New Sails Are Shorter

I have a new set of sails for my Hobie 16. Apparently they are shorter than the old ones to allow for stretch. However, now when I downhaul the sail, the boom sits right in the wide spot in mast slot (therefore it's not really attached to the mast). It seems that I either need to:

1) Temporarily lengthen the halyard (not sure the best way).
2) Add or Move the little swage that hooks onto the front of the mast.

I'm just not sure how to deal with this problem. I'm pretty much new to this, so be kind. Anyone dealt with this before?
Thanks,
Nicholas

Shorter?

I have never seen a new sail that short when downhauled. They always get down closer to the black band. Where did you get the sails, what color and sail number?

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

What year is you boat, does it have a Comptip. I have seen a lot of mast that were cut wrong when installing the Comptip upgrade. Our Air Force base has like 5 boats with your same problem, the only way I know how to fix it is install a new comptip. make sure this is the problem before you start cutting!

Thanks,
Brad Stephens
www.sunjammers.com
Authorized Hobie/Vanguard/Hunter Dealer
Hobie Division 15 Chairman
[email protected]
850-235-2281
Panama City Beach, FL

You gotta crank the downhaul

Nicholas,

If it's not too much trouble measure the length of the mast from the bottom (not the bottom of the base plate but the bottom of the mast extrusion) to the top of the mast extrusion either where the comptip starts or the base of the mast head.

Let us know what this measures and we will be able to tell you if it is a sail problem (not likely), or mis-measured comptip installation.

John

Thanks for all your replies. I purchased the boat and it came with the new sails, so I don't know where they came from or any details. As little as I wish to sound like a newbie, I don't know what a comp tip is. Is that the peice at the top of the mast with the pulley in it that the halyard runs through? I'm at work right now so I can't measure the mast, sorry. My boat is a '78 if I remember correctly. I tried yarding on the downhaul and just got a wicked rake in the mast with little improvement on my situation.
Thanks,
Nicholas

The fitting at the top is called the mast head. I have a 1978 16 (as well as a couple of others). 1978 was well before the use of the comptip. The comptip is a plactic section of mast that replaced the top third+/- of the aluminum extrusion in 1988+/-.

The stock mast head in 1978 was a large circular fitting about 10 inches in diameter. Matt(s) may be able to give the exact dimensions. The comptip masthead is flat.

If you are using a stock mast from 1978 I would then think that perhaps you have after market sails that are the wrong size. Perhaps if you could measure along the luff of the sail (the part that slides into the mast) and let us know what that dimension is we could determine if it is a sail problem.

John