OK, now that I have it, what do I do with it??

Just thought I would start a new thread about sailing with a Hooter (or blaster).

I installed a hooter on my 14 and I have sailed it a few times. Unfortunately, the boat has spent a lot of time on its side, but the rest of the time was a blast (or hoot, or whatever). I have only had a chance to sail it in moderate wind, too.

Some back ground on my set-up: I am not running with a jib--too many strings on the tramp and I don't think I could get the right angle for the pole under the bridles. I use the same holes in the tramp for the Hooter control blocks that the jib would use. I also set up a barber haul system that pulls the jib sheet out to the front corner casting.

OK, questions:
UPWIND: I tightened the Hooter halyard pretty tight and sailed it just like a big jib. I expected not to sail as close to the wind as with a jib, and I was right. I set up a barber hauler and played with the slot, too. I found that I needed to open it just a little because if I didn't, it made the front part of the main stall. I also found that the leeward stern was REALLY submerged. Moving far forward helped this, but it really made for a nervous ride. For those of you who have sailed with a Hooter (Rick, Bob), does this sound right?

DOWNWIND: I didn't play with halyard tension, so I left it pretty tight. Since the rig moved forward, it naturally loosened the leading edge of the Hooter. The edge of the Hooter curled like a spinnaker, so I sailed the boat as if it were a spinnaker by pumping the Hooter and steering down when it heated up too much. I had the main almost all the way in (and tight) and I used full barber haul to take the jib sheet to the side frame. I noticed in some of Bob's pictures, he is going down wind with the main traveler pretty far out. I thought that would put too much pressure on the mast and that when going down wind, you over rotate the mast while under traveling the main...Again, sound right??

I figured I would just chase Bob around the course at SF, but I would like to be a little prepared!!

based on what I've seen others doing, but I don't see the hooter paying off upwind. I know a couple of I-17 guys that have made the 'chute work upwind in super light conditions, but generally they go uni on the way up as you see Bob doing. Here's another pic of Bob going upwind, trapped out. Even when he's only hiked out, the leeward hull is almost completely submerged on the asymmetrical H14, which I hear is good for lift. I think Fahle also said something about losing that leeward hull on the 4.3 when he's trapped out hard, which led to the supposition that more beam in a new design might not help much. I've only trapped out upwind once or twice, but never noticed the same thing. I'm much more of a pincher in a breeze, which, right or wrong, keeps me on the boat.

Well, the Hooter seems to have a great deal of lift up wind--I haven't had it in strong wind, yet, but in the medium stuff, it wants to pull the leeward bow out of the water! I've gone over backwards twice as a result of a panic reaction from a puff.

Of course, the most spectacular flip was a classic cartwheel SCREAMING downwind to the beach. The wind really picked up and I tried to furl the Hooter to control the boat (first time out caution, you know) and the furling line broke. I really didn't have a choice, so I rode it in. I've never buried BOTH bows like that! I furled the sail by hand and righted it. The sail unfurled as some wind hit it and When I came into the beach, I must have gone 50 feet up the beach before I stopped. So much for the bottom!

I was concerned about sailing it up wind because it makes you foot, so I thought the jib would help. Then I thought about furling the jib and releasing the Hooter to go down wind and vice-versa tacking upwind. I set up a 1:2 purchase on the Hooter, so it furles quickly with about 3 feet of furling line. You really need to pull on it, though.

Couldn't you put H16 crossbeams on a H14 to widen it about a foot?

Dan,

One thing I noticed off the wind is you have to release the reacher instead of just bearing off in the puffs. The 14's bow are not as bouyant as some others. And you can take the blaster upwind up to 7kts, then you have to furl or just reach away! Your barberhauler idea is the way to go when using it upwind to open the slot. I found the same true last June when I first got the beast in the water. Send me a pic of your 2:1 furling line setup; I'm still using the prehistoric 1:1 system .

Bob

I don't have a picture of the furling 'system' as it is put away, but it is a 1:2, meaning I pull in one foot, it furls 2. It makes it pretty hard to pull--especially since the line is so small, but with one jerk on the line, maybe pulling 3 feet, the whole sail furls and even wraps the sheet around it a few times!!

I got the idea from WhiteCaps --click on the "Hooter Furling Line" link. There is a great diagram.

Dan,

Thanks for the link! I will change over this weekend!!

Bob

FIrst of all I find the Hooter is very easy to sail upwind. Needless to say you have sheet the heck out of it
On the set up initially, my pole is not that long and for the F14 I will have a longer pole.
But for now it is about 9' or thereabouts. The sail is masthead (Not worried at all about a mast breaking -- it is like telephone pole anyway). In fact in R&D I tried fractional and the boat was no faster than a stock Wave uni. Well, a little, but not worth the handicap

The clew goes all the way to the aft beam. Sail area is around 80 sq.ft.

In August last year I won the Sandusky Steeplechase by 11 handicapped minutes over the second place boat. It was a close reach in about 10-12. Beat all the H16s boat for boat and all but one TheMightyHobie18, with a Nacra just ahead of me.

