We'll try again, but please don't answer unless you've actually done it or seen it done:

A lot of us sail alone in our area, so three years ago I tried to purchase a righting pole for my Hobie 18 magnum. I did not want to mount the universal windsurfing mast mounting bracket through the tramp, so I made my own rig out of an old windsurfer mast and some lines. It works really well, and I can get the boat up by myself with my 170 lbs.

Now, a close friend wants to do the same thing on his H-18SX and buys the kit because we wasted months trying to find a used windsurfing mast; even tried to write manufacturers. We have to come up with some kind of mount...Any successes? He's trying to build a new mount for the dolphin striker extension in his machine shop.

Wyatt

I used to use the righting pole designed by Hobie Gary - the "Solo Right". His design was one that slid into the daggerboard slot. I only had to use it when testing it but it worked very well and never caused any problems to the daggerboard slot, even with my fat a** on it. Gary used to have a video of a 115 pound girl solo-righting a Mystere 20 by herself.

http://tinyurl.com/bvyve

Go see if this drawing makes sense. If you have trouble, it's at the Yahoo! Beachcats forum, under Files, under 18 Square and Other Esoteric Knowledge, under rightbar.jpeg

Nutshell: Drill holes thru the end of the pole, thread a line thru it, and use the line as a hinge, threading the line thru the first couple grommets of your trampoline, or if you don't have centre lacing like me, attach a rudder gudgeon bracket to your crossbar and tie the line thru that.

sea ya
tami

Tami:

I couldn't go to the site directly, but I'll check it out. The tying thing worked for me with the windsurfer pole, but the problem is we can't get used windsurfer poles around here, so those people with interests have to buy the righting pole kit.

If we come up with an answer, I'll post it...

Wyatt

`

There are alternatives

New cheap windsurfer masts (search online)
used Masts -try eBay
Laminated wood (spruce or fir - I used spruce)
fiberglass poles (tools, painting extensions, broken electrical lineman tools etc - try Home Depot)
Fiberglass tubes (industrial supply, surplus, eBay)
Aluminum tubing( 1 - 1.5" dia 1/8" wall should work)
half a Laser mast or other small boat mast
drive to the coast


Windsurfer masts are called out because they are cheap and everywhere (most places that cats are sailed). I used laminated wood because I already had the materials

I used a Hobie 16 boom for the pole and took the boom gooseneck assembly off. I then took a Hobie 18 mast gooseneck and bent the sides in to close it off. I got it so that it would wrap around the dolphin striker and I used two small screws (in the rivet holes) to tighten the sides around the striker pole. That gave me an attachment point and a nice universal for the boom to attach. Pretty slick install.

Gooseneck? I think you mean the U-shaped block hanger (bail) off a Hobie boom which should be ok fastened around the dolphin striker. I've made several poles and they all worked ok. USE GOOD LINE not some thin stretchy crap.
Poles are a lot better than dumping single-handed, then waiting for a passing jetski or well-meaning powerboater who may or may not not hole you.
Or the Coasties who are happy to tow your boat back to shore at high speed- upside down and turtled.

He means the gooseneck...actually the gooseneck bracket that mounts to the mast with 6 or so rivets.

Great idea Dan.. I am going to give it a try on my P19 (remember the TheMightyHobie18 mast I got from you...worked perfect)

Mike

Already some really great ideas. America...What a wonderful country!!!

Wyatt

My friend, Rick, finally machined a mount which encompases the mast extension and it's a great job...He said it took about forty-five minutes to make. He used a 2" by 4" block of aluminum; drilled through it to match the extension; cut it in half; then attached it with for zinc-coated bolts. The righting bar attached perfectly.

Where was he when I was trying to find a solution for myself?

Wyatt

How are you going to rig a "preventer" line to keep the pole from hinging too far FORWARD, levering it out of its mount to the dolphin striker or beam? With a 6-8 foot lever arm it would rip out any kid of rivets and if you have a heavy plate bolted to the stiker something BAD will happen.

Pole useres, please describe how you avoid this!

