I am a new H16 skipper with a new crew. We are having problems with the jib batten caps catching on the jib and main halyards when tacking. Any tips would be appreciated. <br>Chuck<br><br>
Hi, <br>Welcome to H16 fun! One suggestion I hear on this forum is to tape your batten caps with sail tape. On my 16, yrs ago, I was then still in the habit of backwinding the jib on a tack. By the time I broke the old sheet loose, that jib would SLAM across the boat. These days, the aproved method is roll tacking, which works better for me... <br>In light air, have your crew grab the corner of the jib where the jib lines attach [clew] and pull it down, and then, while pulling down, push it towards the front of the boat, (which bends the battems and shortens the jib, if you do it right)i*then* cross it past the mast. <br> <br>Good sailing! <br> <br>Ed Norris <br><br><br>
Thank you for your reply Ed. I think the light wind might be the main cause, and we tried the tape thing. We will try your tip on jib jamming the next time out. In heavier air with an experienced crew member we did not have the problem. Could you tell me about roll tacking or refer me to a book that would explain it to me ? Thanks again for your response. <br>Chuck<br><br>
Sail tape helps for me, too, especially when taping up the battan adjustment line. Also, try to clean up the front edge of your mast by stowing your mainsail and jib halyards as far aft as possible. This may mean only looping your first wrap of line toward the back. Also, Hobie used to sell articulating jib battan "elbows". They are plastice hinges that you cut and reglue your jib battans about six inches into the sale sleeve. These devises allow the jib sail to bend around the mast with minimal hangup. Good Luck.<br><br>
I had this problem too. (I'm a new H16 owner this year and advice on this site's H16 forum really helped me out.) <br> <br>Looking back now, since it's the end of the summer, I can say that this has been only a problem for me in light winds. In good strong winds that jib flies across those halyards with ease. <br> <br>The best suggestion I got is to pull those halyards away from the front of the mast and hold them on the side. Hobie sells halyard grips for their masts, check out their catalog. If you have the older-style main that you can reef, you have a reefing grommet that you can tie a rope through and hold both halyards back that way without having to buy those grips. This has been the best single thing that made the biggest difference for me. I did buy the jib batten-hinges but this rope idea has worked so well there's no need for me to install them now. <br> <br>I kind of wondered how the jib hangup would work for me in a wind so strong that I reef the main and thus lose my grommet, but I had that question answered for me last week. Basically if the wind is so strong you need to consider reefing your main, your jib is not very likely to get hung on those halyards. <br> <br>Good luck! <br> <br>PS. Come join the H16 forum! :-)<br><br>
The hinges work okay, but it really takes a combination of things lessen this problem. Taping the caps, installing the Hobie batten hinges and making sure your halyards are as lateral as possible will minimize, but not eliminate the problem. With the main halyard, because of the way the main is anchored at the top of the mast, the tendency is to get some slack in the main halyard. This just hangs up the jib everytime, so make sure it's tight as practical without interfering with the "hook" at the top of the mast. <br> <br>Cheers!<br><br>
You should (1) sand your jib battens so you have better jib sail shape, which helps the jib battens bend more easily. Make sure your battens do not stick out of the jib pockets excessively, so (2) cut them shorter after you have sanded the battens, and make sure you (3) halyards are aft on the mast, and then da da no jib hang up. With these three things done you will have no more jib hang up problems, I have sailed all summer with not one single jib hang up in some very light air. <br> <br>Go to the H16 forum to see more answers to this question. <br> <br>P.S. Jib Hinges stink!<br><br>
Dear Chuck, <br>Sorry, I don't think roll-tacking per se is going to help w/ your jib hangup. I mentioned it only because you emphatically do not backwind when executing a roll tack. The reason I have no jib hangup these days is partly due to switching to a different boat. <br>I deliberately omitted to mention that my 16 came used, with jib hinges installed. Little did I know the pesky things were broken, and didn't lock up as designed. Finally removed 'em, and that nasty hook in the jib just disapeared! <br> <br>Ed Norris<br><br>
