be to outfit the Hobie Cat with a different sort of rig, one that uses less sail area, creates less speed and makes the heeling less of an issue?

I was looking into the Lateen rig, thinking that the Hobie Cat has everything that you would need to make that work. I could attach the tack to the ring at the base of the forestay and use the existing mast block to raise it. I would have a lot of extra mast compared to a rig designed as a lateen, but to my mind it would otherwise work.

Any thoughts?

 

Firstly, Hobies don't perform optimally healed. They are fastest with the windward hull just kissing the wave tops.

Secondly, try a fisherman's reef. Ease the main sheet and pull traveler to weather. The boom will raise; allowing the top of the sail to twist and spill off power. Vang on to bring boom down and power up.

 

A Hobie Cat is not a good boat to take an elderly lady. The forward end of the lateen is likely to interfere with the forestay. You would be better off with a monohull, which there are plenty of for less than $500.

 

Wha? Are recommending a tipsy sailing dinghy ?

Most monohull dinghies under 18 ft will tip over just by sitting on one gunnel.

A Hobi Cat is VERY stable and comfortable with a minimal sail. If you want to be really conservative, you could go out with just the jib, but a reefed down main would not be scary for old people, and is usually more fun to be able to move quickly, than being sluggish.

I would certainly try the detuned Hobie sails before mucking around with an awkward Lateen rig.

 

A lateen (sunfish) rig can be practical, but only when you can use an unstayed mast.
I use one on my small multihull especially for the ease of handling.
Another problem is that on the hobie the centre of effort of the sail will be much to far back and the boat will tend to turn into the wind.

The hobie 16 mast is quite tall and heavy.
I would suggest cutting of the top of your mast just above the attachment points of the stays . That way you have a smaller sail area and less weight high up.

In my opinion sitting on a trampoline so close tot the water is not very comfortable for an old person. But your mother might be sportive and adventureous.

Cheers, Hans

 

Obtain a used Hobie mainsail and get a sailmaker to remove the bottom 4 feet or so to make a small mainsail. Then you can have a docile boat for taking your mum out and a monster to challenge yourself. I've been thinking about this "mums in small boats" thing and I can remember taking my mum out in a 14ft planing dinghy when she was in her 50's. A mono dinghy reacts quickly and she had trouble keeping up with it, and tacking. A Hobie 16 would have a nicer motion but your mum would have to sit with her legs out straight which would be a challenge for some older people.

Now that I've made a suggestion may I hijack your thread a tiny bit? I once sailed a Hobie singlehanded and was blown away by the speed and power - and how easy it was to sail with one hull up. But, the weather helm was monstrous even with jib tight, main on the verge of luffing, rudders fully down etc. Does anyone know what I did wrong? - and what CardboardKing should expect?

 

Did you try canting the mast forward a bit ? Not always easy depending on the forestay position and the jib luff length

 

There are many monohulls at 18 feet that you can stand on the gunnel. For example, an O'Day Daysailor.

 

Oh c'mon. You need to compare similar weights and ease of launching - not a ballasted mini day sailer.

 

The O'Day Daysailor is a centerboard unballasted boat. It is easier to launch than a HobieCat too.

 

I solo sail my H16 all the time, even with spinnaker. It's an awesome boat to sail solo in up to 15 knots. Anymore and a crew is definitely ideal to really power the boat up.

Weather helm can be from any number of things. Mast rake (H16s love their mast raked right back) Rudder rake and rudder toe in/out all effect weather helm.

 

Cant see any for that price though.

 

Thanks for the comments re. weather helm.

 

I like the idea of using the boat's original rig, and the jib-only idea had already occurred to me. The point here is to keep both hulls in the water. Speed is not a priority. I just want to be able to get back to where we started (if there's any kid of current) without having to row it or get towed.

I already plan to put some custom-made wing seats on it, so there will be someplace to sit other than the tramp, but being that high up over the water with no backrest is yet another reason why I want to keep the boat level.

 

Don't H16 mains already have a reefing point in them? Reefed main in sensible wind and flat water and you shouldn't have any issues. Do make sure your mother can get under the boom OK. Trying to get across the trampoline with dodgy knees was what finally stopped my Dad using the Hobie.

Also, make sure you are comfortable sailing the boat safely on your own before taking her out.