in some extremely windy conditions that the boat woudl almost be trying to pitch... like the faster we would go, the lower the bows seemed to get to the water, i had to have my crew trapping out on the rear corner casting, is this just normal for hobies? or is there a way to remedy this problem, could i untension the jib off the forestay a little or change the mast rake?

Yes, the 16 bows are small and the boat has a ton of power for it's size.

Easiest solution is to travel the main down a bit on the track. That takes the load off the bows. You can sail higher into the wind as well.

You can rake the mast aft more (till the mainsheet blocks nearly touch the boom blocks when fully sheeted).