For Gary, or those of you who have made this on your own, do you really need to have a snug fit between the paddle end and the inboard side of the hull? From what I can gather in the pics it looks like you only need to use the lip to keep that end from sliding toward the top of the boat. I appears most of the load is on the lines. Am I correct?

i dont know about anyone else in this post... but im a poor college kid, bout how much do all these materials cost for this system?

If there is enough wind and you are large enough, you can solo right a H16 with only the $40 - $50 EZ right bungy line. If you have a crew even better. I bought my 16 during my last year of college so I know about the tight budget.

I have no idea how much materials for a righting pole cost. I do know that I wanted to have a nice and safe Hobie bad enough that I piled a 30 hr/wk job on top of 18 credit hours of mechanical engineering school, and Air Force ROTC to pay for my boat. You are only as poor as you allow yourself to be. Basically, all the time I would have been sailing I worked in the off season. I also found that sleep was highly overrated when you are that young.

i got the hawaiian style righting system... i think thats what they call it these days... and yes, i would agree, sleep is overrated, ill have plenty of time to do that when im dead

Dave... Yoh, I guess I did not read this well... Yes the Soloright was made as the name implies to right solo. My homemade pole does the same job. (I weigh about 160 lb.)

Someone asked about the paddle shape... No there is not really a good reason why you would try to shape the paddle so it would conform to the inside of the hull. I can only come up with a few excuses why I decided to shape it in that way...
It spreads out the load over a larger area when you step on the pole. ( I am kind of freaked out about soft spots on my old ('85) boat. I tend not to walk on the hull if I can avoid it).
It is made from a composite material - you can shape it the way you want it. Doing a lay up over a flat pic is the same effort as doing a lay-up over the inside of the hull.
It does not only look as a paddle- it can even be used as one. Try this with your water bag.
But you are right - straight would work too.

Someone asked about the cost... Mine was kind of free. The two-piece windsurfing mast was donated to me after it broke right around the joint (this is where they always fail). The epoxy and the glass and the foam is something that floats around my garage (might be $40.00 for a starter kit- but you would have stuff left for other projects). The shackles I used are supposed to be used for some type of spinnaker application (made from some plastic so they would not rub on the hulls while attached to my boat). Those where somewhere around $20.00. But there are low $ homemade alternatives to the shackles.

Patrick