Hull flying question

Approx. how much wind do you need to fly a hull with a crew weight of 340lbs on an H16 . We were out last weekend with winds of 10-15mph and didn't even come close while a solo sailor on an H16 spent the whole day flying. I know some is skill, but I sure would like to do this before the season is over. I also am not experienced enough to go out on a day when the wind is screaming. We have gotten going fast enough to where you feel the vibration and the windward hull is skimming the water but never any higher. Could I be doing anything differently or do we need higher winds? Thanks

You may need to shift the weight placement a little. Also pull the sails in tight and don't try to point up too high. Some people react as soon as the hull lifts, leaning back and stop the hull from rising. I think you had enough wind at 15 mph.

Howard

I have found that when I sail with my father with a total of about 360 lbs, we need about 20mph winds or a little less to be able to fly a hull. Also, since your are still getting used to the boat, some advice I could give would be not to be scared off by the strong puffs. When I let my crew skipper on 15+ days, he always has the tendency to immediately spill the main while in a puff and that is another reason why you might not be able to get a hull up. When the wind picks up, dont be afraid to just keep the main cleated off and let the boat take off. It took me a while to get used to leaving the main cleated and just letting the hull rise in the puff then come back down at the end of it, but once you get used to it, your sailing trips will be so much more fun.

My $0.02

You can fly the hull in 15-20 kts steady with moderatly rough seas. Just don't be afraid to take advantage of the power the boat has. If you want more power, let off on the downhaul some. This will give you a deeper sail shape. Fall off from the wind as far as you can while keeping your telltales flying when the main is sheeted in. Keep an eye on the jib and trim it correctly to keep the slot optimal.

When I first started hull flying I used the main sheet to control the angle of heel. I would let off the main when I started to go too high. I would react to the wind instead of staying ahead of the boat. You can see puffs coming and should steer the boat to adjust for them. Fall off when the gust is gone and head up when the gust hits. This keeps the sails "powered up" and doesn't have as drastic an effect on the heeling angle. The boat doesn't react as fast when steering to control the angle of heel, and it will take some practice to get used to it, but you will find you can keep your hull up longer when you get good at it.

I hope this made sense. If not someone will chime in a clear it up, I'm sure.

If there is only light winds, you can have your crew sit on the leeward side of the boat, while you stay on the other side. You can even move to the middle of the tramp to get a hull flying.

In stronger winds, I ease off the main sheet when a gust makes a hull fly too high. I used to stear into the wind, but this can have the effect that the centrifugal power of the turn adds to the power of the gust. It then becomes more likely that you fall over. Play with the main, but relax as Vinny says.

So is it better to ease off the main sheet or travel out a little when you get too high? We went out last evening in 15mph winds and got the hull up once for about 5 seconds. I put the crew on the leeward side. It was an awesome 5 seconds, now I just need the wind to keep up this fall so I can practice boat handling and balance. Thanks for the replies!

When I fly a hull, I immediately uncleat the main as the hull rises but don't let any out until necessary. You won't have time to travel out and you want to be able to tighten the main sheet as necessary to keep the hull flying. I find myself pulling in and easing out the sheet as a balancing act to keep the hull where I want it. I always tell my crew not to make big moves leaning back as the hull rises since it will bring it right back down.

Make sure the angle of the block/jamb cleat is set right. It is adjustable and can make a big difference in how easy it is to cleat and uncleat.

After a while you will get to the point where you fly a hull while you are both on the wire. My son-in-law and I were out doing that with the wind between 25 and 35 mph. Our combined weight is about 370 lbs.



Howard

Agree with hrtsailor. Also, make very small adjustments to your sheet; otherwise you will do what I did yesterday.....dump your crew overboard. <img src="http://www.catsailor.com/forums/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

A friend and I were out with about 3mph of wind the other day. We managed to fly a hull. Granted it was the leward when we were trapping just to see if it would happen. Kind of a reverse wild thing.

This last weekend, I was trapped out on an TheMightyHobie18 w/about 8" -10" of air between the water and the dagger. The skipper un-cleated the main while not holding on very tight at all.

Instant tea-bag from over 10' up what a rush.

Sam

I do that to my crew when they stop paying attention and don't call out traffic.

This was just a streight up slip. He got just as wet as I did.

What (for me) is still taking some willpower is driving deeper in gusts when doing the wild thing. I haven't pitchpoled in a while, but I have buried the bows up to the jib and come to a screeching halt a few times. *whew* :rofl:

hey i did one of them this summer too, i was flyin a hull, solo, and it was quite rough, when all of the sudden my leeward hull dives. when this happened, i went flying from one end of the boat to the other, due to the extreme change in speed and the fact that my windward hull spins around and then dives as well. i tried to correct myself using the rudders and dumping the mainsheet, but i was flyin through the air my rudders were out of the water. when i landed back on the railing, i have just enough time to see my boat has come about, all the battens pop over, and the boat dumps on top of me... oh and also i was too light and the wind was too strong to keep it from turtling... ahhh... good times...

i did something similar yeserday, iwas flying a hull and all of a sudden a big gust hit and i was on nearly in the water but i could'nt get the trap hook off, so i just lent back on it a bit and it came back!