Hobie 16 - Righting

Righting

When an H16 capsizes, it will normally lie on its side as the mast is sealed and positively buoyant. It is imperative that at least one of the crew immediately gets onto the righting line to prevent the boat turtling completely upside down as it is more difficult to recover from that position. With all sheets released, the crew stand on the lower hull. The bows of the boat should be pointing into the wind and the crew can facilitate this by shifting their weight forwards along the hull which will allow the wind to push on the trampoline and 'windvane' the boat head to wind. Both crew then lean back on the righting line ready to grab the bottom of the boat as it comes up to prevent it from capsizing to the other side.

It is far more difficult for one person to right an H16 without using additional equipment such as a righting bag or some device to slacken the shrouds.

In practice it is not always possible to align the capsized boat with bows pointing into wind, particularly in the presence of waves. If the boat is righted from a position where the mast is to some degree upwind of the hull, the boat’s inertia, coupled with the wind pressure, can cause it to immediately capsize in the opposite direction. The crew can mitigate this tendency by grabbing hold of the dolphin striker on the windward side of the boat as it passes through the horizontal position. In the interests of safety the crew must be prepared to release the dolphin striker and allow the boat to capsize for a second time if it appears that they are in danger of being lifted clear of the water.

A Hobie 16 can be brought onto its side from a fully inverted or ‘turtled’ position by a single crew member with relative ease. The technique involves one crew member climbing aboard one of the upturned hulls and sitting or standing as close to the rear as possible. Thanks to low buoyancy towards the rear of the boat, this should cause the hull to sink; the diagonally opposite front corner will rise clear of the water and the boat will come up onto its side. The conventional capsize recovery technique can be used from this point onwards.