A week or so later I sailed in the Conch Cup and took 2nd. Had the proper handicap been used, I would have won it. But, the import thing was we had about a 9 mile weather leg and starting it I was ahead of every H16. By the time we round the weather mark, all had passed, but were only a few hundred yards ahead.
This was again in 10-12.

Had the wind picked up, I would have either doused the Hooter and done the dog, or trapped.
One problem, I didn't have the trap set up on the boat.

The point is the Hooter does a heck of job upwind until the wind gets too heavy.

By the way, I am the one that first started using the 1:2 furling system. We used it on the Corsair Screachers upwind. It is hard to pull at the start, but once it gets going it is really fast.
The beauty of it is you use small line around the furling drum. But, you go back a turning bullet block and back to somewhere under the furler and deadend the small furling line.
Now, from the bullet block you use large, soft and comfortable line to actually pull it.
Using 1:1 you have to use all small line. It is hard to grip and hard to hand over hand.
With the big line you start off with a gigantic tug and from there it rolls up like nothing.., and very fast.
I use the same system on my T4.9 and I can enter the 2-length zone of the C Mark with the Hooter up and within those 2 lengths have it furled and make a slam-dunk slant rounding and just miss the mark already sheeted in and going to weather. Piece of cake.

Most of the explanations are on the Wave Class Site. http://www.waveclass.com and click on the link to Super Wave.

I think this may help in figuring out some of this stuff.

BY the way, Working on a new rig for the Wave with a self-tacking jib and roller furling Hooter.

Rick

Rick, are you going to go to a 24' mast and possibly wider beams, or keep those parts of the Wave stock?

Can't afford a new mast, so stock! Want a 45' bow sprit, 20' stern sprit and use a kite!

I forgot to mention that I did use a larger size line for the 1:2. I also put knots in the end to get something to grab on to. You're right, the initial tug is hard, but it really furles after that.

The embarrassing thing is that I was screaming downwind onto the beach and tried to furl the Hooter. I had the older style furler that did not have the leader going into it, so the furling line had wrapped around the underside of the bail. When I tugged on it, nothing happened, so I braced my foot on the front beam and put my weight into it. Well, the furling line snapped and I went heels-over-head to the back of the boat. The only thing that saved me from rolling competely off the boat and watching it sail away was that my head hit the tiller crossbar and I somhow managed to grab something. My feet were probably past the rudders!

Needless to say, I bought another furler..

I found that the leader made a difference, but the pulley that makes the 1:2 also got twisted up in the line and wouldn't feed easily. The next time I rigged the boat, I sat on the beach and furled it a few times to make sure everything was working smoothly.

Dan,

Stop yaking it up about your hooter and get me your article for the fleet newsletter A.S.A.P.
Chop-chop!

Tracie

Tracie, Maybe you can just take some of his chatter off the postings and make an article.

On the furler, the first thing I learned was you had to have a feeder. The bullet block between the pulling line and the furling line should not be swiveled. Next thing you know the line will twist and twist and there will be so much friction you won't get it in either.
Even then it still does twist. So, when I find myself sailing along downwind and have a little time I grab the furler line and twist it to get any possible twists out.

Still better than those Snuffer things that take spaghetti and gallons of McLube to get them up and down.
Rick

rick,
do you have a wire luff on your hooter.terry

You gave me a good laugh with your description of back-rolling when the hooter furler line snapped!

I went the other route: Had plenty of water ahead of me, so took a (solo) swim up to the furler to fix the tangles. What a strange experinece it was to look back at my Hobie 18 from the front of the 15' long spinnaker pole, after having doused the jib and the main sails. I was being pushed through the water at maybe about 2-3 knots (backwards), in the middle of the ocean, some 'several' miles off-shore and about 13 miles from my home port.

I've gone to a deck launching system now, even though I use a head sail that is smaller (per capita) than a Hooter. That furler up there seems like 'an accident waiting to happen,' to me.

Are my experiences unusual? Please let me know.

One thing that I will say for Rick and the rest of you who are Hootering... It is fast, quick, and very, very nice to have when you are going slightly upwind, in very light wind conditions. For beam-reaching in 0.5 knots of wind , .. on up to about 4 knots of wind, the Hooter is the best thing around; better than an outboard motor.

Downwind, well let's just say that it is a Hoot!!

GARY

Hi Terry and Gary,
The Hooter has non-stretch line in the luff, and yet is still very lightweight -- eased off it sails like a spinnaker luff.

Gary, I think the big ticket here is the feeder on the furler and small line that won't overlay. And be sure that when you let the furler line out to utilize the sail that you don't have a bunch of line dangling all over the place. You should put a stopper knot in the furler retreiver line so that it won't do that.
I also have enough furler retr. line to reach it from anywhere on the boat. In heavy air I will be on the back of the boat and want to be sure I can douse in a hurry.
Never had the problems you guys talk about except the first time. After that, used the furler with a feeder.
Oh! And another big mistake -- the furler drum MUST be secure and not be able to swivel. Use a solid shackle, not one with any swivels.
Good fortune,
Rick