Sorry for my ignorance. I am new to Hobies.

What is the differece between a Hobie 16A 16B 16C and 16N?

Thanks!

16A - The GODS of Hobie sailing.

16B - Still pinching to finish but go pretty fast.

16C - Finally figured out how to use the jib to tack the boat.

16N - Why are you yelling STARBOARD at me?!?!

Now that is funnieee, if not very helpfull. A fleet - really good sailors, B fleet not as good of a sailor as an A fleeter, C fleet better sailor than I. N(ovice) that would be me.

all of the boats are the same(mostly)

Sam

Wow that is soooo cool. But, why do they do that...just to avoid crowded starting lines? Keep the goofballs out of the way?

We will definately circle 16N on the registration form.

And...thanks for the racing tips, jib to tack and all. That will help.

Use the jib to pull you through the eye of the wind on tacks.

Don't let the rudders go to neutral during a tack.

Boat Speed! BOAT SPEED!! B O A T S P E E D !!!!!! Don't pinch.

I was a distant fourth because of a crappy start. The three boats in front of me tacked early because of a sloping bottom and were pinching to make the finish line. I told my crew to watch for grass on the bottom and yell GRASS!! when she saw some. She did. We tacked and were hauling bootie. We drove over the third place boat so fast it was sucked up into irons. Nailed the second place boat, caught up with the first place boat and finished. We didn't know how we did until we went past the committee boat. They told us we beat the first place boat by less than a foot.

B O A T S P E E D !!!!!!

They separate the fleets so everyone races against comparable skill levels. Makes racing as a newbie a lot more fun and rewarding.

Oh yeah, sounds like it will be fun and rewarding. I can't wait to race this sailboat with training wheels. Or is that a trimeran?

Thanks for the tip on pinching. Pointing is everything on monohulls. I will have to force myself to think boat speed.

Also VMG on the downwind legs? Any tips there for me? How do you know where to point a cat down hill? Boat speed again?

90 degrees apparent wind. Tie some 8-track tape to the bridle wires and/or use a bridle fly.

If you don't have one, get a bridal fly. After rounding the weather mark fall off and set your course by getting the bridal fly to point 90 degrees from the direction of travel. As you pick up speed it will move astern. Fall off some more until it's back to 90 degrees.

As you round the mark your crew will move the jib traveler cars all the way out to the corner casting. The crew will keep trimming the jib so the telltales keep streaming straight back.

You, the skipper, will travel the main out to the corner casting. Play with the trim for max boat speed.

Here's a speed secret. Unless the wind is howling your crew will be on the leeward side continually trimming the jib. You'll know if they're doing a good job if they complain of a sore neck. Here's the secret. You move forward, lay on the tramp, put your forward foot on the boom just behind the gooseneck, and hold it into the fully rotated position. This will clean up the airflow over the leading edge of the sail and give you more power. Don't take a nap!

Report back after your first race and tell us how you did.

Whoa. That is very helpful. Thanks!

Putting my foot on the boom is to keep the mast fully rotated, right? I'd better remove the stepping pin then. Thanks again!!

I will report back. First race is columbus day.

You MUST pull the pin so the mast rotates freely. Otherwise you're screwing up the airflow over the sail.

Foot on the boom when reaching. It'll rotate into place on beats when you sheet in the main. Make sure you've got a piece of Teflon in the mast step so it'll rotate easily.

Thanks for the teflon tip.

Do you guys have any tips for adjusting the battens? It seems to me that you would tighten them up in light air to get sail curvature, loose in heavier air to flatten the sail. I am correct?

We took 1st in the 16N class. It's not saying much though. There were only a few entries in that class. Also, conditions were a bit tricky, winds would go from 10 to about 30 kts in a heart beat. Also very shifty. There was CAT 2 hurricane about 500 miles south of us. The wind was comming of the shore which was full of condoes. I think this was part of the problem. Anyway, it was more or less survival mode for us being new to catamarans. My son wouldn't trap...too rough. We sailed the first race then retired. Lucky for us, the rest of the 16N racers did the same.

I need to get some hours in this cat in so I can think about racing and not boat handling. It is a different animal than a Laser or Keelboat.

I had a few problems. The rudders would kick up when we'd would go into hyperspeed. It has new cams. What is causing the rudders to kick up? Is this an adjustment or something?

Also, working the mainsheet and the traveler is a bear. I think I need to upgrade this system. Is there a racing system that I should get? It has the original 2- boom block system. I saw lot of cats with a cooler system. I was fighting it the whole race.

Another thing, I do not have the comp tip mast. Should I add a comp tip or search for a used mast? Do I need a different sail then? Or just find a newer cat? Slim picken's around here.

Mast rake- I have my forestay all the way loose, but other cats had more rake. Is there a longer forestay that I need?

Hey, a win is a win!!

Try adjusting the cams so they're tighter against the casting.

Upgrade to Harken low profile blocks. Lube everything with either dry silicon or dish washing soap.

You'll have to go CompTip if you want to compete in Hobie sanctioned events. Your dealer can get one for you. The sail should work okay. As you get better you'll probably want to get a new one anyway.

Put the shrouds in the lowest hole in the chain plates. If the forestay isn't long enough add a second chain plate to it. That should be more than long enough.

Tension the jib halyard very tight. The forestay will now flop around. Use a piece of bungee between the top of the new chain plate and the bridle to take the slop out.

I wish I had my old boat to take pictures. It would be much simpler to explain.

No need for pics. I understand exactly. Thanks for the tip. I will make it so.

We don't have a Hobie dealer here in AZ. Do you have a favorite online Hobie supply house where I can get the comptip and cool mainsheet blocks? Also, I need those new trapeze wires with the loops. Then I will be ready to rock.

Thanks!

I'm kinda in the same fix here on Maui. There's a dealer but they don't stock parts and are only interested in Adventure Cats and selling Waves to hotels.

For Hobie specific stuff I like Surf City in Santa Cruz. Jeremy knows his stuff and will ship.

http://www.surfcitycatamarans.com/

For generic items there's the store Rick runs. Click on the OnLine Store link at the top of the page.

Murray's is another source. They did carry Hobie stuff but the dealer they bought from went out of business.

http://www.murrays.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=SFNT&Store_Code=MS

Monohull? What the hell is a monohull?

A boat with only one hull. Hobie made an 14' boat similar to a laser a few years before the laser came out

John

I think there was just a twinge of sarcasm in xanderwess' post.