tx,

Are you saying you can put 800 lbs of gear on a Hobie 16? That sounds like a bit too much.

As far as silencing a halyard, it's common courtesy to do so if you leave your boat on a beach (as to not annoy the people that live next to the dunes). If you take your halyard and just wind it two or three times around the mast before you secure it, it won't make any noise.