Why Point

G'Day



Well ill get straight to it, on the weekend i felt like my boat just wasn't pointing high but i still tryed to point high so i can keep up with the other hobies, it didn't work. Then i tryed to foot it off and yet the boat felt slow even though the hull was lifting(15-20knots). All the time i have sailed a hobie16 i thought i knew all about how to sail a hobie but at the moment it doesn't seem that way. I was wondering what other people think about this question. Is it better to point high and go slower or point lower and go faster? I would love to know of any experiances with this problem and any help which you may give. Thank so much.



Jules

i guess we all have our own style, my opinion is hobie 14/16s do better upwind while carrying a lot of speed, that means footing. however once you get moving its possible to ease upwind and sail pretty high. i think its a mistake to try to sail high by over trimming , especially in lighter air. if i feel slow i ease main and jib slightly and try to get my boatspeed up, then ease up to the highest course while retrimming the main. this can be a continuing process in light and shifty wind.

G'Day Jules,



While Dan Brown, marsch hawk, has good advice, I'd like to offer my opinion too.



While you will have more fun when moving faster on a lower point of sail (not sailing as close to the wind as you might be able to sail), racing would require you to reach an upwind target as quickly as possible. This involves sailing slower and gaining more upwind distance over time.



This is precicely one of the reasons that I choose to sail without competition (a non-racer).



To answer your question I would say that you should continue to learn to point high, into the wind, as long as you want to compete for upwind progress. ... But for out and out, raw, FUN... go for speed on whatever point of sail it takes you to!



On a standard beach cat you will find out that "pinching" upwind will not only gain you the satisfaction of lifting you and your craft upwind, against the wind, but you will find that working your way back down-wind can get awfully boring.



This can be a very important practice on a very windy day! When the weather is really blowing, you have to depower the sails (flatten them!) and stay pretty close the wind. Otherwise you may blow over! In the same (high wind) conditions, you may have to sail down-wind "pretty deep," or "stay away from sailing across the wind" and keep her going deep, downwind, moving the direction of the wind.



In moderate or light conditons you will want to go out and reach close to the wind, while keeping your speed up. You will find yourself in a position to be able to stay quite high on your way back downwind. Both directions will be fast and lots of fun!



I have found that the fastest course is the best course, and that the race course is only sometimes the fastest course.



Keep in mind, when reading my comments, that I don't mind being the only sailor on the only boat on the water. "Your knotage may vary."



GARY

YKMV!

If you're racing, then you naturally want to point. The upwind leg of the race course is very important because you'll be sailing it longer. "Higher and faster" are the magic words, and are also where you want to be in relation to the competition. The 16 is a reaching cat and footing is just letting the boat do what it likes to do. Pointing takes a lot of work. While it sounds like your competition was doing it a little better, don't let that discourage you from trying to improve. Never be shy about soliciting help from others after a race. Most sailors(especially the winners) are pretty generous about helping others. A good compliment followed by a couple of questions to the right crews can be a big help in learning to improve.



Without going into detail already present on this forum, here’s a couple of things that might help .

Most Hobie sails are cut a little on the full side, which inhibit pointing, so never stuff the battens in any deeper than you need to. Most of the time just try to get out the wrinkles.



I won't rehash the details and definitions, but a good amount of mast rake in 15-20 knot winds will help you point by loading up the rudders and making them a little more like centerboards. Expect an increase in helm with extra mast rake. You may need to rake the rudder tips forward to reduce this feeling. A little rudder toe-in is often used with lots of mast rake to offset the added helm.



Sail Fast...

Hmmm, lots of advice here. I tend to agree with Marsh Hawk. The way I sail up wind, while trapeze sailing, is to continually pull the bows off wind to keep the boat moving, then ease the tiller a little to let her come up. It is a tight line between slightly footing and almost pinching.



Boat speed is everything on getting these hulls to go up wind in windy conditions, unlike centerboard boats. When the winds are light, pinch tighter and do not sheet as tight, because when you sheet to tight, the boat tends to side slip--no centerboard.

This is all great advice and i thank you so much but doesn't this all come down to mast rake. Its just that i see all the other boats in canberra rake their mast heaps and even though they point higher and go faster the slow down the tacks which can stuff your whole race. Last thing is since im the only hobie 16 on the lake doesn't that mean i should try and point like i was on a hobie 18 or 17 and do they point higher because i almost got laped even though i was sailing not as good as i normaly do.



Regards Jules

the whole point of racing for me is to sail my boat as well and fast as i can, the results take care of themselves. h16 racers have demonstrated that mast rake is fast. tuning a 16 is like tuning a guitar- all the strings need to be tensioned correctly for it to sing. also practice your tacking. in order for you to keep up with 17s and 18s you will have to sail better than they do. yes it is possible. the 16 is very fast downwind, can really move doing the wild thang (windward hull lifted, weight on leeward hull and forward) so you can make up what you may lose on the upwind leg. go fast and have fun!

please allow me to add that the 16 is very sensitive to fore and aft trim. if you can keep the bows low by moving your weight forward the transoms come out of the water and you get a very slick shape. try to keep the leeward bow within 2-3'' of the water- on all points of sail- with good sail trim and you will be smokin!

To add to "sensitive to fore and aft trim" don't forget to also lift your windward rudder, as you really do not need it, just adds to more wetted surface. Just remember to put the rudder back down before you round the mark (if needed) or tack/Jibe.