SAILING YOUR HOBIE 18’
Safe and sane guideline for the beginner; and an easy review for the experienced.
Always wear a life jacket when boating.
BALANCING THE BOAT
When sailing, sit on the upwind side of the boat (wind on your back) just in front of the tiller, facing the sail. Balance your weight further outboard as the boat begins to tip or heal over with the wind in the sails. Tuck one foot under the hiking strap for balance. Use your hand that is forward to hold and control the mainsheet. Use your hand that is aft to steer.
STEERING
Steer the boat by pushing the tiller away from you to turn towards the wind. Pull the tiller towards you to turn away from the wind. Keep the movement of the tiller to a minimum to prevent
SAIL POWER
Face the sail in order to pay close attention to the trim or adjustment of the sail. When the front of the sail, just behind the mast, luffs or flutters in the breeze, you lose power. To start moving, pull the sail in just enough to stop the sail from luffing. There are also short ribbons hanging on either side of the sail. Follow the diagram of sail and course adjustments above using the "tell tails" to get the most performance out of the sail for all angles of sailing. The tell tails react to air flowing over the sail and will help you see that the sail is pulled in too tight or too loosely. If you pull the sail too tight you will stall the sail power. Ease the sail out until it luffs, then pull it in just a little until it stops luffing. You will adjust the trim whenever the wind changes direction or you change course.
WIND
| CAN'T |
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| AREA | Hauled | |||
Close |
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| THIS |
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| Hauled | IN | Close |
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Close |
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| SAIL |
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Reach |
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| Close | Reach | ||||
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Medium | Reach |
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| Medium | Reach | |||
| Reach | Run |
| Broad |
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| Broad |
| Reach | |||||
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| Downwind |
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Refer to the sail trim diagram below for approximate sail settings for the different points of sail or directions you will be sailing. Note the "can't sail zone". You cannot sail in this direction due to the fact that the sail will luff constantly when pointed into the wind. If you get stuck in irons (or stop pointed into the wind) you will need to reverse the rudder and push the sail forward to back- wind it. The jib should be back winded by the crew to assist. This will back the boat up. Reverse the rudders and let the sail out until the boat is positioned more across the wind (close reach). Then you can correctly trim the sail and start moving forward.
WIND
FALLING
OFFCOMING
ABOUT
HEADING UP
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