I Have Also Posted This On The General Forum, To Get As Many Opionions As Possible

Afternoon Folks:

I am in the process of bringing a 1980 Hobie 16 back to life. Epoxeyed the frame togethor (that is another story entirely!) and re-rivoted all of the frame. Have already switched out all of the Seaway(?) parts for Harken. Have had the jib recut and added a self-furler. EVA Shure footed the siderails. Put on a mesh (one piece) bias tramp. Due to the fact that the boat had no trapeze wires; I am adding them and will need to get all boat trapeze parts as well.

Question #1) I am going to utilize the existing “Hawaiian righting system.” In the past I have always just grabbed the 1/2” line from under the boat to right it. Do any of you crawl up to the top hull to bring the righting line over the side of the top hull...rather than grabbing it from below the tramp? If so, how do you do it (I am only 5’ 5” and 150 pounds soaking wet) and does it provide enough additional leverage to warrant the hassle of using the dolphin striker as a leg up? While we are on the righting system…the instructions say to drill out the front two pylons and attach a fairlead to each of them. Is it just me......or do the rest of you feel uncomfortable drilling holes in perfectly good pylons?

Question #2) What is the best trap return system? ( I used the standard Hobie recommended one for my Hobie 18’ and it never seemed to provide enough tension to keep you on the wire….or to slow you down when you take the inevitable trip around the bows). I have looked at Murray’s Hobie 16’ return system but; because it does not list the shock cord diameter so I am not sure how effective it would be. Assuming that Murray's shock cord is not particularly robust...what would an ideal shock cord diameter be (remember I will be SOLO on Lake Michigan much of the time)? Is there any good reason not to just buy all of the parts and make my own system with the proper diameter shock cord? Also, will I run into “too much stuff under the boat” problems using both the Murray’s tramp return system and the “Hawaiian righting system?”

Question #3 Where is the best place to terminate (number of inches fore or aft) both the crew trap return and the captain trap return?

Question #4 What is the best way to terminate the trap return system on each hull? I have seen three different ways: one (which I think was on a Hobie 18’ (which probably has a larger hull lip) was to have a thru deck block to reduce friction on the shock cord; the other system I saw was someone just tied a small bullet lock through a hole in the hull lip; and the final system (which seemed to really wear out the shock cord prematurely) was simply to drill a hole through the hull lip and run the (unprotected shock cord) through the hull.

Questions #5 I recently saw the (new to me) keyhole trapeze ring. Have any of you used the keyhole trapeze system…and what are your thoughts on its advantages and disadvantages?

Having already spent a ton of money re-fitting this cat; I don’t want to waste any time and/or money by doing the trapeze systems incorrectly. Also, I am sure that "Murphy" what can go wrong, will go wrong; in ways you never imagined) is eagerly awaiting my (SOLO) arrival on Lake Michigan!

Regards,

Poor Paul

Woah dood! Long post. 8D I can't comment on too much here but I'll throw in my 2¢ for whatever it's worth.


Hum. I dunno about the leverage without going over the hull. I'm 6'1 so it just takes a bit of a stretch and I can reach up and grab my righting line over the hull. Of course on my boat my mast isn't sealed really well and took on some water, so I wasn't able to right it without help from a speed boat last time anyway, but my friend's boat righted really easily going over-the-hull. I plan to re-seal my mast this weekend and then test-flip-and-right it afterwards so I can try it both ways and compare, if you like.

I still have the original 1972 shock cord running from one thimble to the other under the tramp. Dunno if that's the best solution. LOL

After reading a horror story about a girl who almost drowned because one of the shrouds got twisted around the hook on her harness and held her underwater after a pitchpole, the keyhole system looks pretty attractive. I'd also like to hear other peoples' thoughts on this.

Good luck with your rebuild, broly! And post pics! Some of mine here: http://www.JaimeZX.com/Boating