Roller furling jib for AI

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Roller furling jib for AI

Author: josh

Category: News

Published on Tuesday, 23 March 2010 21:06

Written by Josh

No, this isn't an official product yet (though I won't be surprised if a jib is released for both AI models), but this DIY roller furling jib put together by Hobie community forum member Sterling is really very impressive, and certainly worthy of mention here. More photos and information about how he built it and what sort of performance it provides can be found in this thread. There's a lot of good info there that would be enough to get any DIY enthusiast started. Here's the low down on performance:

I have tested my rig in light calm conditions all the way up to 20mph winds and 3 foot swells. At slower wind speeds and calmer water conditions, the rig is very stable, but once the winds pick up over that 10 to 15 mph mark, the small sail kit mast starts to bend and shed most of the wind. at that point the AI follows and tends to bury the down wind Ama between 3 and 10 inches deep. needless to say this is the time when i furl the jib. In winds up to about 15 mph, the jib adds a significant amount of "get up and go" meaning the AI accelerates noticeably quicker. i have not tested this rig with my gps yet but my older, non-furling design allowed me to reach 16 mph in about 22 mph, verses not using the jib in the same conditions i only could reach about 11 or 12 mph.

Im not going to say this rig is bomb proof, but it has held up to 20mph winds before. I have damaged (minor) the modified hatch's v-bracing once before, but other than that i have not damaged any other aspects or components of this rig. the biggest draw back to my rig would be if i choose to use the rig in high winds, (<20mph) the down wind Ama will go under water and it will slow down the AI. At that point it is best to furl the jib and just sail on the main. I have sailed this rig in chop up to 3 ft and the jib actually pulls the bow up above the water and helps to prevent the bow from submarining. it also helps keep the bow out of the water on every point of sail i have used the jib on.