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HC18 - raising mast and breaking mast base hinge http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=44033	Page 1 of 1

Author:	clovis1234 [ Sat Jul 21, 2012 5:01 pm ]
Post subject:	HC18 - raising mast and breaking mast base hinge
Folks, I bought a HC18 that has a longer/extended mast. It's really heavy and one person cannot lift if by standing on the trampoline. I installed a winch on my trailer, had everything in place and started lifting the mast, as I want to be able to do this by myself and not depend on any help. The mast raised slowly, as I used the winch. However, just as it started to go up, the mast tilted to the right side and broke the base hinge. The shrouders are not tight as the mast is still lowered, so I wonder: What is the trick in making sure that the mast does NOT tilt sideways, either right or left? My question must be a stupid one and have just cost me 45 bucks to buy a new base hinge. thanks for any insight Clovis

Author:	pknapp66 [ Mon Jul 23, 2012 12:17 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: HC18 - raising mast and breaking mast base hinge
Normally the trap wires are tied to the outer most part of the front crossbar to help hold the mast straight.

Author:	BrianCT [ Mon Jul 23, 2012 1:23 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: HC18 - raising mast and breaking mast base hinge
One thing that I've found that helps is to rest the mast on a 6' step ladder I station behind the rear beam. It's a practical solution if you store your boat mast up and only have to bring the ladder along a couple of times/year (I'm sure there are better methods if you trailer everywhere). Having the mast in an elevated position like this eliminates some of the challenges you face in having to get the lift started while "navigating" the diamond wires on a bouncy trampoline. Even with the shrouds connected you're likely to have enough side-to-side sway to snap your hinge (as you discovered) so priority #1 is keeping the mast as straight as possible when raising and lowering. I like pknapp66's idea of using the trap wires to help reduce the sway.

Author:	JSWoerner [ Mon Jul 23, 2012 2:23 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: HC18 - raising mast and breaking mast base hinge
There was a discussion about this back in May. Here's a link: http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=43042&p=179560#p179560 My post is about 5th down. I used to be very leery of stepping and lowering the mast. I still don't like doing it but I'm a lot more confident now. I'm glad I store mine mast up and only have to do it a couple of times a year.

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