Had a great day with buddy trapped off the wings of my H18. Water was a little rough and we stuck the bows a few times, each time he went flying around and got pretty banged up on the bridle wires & hulls.
On old hobie I had a righting line tied to stern you cold hold on to but I've moved it to dolphin striker. Is it common to have a line running from trap wire to somewhere aft to prevent crew from flying forward or should I lash a line for him to hold onto?
It's common on distance race boats. I had them on the i20, search chicken lines. Basically a hook on a line that's attached to the transom and hooks to the trap ring. You will want a bungee take-up of some sort. Kinda complicated on the Hobie 18 as its not easy to route through the beam.
Foot straps are another (easier) option. The chicken lines take some effort to get clipped in, personally they made me nervous as I felt too attached to the boat.
A footstrap mounted just aft of the rear beam and between the rear beam and shroud seems to be more common than chicken lines these days. They can be installed blind, using stainless toggler snap toggle anchors. The one concern with footstraps is that you could be severely injured during a pitch pole if your foot gets trapped in them. For that reason some people install them using plastic pop rivets, so they pull out. I'm not a fan of that idea because you have to repair you hull when they pull out. A few years ago there was a brand of quick release straps that would release under high load hopefully before you hurt yourself. Don't know what happened to those.
Dave Bonin
1981 Nacra 5.2
The 20' Mystere had lines/bungee/hooks incorporated into the wings. I was to chicken to use them. The boat is 13.5' wide with the wings, trapped off a wing your head was almost 13' from the mast, when a hull came up it felt like you were on a high diving board.
On the Nacra I use a line tied to the pintle pin, ends short of the front beam. (thin line from pintle to rear beam, thick line from there to end). A bungee goes from front end of line through front beam to line on other side. When not in use the bungee keeps things snug. In use, crew can grab line,(bungee allows it to come up to waist level) & hold a strategically placed knot to prevent going forward.
I have heard of people bringing the line up behind them, & letting it ride about hip level. I think that might result in the possibility of hanging your legs in a crash, so I just reach down & grab it so as to keep it in front of me.
E C Hilliard
Nacra 5.7
Bombardier Invitation
Scroll down this thread on the Hobie forum to see the system I made for my boat. It's simple, strong, and easily removable when you don't want it.
http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=35385
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Edited by Dogboy on Aug 24, 2015 - 07:00 AM.
Steve M.
Thanks, I like idea off having a line to grab that retracts with bungee. Esentially what I had with old hawaiian right system.
I use one for long distance races. We have a line or loops tied to the stern of the boat. Then I have an adjustable strap with a carabiner at each end. I clip the loop (or line) and clip it into my harness. It really helps on long deep reaches.