Quick question, I've been sailing my H-14 w/a 16 style battened jib for 15 years or so, but on an inland lake that only occasionally has good wind. My question is, anybody ever put a H-16 rig (Mast and sails) on a 14???? More power for those light to non existent wind days.

I have heard from alot of Hobie guys that it has been tried and has never worked out. It throws the balance off, and adds alot of weight up front which is the worst place to put weight on a 14. But who knows, you might try it, if you do, I have access to an old Hobie 16, the mast is in very good shape. I bet the guy would sell it cheap.

Anywhere near Northern California??? What kind of money????

Actually it is a long ways from you, I didn't think to look where you are from, it is in Oklahoma. I have no clue what kind of money though, it is sitting on an old 16 that is as soft as a sponge. The guy bought it with the house he lives in so it might go cheap.

Howdy,
There's an old '16 mast here in Spokane, WA (east side of state) that you might be interested in. Non-comp construction in OK condition from what I understand.
Fair winds,
eric

You will not ba happy at all with the performance by putting a bigger rig on the 14. It will be very tippy and you will spend a lot of time, money and effort getting it to even fit.

If you really want to enhance performance, and you typically sail in light winds, add a headsail to the boat. A Hooter is a GREAT light wind sail--with that, you can sail circles around a Hobie 16. In heavy wind, it is a lot of fun, but scary on a boat with limited floatation. Check out the set-up here:

http://www.thebeachcats.com/modules.php?...=view_album.php

Hmmmm, well I have a headsail, My boat is a Turbo, just not with a class legal jib (no roller furling), it's battened like the H-16. You can see a few pictures of it @ http://tinyurl.com/2uewl
In your experience with the Hooter do you think I would gain enough performance to make it worth while for me to spend the money for a new sail roller furler etc. I've also been thinking about an Assemetrical Spinaker, but again, I'm not sure of the Performance vs Cost.

Sorry, when I said headsail, I meant something in addition to the jib.

I am very pro Hooter on 14s and I've been trying to get people to make the change for a while, so I am kind of boased. I also have a Hooter rig for sale, so it will probably sound like I'm a salesman.

I added the Hooter because I wanted the combination upwind sail and downwind sail. The Hooter is a very flat sail and is light enough to work both ways. It gives a lot of lift to the bows and the only time I have capsized upwind with it, I have gone over backwards. Downwind, capsizing is your typical pitch-pole.

To weigh the cost on both spinnaker and Hooter, you would spend about the same money. You would probably get a snuffer pole for the spin because you are solo and dousing a spin into a bag by youself is no fun. I think you would quickly get tired of the sail. Not to mention it would take up a lot of real estate on the tramp. On the Hooter rig, you would spend your money on a furler.

For convenience, I like the Hooter because it furls and unfurls quickly and easily. I have a 1:2 set-up on my furler, so it furls with like 3 feet of furling line.

For cost, I think you would easily spend $1000-1500 if you bought it all new. The Hooter sail I got would run about $900 and then there is the hardware. I used an old windsurfer mast as a pole and I got most of the hardware off od junked Hobies. I got lucky and got a furler on eBay for $75 and used the upper furler from the Turbo for the other end. I have a sail for sale now for $350.

If you have any questions and want to discuss it, feel free to call me.

Dan
757-589-6920