Is there anyone who could post some pictures of the righting pole hinge as it attaches to the main beam? I've been brainstorming some ideas of how to attach a righting pole to my Nacra 5.2 (solid tramp up front/no lacing, no grommets).
-Rob

David:

In my case where I tie to the dolphin bar, I did not need the limiter; but I could see how it could help. I manage to work it fine without it.

Both Rick's 18 and my daughter's 16 has limiters on them that are attached to the rear crossbar; we just added bungees to keep the limuter's taut when not in use. The bungees are attached somewhere in the front crossbar area.

Wyatt

Hello,
i made a righting bar for a TheMightyHobie18.
i use my legs to keep the bar from swingging fore and aft.
there is 5' or of line tied to the end of the bar which i tie to the shroud adjuster or even better to a loop i have where the dagger board bungie attaches forward of the main beam. the "hinge" was told to me by a friend at the miami yacht club. a short piece of line tied in a square knot. i tie mine around the dolphin spike, then loop some bugie around the bar and thru the tramp lacing to keep it out of the water. first i tried just drilling a hole in a winsurfer mast tip at each end. that looked like it was cracking so i filled each end with highdensity foam plugs and wrapped the outside w/a strip of glass and epoxy at each end.
i used the bar twice successfully. the rest of the time no capsize.
this all may seem too easy but it works for me. even solo.

Maybe I'm just dense ... I have the universal kit and was going to send it back to Murray's 'cause I don't see how it's gonna fit on the forward bar with the dolphin striker ... without going through the tramp which doesn't seem wise. I even have windsurfer masts for the damn thing, but now I'm thinking of going with a bungee/Hawaiian set up or whatever system.

I'm a newbie, have an 18, will be soloing ...

Where is the universal getting hooked up? Or - as in the pics - can I just tie the mast/pole to the striker?

gary

The universal should attach to the bottom of the front beam ... somewhere.

The Hawaiian System will not give you enough leverage to right the TheMightyHobie18 by yourself. The whole reason for the righting pole is to let you walk out or hang on it to get additional leverage that you can't get hanging offof the hull. The universal kit should have a Universal joint piece that attaches to the bottom of the front beam crossbar. The U-joint will allow the pole to pivot out sideways to be used for righting, with a stopper line to hold the pole at the proper angle. I believe the U-joint piece is supposed to be rivetted to the beam.
Rick's Power pole in action & installation instructions

Gary:

That's what started this whole thing. It looks like the standard righting pole setup is made for Nacras or a boat that does not have the tramp stretched under the front crossbar. I agree with you that you should not compromise your tramp; even if you did, how would you ever remove the tramp to either repair or replace it?

Start from the beginning of this thread; some people tie them and my friend Rick actually made a mount for the bar (I bet he would sell them for about $30). The righting pole is the only way you'll get that boat over by yourself. Shroud extenders require you to get on top of the boat to release the pins; Righting bags require a lot of muscle; Hawaiian systems only bungee the righting line under the boat so you can grab it easily.

Keep on staring at it; you'll come up with a solution. Do you have access to windsurfing masts?

Wyatt

Wyatt,

(Thanks for the subject line .. I was beginning to wonder )

I came to the same conclusion about the universal joint ...it wasn't made with the H-18 in mind ... it's a cool looking mechanism and set-up, and I hate to "reinvent the wheel"... but I just can't see it going on ...i"ll let you know if I come up with anything ...

Thanks to all for dissuading me of using other than the pole to self right ... back to driving myself crazy ...

Windsurf masts ... There was a "yard sale" at a local windsurf/kiteboard shop (Hamptons WIndsurfing in Southampton, NY I think) ..I strolled thru specifically looking for a mast and came up with a two piece one in decent shape for $25, so I have that ... I asked a few garage/yard sale friends to keep their eyes open, but that didn't pan out ...

Oh...and I found out about the garage sale on rec.windsurfing Newsgroup ... maybe there's something (shop, sale, etc) near you ..

Oh #2 ... if you wanted to go carbon fiber they had them as well, but they were a tad expensive.

Thanks

Gary

JollyRoger has it right- Metal is ok but simple is best, just tie the pole high as possible on the dolphin striker. It will work great: Check it out at the beach to get your lines and stopper knots the right length.