I posted I had this problem elsewhere, but felt it's a good topic to post.

MY 2nd boat was dragging and I think a large part of it was we found many gallons of water in one hull. The hull looks solid - not chips, holes cracks. So I'm suprised. How would water get in?

Was thinking maybe o-ring may need to be replaced? though doesn't seem likely. What about up under the curled down edge of the top of teh hull? I haven' looked under there, but I recall feeing some silicone. ELSE - is the water getting in the vents during a capzize? (have 3 times already).

Where are the vents? do they let water in as well as air? I'm assuming the water might get in the pylons where the frame mounts to the hulls?

I suspeect this is a major part of the DRAG issue- (as well as my battens I think to tight in that sail set) making for a U shaped pocket to catch wind.

Also I think the water in hull is major reason for capsizing 3 times. AND reason we can't right the boat without a wave runner. Doesn't budge... but hull that's down in water is almost completely submerged, (had water in it) so there wasn't anything to leverage against. I mean you can't tilt it on the hull in the water if it's mostly underwater.

I'll try to shoot a lot of pics of both boats - so you folks can maybe assist. I didn't know my main sheet was all wrong on my first boat until I got the 2nd one and he had it setup correctly. (first guy I bought boat from didn't) so I just followed his error.
MUCH better with a line to the traveler and one to the block.

Cleaner too without 20 feet of line coiled up on the tramp.

2nd boat also had jib rigged properly. I can easily handle it and the main myself now. I would think there would be CLEAR instructions somewhere on Hobies site for running the lines on main and jib. I looked in my manual and there is a drawing and well I can't make heads or tails of the drawing - even now that I know how to rig the jib sheet.

With that much water.. has to be coming in from a worn keel I would think. Take a look at our FAQ on leak detection. That would help find the cause.

http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=169

Main and Jib sheet rigging varies on year / model, so the manual only shows the current main 6:1 and jib systems.

Here are two main systems:





The H16 Manual

The jib system is pretty basic. One continuous line. Starts tied to the jib car. Pass to the clew block and back to the same car, pass through the cleat and then across the trampoline. Pass forward through the cleat, to clew block and back to tie off at the car.

Large amounts of water in your hulls cause all kinds of handling problems. Its a matter of weight distribution or the fact that the weight constantly changes. As that 8lbs per gallon of water in your hulls gathers at the back when you attempt a jibe, the boat gets low in the back and Ive had the wind get under the boat and tip it over. The boat will be sluggish and more prone to turtle. You can find any major leaks by lightly pressurizing the hull with a compressor (5 lbs or so). I had my kid make a hand seal with the air hose at the drain plug while I wiped the hull down with soapy water. Hull problems were readily apparent.

NO, NO, NO, NO!

Using an air compressor is a good way to blow up your hull. I've seen the results, and there's no fixing it once it's blown.

Use a shop vac set on "blow". Do not connect the hose directly to the drain plug hole. Lightly pressurize the hull - it's way less than 5 psi. You want to blow bubbles, not blow up the hull.

When pressurizing a hull the thing to remember is that the deck has somewhere around 9 square feet of area (actually more, this is a conservative estimate), or about 1300 square inches. That means that for every 1 psi of pressure added the hull-to-deck joint has to withstand 1300 pounds of force. At 5 psi internal pressure you're applying around 6500 pounds of force on the deck joint.

Any time you're dealing with pressure, even apparently low pressures like 4 or 5 pounds you have to consider the amount of surface area that the pressure is acting on.

Ok. Let me elaborate on my use of the air compressor. I was free flowing 5lbs through a 3/8 hose for 10 seconds or so. Not much volume. Yes, if you have a perfect seal and a non functioning vent, you can blow the deck. Shop Vacs are a fairly low pressure device but they DO inflate much faster with that 3inch hose. A ShopVac can fill your hulls way quicker than an air compressor.