I bought a 2007 Wave last year and I am having a great time in my second season. I am on Adolphus Reach in Ontario, Canada and frequently the wind comes right down the reach. This gives me two options: cross the Reach and then come back.

Where should I position myself on the hull/trampoline to maximise heading into the wind? I do not have the club model so a traveller is not an easy option. Would the tiny jib help? Any other suggestions are welcome.

The Wave points really well considering it only has a skeg, rather than daggerboard. Most of us rake the mast pretty far aft (I use a 10-hole forestay adjuster) which loads up the rudders that then act as daggerboards.
We usually can tack at about 90 degrees (sailing at about 45 degrees to the wind)
You don't need a traveler to sail upwind.., you want it centered anyway. And you need to sheet pretty hard, depending on the sail. Once sheeted in read the sail telltales and keep the backside always flowing. In light air keep both side flowing. In heavy air the inside may move around a bit.
Another good way to sail upwind is put telltales on the forestay spreader cables about a foot down from the forestay on each side. I use 8-track tape or reel-to-reel tape. Sailing upwind have the windward telltales point to just the other side of the mast.

The Hobie jib is pretty worthless as I have pointed out elsewhere on this Forum. There is no way to tighten the luff of the jib enough to make it effective.
Another thought is the Hooter System, which is very effective and makes the boat as fast as a Hobie 16.
See http://www.catsailor.com/waves/superwave_overall.html and the links within the story.

Also, since you are very close to us here at Put in Bay, Ohio, why don't you come down and race in the North Coast Wave Championship starting this weekend.
You will learn a lot about how to sail a wave. We have a lot of hotshot sailors and a lot of just have fun sailors.
Rick

Thanks Rick,

I may just make it to Put in Bay next year. My daughter is going to law school in Cleveland.

I'm adding this only because I know a lot of other folks do have the Hobie jib kit for the wave (even with its faults, it can still add to the fun). I have not, however, noticed that it allows pointing higher.

RE mast rake: someday I'd like to see how someone's got things rigged so that the mast is raked back as Rick describes (maybe I'll post another question about that). The rigging on the Wave is, I've been told, intentionally loose to allow the mast to find its optimal position for the point of sail, but we have the forestay adjuster as tight as it will go and the leeward shroud is still loose enough that it can make guests really nervous!

So, in short, I wouldn't invest in the jib kit to be able to point higher--unless we're just doing something wrong (always possible with the self-taught!).

Best breezes!

I don't know why you would think that the jib would make it point higher. A jib makes a boat point LOWER than a unirig, if you are trying to go upwind, and I think this is true of any sailboat.

A jib gives the boat more power off the wind -- reaches and downwind -- because of the increased sail area. So you are right that it can add to the fun.

Just to add a bit to what Mary said, Uni rigs will always point higher than a sloop rig.
The jib is constantly trying to backwind the mainsail. In order to accomodate the jib's attempt to backwind the main, the boat must be pointed off the wind more.
This can result in more speed, but less pointing ability.
All the above is relevant to close-hauled sailing.
Off the wind the uni will sail much deeper than the sloop, but the sloop will sail much faster, and higher course.
Confused?
Good, I will stop there and let someone ask more questions.
<img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />
Rick

In my case, although I mentioned some experience to indicate that the jib did not allow pointing higher (and the original question included wondering if the jib would allow pointing higher), that "why" part is easy to answer: general ignorance of the principles ;-)

But, at least I now know that my experience wasn't due to poor technique! (And since that is generally the answer, a different one is welcome!)

John