Hobie Football
I turtled my 170 last summer, actually it was late spring, in my Connecicut Lake. The water was too chilly, and the sun was behind the clouds on that windswept day. My lips turned blue during my lengthy unsuccessful attempts to right my white turtle. I decided that day, shivering on the dock that it would not happen again. I ordered a Hobie mast head football (from Hunter), and bolted it to the mast last fall. (It took me that long to get my outboard motor running again.) I drilled two holes through the mounting bracket of the football, then clamped it to the top of the mast (obviously, in my yard, not on the boat), and drilled holes through the mast cap, making sure not to position the holes in a place so that they would not interfere with the rolling of the masthead halyard blocks. Two carriage bolts did the trick. I have been discussing other things with the maker of the 170 (JYSailboats in East Lyme, CT, I was just there today), and they told me that with the Hobie football, my turtling days were over. I hope so. My 170 was the earliest model, manufactured in 1998 (it had 4 leaking cup holders), and had no lead in the centerboard. Subsequent 170s, I have been told, have lead in the centerboard. I just obtained a new weighted centerboard, and put a reefing point in my main. Hopefully, with all of these precautions, my 170 will be more stable, and I will not swim unexpectedly. I have found that with the 170, in a wind gust, the jib will cause the boat to turn away from the wind, thereby increasing the heeling effect of the gust. (That is what turtled me last spring). I have gotten into the habit of loosening the jib sheet or reefing the jib when I see a big gust coming. The main will then tend to turn the boat into the wind. But I suggest not cleating the main under such windy conditions, or at least be prepared to loosen the main sheet in a hurry. On really windy days, I sail with the main only.
