I got in a nice 4 hour sail today in very light winds of 4-6 mph. I used a bungee cord to keep the jib sheets from tangling at the mast base and that worked out very well. I wrapped the bungee around the mast one time at the top cleat. It did not seem to affect the mast rotation at all.

My problem was that the Wave does not seem to point very well when using the jib. At least in light air. I had to maneuver out of a 140 foot wide channel that is about 1/4 mile in length in order to get to the open water of the lake, and it was straight into the wind. After 30 frustrating minutes where I mostly reached back and forth, I dropped the jib and had no problem working my way upwind.

I did get to have quite a few pleasant conversations with the crews that were working on each side of the docks as they cheered me on.

It seems the mast on the Wave is quite a bit forward and is placed almost like a cat boat. My Wave certainly seems to point higher and tack better without the jib. I have read in several different books that the jib is an aid to tacking on catamarans, so this has caught me a bit by surprise. I would like to hear Rick and Mary's opinion on this.

I am not disappointed at all with my Wave. I am just beginning to question the usefulness of the jib.

Loren

As posted over at the Hobie Cat forums...

Yes, back winding a jib can help you tack, but a "uni-rig" main-only always points higher. The jib disturbs the air flow over the main when pointing very high. With the jib, you have to have proper luff tension and be careful about sheet tension. Over sheeting will stall both sails.

As I have said many times, the optional jib simply does not work in light air, moderate air, heavy air, or any kind of air. The reason is you cannot get enough tension on the jib luff.
The tack of the jib is attached to the crossbar between the bows. The cross bar does prevent the bows from toeing in, but when you try to exert enough pressure on the halyard to tension the jib luff, the crossbar will simply bend, and if enough tension is applied, it will break.
If you are going to have a jib, you must use the crossbar and then have very low bridle wires strung so the tack location is very close to the crossbar. Then you can exert a lot of luff tension and it should work.
However, the sail is very small and will not gratify you much, I feel certain.
If you want some speed, get a Hooter.
http://store.catsailor.com/tek9.asp?pg=products&specific=jmnrkomnk0
They work. And despite the large size of the Hooter, you can sail upwind as close as other Waves sailing unirig.., and much, much faster.
After the wind gets much over 12mph, however, you will have trouble holding it down. Next move is to rig a trapeze.
Check out the article on Hooters and all the links within the article at http://www.catsailor.com/update_hooter.html
Good luck,
Rick

Mary:

My eyestrap on 17 is 3 foot up the mast and works great on reacher sheets.

Doug

Blade? Looks more like a ribbon to me. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif" alt="" />

He said "reacher."

I'm trying to understand the physics of why the drawbacks associated with the blade jib would not also apply to the hooter, but possibly to a greater degree.
With the extra load would not the luff on the hooter be similarly difficult to tension? And with the bow sprit seemingly braced on the crossbar but overhanging the point of securement, isn't it likely to more easily bend the crossbar when applying the tension? Or is the tension problem simply compensated for by the sheer power of the hooter?
Thanks
Norm
(new member)

Here is how the bow sprit is mounted. A pole extends from the main beam above the cross bar and is held down by non-stretch wire or rope attached at the end of the pole and back to bow of each hull.
And from the bow of each hull line or cable goes to the mid pole for a bit more security.
All cables or lines are tightly secured.
The bowsprit is NOT attached to the crossbar.
In that way the luff load can be very taut.

If you tied the bowsprit to the crossbar, you would indeed bend it and the bow sprit. No matter how tight you tie the bowsprit, it will initially rise a bit, but will get to a point that allows the luff tension.

My first attempt at the Hooter was without the bow spreader bar in a 21-mile upwind race to Put-in-Bay. I started off well by staying ahead of the H16s and one TheMightyHobie18, but soon the boat got slower and slower, and the luff was sagging off more and more.
It was then I noticed the bows were starting to curve inward. I quickly took down the Hooter and sailed bald the rest of the way.
And upon arrival immediately ordered the spreader bar. Now everything works wonderfully.
I have been unsuccessfully trying to get a longer pole, a bigger Hooter and bigger self-tacking jib set up, but each time has met with a small disaster. Been to the drawing board a number of times on this one. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/tongue.gif" alt="" />

Hope this explains it.
Rick

I agree the luff tension on the stock Wave jib is a problem, but I think a bigger problem is that it is too close to the mast.

I played with attachment points using the spin pole and found once you get about 2 ft in front of the bow, the stock jib really starts pulling. With the attach point 4 ft in front of the bow, the effect of the jib is all out of proportion to it's size.

I have also tried racing the Wave with a stock jib against dinghies and found, the stock jib just plain makes the boat slower

Carl,
I'm glad you have already been experimenting with that. As soon as Rick has some time (more later than sooner), he has been planning to do the same thing: put the tack of the jib forward on the spinnaker pole. Good to hear it works so well.

So far I have tried a Wave jib, Hobie 16 Jib, NACRA ? jib, a light air pentex Hooter, and a couple of non spin Tornado jib's. The best overall has been then the Tornado jib followed by the H16. The hooter is best on a reach and downwind but it is doesn't point high enough going upwind. The Tornado jib gives a little bit going downwind but has speed and angle going upwind.

What modifications did you have make to be able to use the Tornado jib?

Hi Carl,
So far I find the Hooter works on all points of sail until the wind gets up too high. I have been able to outpoint Hobie 16s and go almost as fast.
I think the trick is you really have to sheet hard and have a lot of luff tension. And then keep the inside telltales jumping a bit on the Hooter.
Usually, I unfurl and leave it out.., and furl when I tack.
Rick