Hobie Cat Trampoline

Hobie Cat Trampolines can be one of the tricky parts of tuning your boat. Because of the nature of the trampoline, you can dial your boat in. Let me explain. First of all the tramp comes in 3 pieces. 2 Sides, and 1 back piece to tie it all together. When you lace your trampoline, depending on how tight you do it, it will stiffen your boat, and make it so the hulls won’t flex. The more you tighten it up, the stiffer your boat becomes.

Here is the other thing about tightening your tramp. The tighter you make it, it will also bow in your side rails. If you make your tramp tight, and then look down the side of it, you will see that your rails will bow in. If you really are tuning your boat, and want to hike out, or trap out further to gain that little bit of extra speed,  the bowing will not allow you to move out as far as you normally can.

Although I don’t notice too much of a difference when I go out sailing, I like to have my tramp fairly tight. Just a little bow in the rails. This allows the hulls to stay together reducing flex between them, and still allows me to have fun on the trap!

As far as lacing it together, you have a few different options.

#1 – Stick with the single line. – Staying with one line is easy, and less time consuming when lacing your tramp. It also allows you to lace it without to much frustration.

#2– Using 2 smaller lines to lace them. This allows you to have more control over how tight you want your tramp to be, and I have talked with a few sailors who say this is the way to go. They say that it can really help you fine tune your tramp tightness

How to tighten your tramp.

The best way to tighten your tramp is to use a good set of pliers. This way you can really use the pliers to pull, tug, and roll your lines into knots.

Don’t look over your tramp. It’s not just where you site, but a vital part of your boat.

Related posts

hobie cathobie cat tramphobie Cat trampolinehobie cat trampoline gearhobie cat trampoline tight
Comments (3)
Add Comment
  • Mark H

    Cool article. I do not have much experience with catamarans, mainly just single man stuff or large crew boats.

    But have taken out a few catamarans, and had no idea what to do with the cat trampoline. lol. This helps. They are lots of fun when I have been on them.

  • Hobie tramp | Selfbuildusa

    […] Hobie Cat TrampolineMaking Your Own "Tramp Tightener". By Gary Willcox I made my own "tramp tightener" for a couple of bucks. I took a 2×4 and cut it to about 18" length. Then got … […]

    • getwet

      Then got what? Sounds like an interesting idea! I hope you reply back and finish your comment, or shoot us an email. Thanks for the info!