Ok, another issue for the Stealth is the tramp bolt ropes pulling out of the molded in C channels on the hulls. I'd like to modify the tramp to attach the sides with a cable in sleeve like the Tigers I've seen. What I need is to know approximately how much belly/sag to allow for in building the sleeve. Anyone got their Tiger close by? What is the distance between the insides of the fore and aft crossbeams, and how much is the chord(correct term?) between the center of the parabola and a straight line between the cable attachment points at the beams? And maybe a pic to make it easy on my sailmaker?
Many, many thanks, I'm hoping to get her back on the water by the weekend!

Dave

Oh, so this thing has tramp channels on the hulls? Okay, I guess I was wrong then. I thought all Stealth had mushrooms pins all around like mine.

Anyway, as far as I know (but I've been known to be wrong before on the subject of trampoline attachment) there is no cable on the tiger trampoline, but simply some dyneema line. Some pics are available in the Tiger assembly manual:

http://www.hobie-cat.net/download/manuels/tiger_gb.pdf

You have the same tramp style as the old N20's. I've had all kinds of problems with mine until Skip made me the lacing system pictured in my blog post here:
http://www.velocitysailing.com/?p=53

Pepin, you're right, it wasn't a cable, and I was planning on using some 1/8" Vectran I have on hand. But if I pursue this route, the sailmaker needs to create some curve to the sleeve he'd be adding to the edge. Which is the measurement I'm hoping for.
Tad, it's a little hare to see that pic, but I get the concept. Couldn't the rod be sewn directly into the tramp edge? But I think I'm a bit more comfortable with a system that ignores the C channel entirely.
The sailmaker suggested just putting in a series of grommets down the sides, maybe 5" o.c., and lacing that to a vectran line running from beam to beam. That would eliminate the need to get the curve of the sleeve correct. I assume that if you don't get it correct it'll stress at the corners where the line enters the sleeve, or it'll pucker if there's too much curve.
I'm still undecided....

Dave

Dave- The FXone has the same goofy setup as the Tiger. It is impossible to get the tramp tight. I was using 1/4" vectran, with a truckers hitch, then wrapping the triangle in the corners pulling them together. Not a real big deal, as it is pretty stiff even with the the tramp off, but I've grown to think that all tramps should be as tight as a H16 tramp too.

I hear you're making it out this way this summer! Whatcha bringin'?

So you don't like the Tiger/FX One system Karl? Other solutions?
I think the A cat will find a permanent home in the garage of a house my sister and I rent out, when she's not on the water, of course. Having a boat there will make it likely that I'll come back every summer. It was always torture to be around so much water with no boat! I'm looking for the best 2 consecutive weekends in July to hang with you guys, what works for you Karl?

Dave

Dave, CRAW has a great regatta in July 25 and 26 Located at Shell Lake Wisconsin I would guess it’s less than 2 hours from the cities. KArl was there last year so can chime in on the spot. It is the annual Border battle with MN boats and WI boats. Lots of fun, great launch site and a good party

Solutions, no. I would've guessed anything was better than that, but maybe not.

Broken Rudder is a nice event. Good beach, really clean water. When you hit the rock pile just off the beach like I did, you can clearly see what you hit. And thats nice.

Where are we camping this year ewindsail?

Have a sail on a tiger with that tramp 1st - worst tramp set up on the planet!
Then try the Infusion/Tornado type with the mushroom screws to lace to - much better!

Y'all need to go to tramp tightening school. 1/4" vectran is way big - 1/8" would work fine. You can run also stainless wire in there and terminate with a thimble just inside the tramp and then lace through the thimble. I do a 3:1 lacing and haul tight using a harness cross bar. That together with a couple of rounds of tightening on the rear (replacing the factory string with skinny 12 braid) and you can get the tramp tight.

Chris.

I like a tight tramp as much as the next guy.

I'll agree with others here. The Tiger is the worst of the bunch. I had a Tiger and I could never really get the tramp tight. I've had a P19, H20, N20, and they all had better systems. In fact I think the Tiger no longer has this type of system and they switched over to mushrooms. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I don't think the Tiger has changed, Mike... in fact, I was surprised that the Wildcat has the same set-up. I know they were seeking to save on tooling by using as much from the Tiger as possible, but I thought the tramp would surely be changed.

Glad somebody said that! Thought I was missing something. 1/4" line won't tighten like 1/8" in that situation.

And which of those high-strength ropes is most widely used for best results? Yale cordage has a list. Does Rick sell something like?

I'm open to the mushroom screws(pics?), I just don't know if there's any significant backing where they'd need to go.

Dave

I've got some 1/8" spectra left over from a dicked up set of trap lines I'll try out. The lace on the rear bar definetly needs to be changed out to something more slippery. Actually, this might be tomorrow's project.

From what I heard the Red Barn did not close so camping is going to be there again

Stick with a truckers hitch just inside the tramp on the side lacing. Loop from the eye strap back to the truckers hitch a couple of times for purchase and then pull really tight and tie it off. You can spray mclube on the line to reduce friction a little - just avoid the end you will be tieing knots with. On the rear bar you can use a harness bar to pull upwards while you push down on the cross bar with your foot. You can get the tramp nice and tight this way if you are using a skinny line. 1/8" spectra would work well. I then use needle nose pliers to dog off the line while I move to the next section. Don't go for 100% tight in one stage - I normally do it in 3 stages to keep the tramp tension even.

Thanks Chris, I'll give it a go.

Was there a few years of Tiger that had a track though?

Have anybody done an comparison between a well tightened Tiger tramp and a well tightened Hobie 16, Marstrøm Tornado or any other boat with "mushrooms" or similar tramp tightening solutions?

A tight tramp is required for best performance when executing manouvers IMO, but the Tiger setup is very easy to build..

The earlier Tigers had a more conventional tramp attachement with grooves in the hulls. My understanding is there were some weight savings associated with the current attachement method vs. coventional, probably to keep the boats right at or below min weight when the snuffer and self tacker were added.

Chris.