Hobie Cat Forums

I purchased a used trapeze setup on Craigslist a while back for an H16, and I recently set it up on my boat. It was all in great condition except for the shock cord which I replaced. When I had it set up, I noticed that the wire seemed a bit long. Having never used one before, I thought it was supposed to be that way. When I attempted to trap out, I found myself being dragged in the water rather than suspended in the air. I adjusted the nylon rope lock all the way up so the dog bone couldn't go down any. It was still too low. I ended up hooking up to the end of the steel wire and while it worked for that day, it was troublesome, and even then it was still a bit low. I looked up the proper length for trapeze wires and it should be 16' 7' 1/8 from what I read. Since my boat is 16' 7'', I simply used it measure the wire which seems to be about 8'' longer than my boat. I can safely say that my wire needs to be shorter. How would one go about shortening the cable? Would I need to cut it then reinstall the hoop and crimp it? Or is there some way to temporarily wind some up and crimp it, so that way I could let some out if I made it too short?

I also want to thank those of you who have given me advice here on the forum. My boat needed quite a bit of work to get on the water and I knew nothing about it. If it wasn't for everyone on the forum, my cat would still be in parts and I'd be scratching my head, not knowing what to do.

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'73 Hobie 16
1970's styrofoam snark

First thing to do is make sure you connected the shackle for the trap wires correctly to the mast. The shackle should be connected to the upper hole on the tang.

If you're going to shorten your trap wires, you need new nicopress sleeves, a pair of wire cutters, and a nicopress tool (hand swager). If you're careful about cutting the wires, you can salvage the existing stainless thimble, otherwise, you'll need new thimbles too. Measure the wires, trim them, install the thimble and nicopress sleeve and you're done. Not much to it. It's easiest if you put the swage tool in a bench vice so you can hold the wire assembly in one hand and work the swager with the other.

sm

pyroboy08

I am not sure where you live but if you go to a Hobie dealer or a West Marine store, they have the parts, tools and expertise to help you shorten your trapeze wires.

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Tim
82' H16
Sail # 88863
Panama City Beach, FL

The tool fot the fittings should be part of your Hobie Hell Box buy several wire fittings to fit your Hobie wires This could save a trip or a vacation I Know this to be true Been there Done That

My mast tang has no upper hole. It doesn't even have room to drill one. My boat is an '83 and I believe it's the stock tang. Besides, connecting it to the upper hole would really only shorten it by a few inches. You make it sound pretty easy to shorten them, so I'll take a shot at it.

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'73 Hobie 16
1970's styrofoam snark

If you don't have the 3-hole tang, your mast is a lot older than an '83.

The original (from 1971) mast tang had only one hole; the 3 hole tang became the standard around 1977.

I was told it was an '83. But only having one hole isn't a big issue is it?

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'73 Hobie 16
1970's styrofoam snark

That boat is an amalgam of parts - the sail is from the '70s for sure based on the sail number.

Anyway, the one-hole tang isn't necessarily a problem, but it's not nearly as strong as the 3-hole one. You'll need to keep a sharp eye on the tang for signs of wear or cracking around the hole.

The one-hole tang is also problematic when it comes to attaching a second set of trapeze wires. There's just not enough space on the bow of the shackle, so they have to be installed on the pin.

I ran into a similar problem, I bought some used Hobie 16 rigging off of ebay that included trap wires. I did not try to use the trap wires until 2 weeks ago, and I found the wires way too long. There was also no eyelet at the end, just 2 sleeves. One at the end and one a few inches below the handle. Was there something different about the trapeze system back in the day or are my wires just plain wrong as well?

PS, I ended up buying replacement trap wires that worked just fine.

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2001 Nacra 20
84 H16 108123

The original (from '71 to ~ '76) Hobie 16 trap wires were longer than what's used now. In keeping with Hobie Alter's philosophy of keeping things simple, they did not have any adjustment system, just a larger thimble on the lower end. You hooked into the thimble to go out on the trapeze.

Obviously, an adjustable system is far superior than a fixed length system and it didn't take long before racers adopted them. They became standard equipment shortly thereafter.

I asked that questions a few years ago and here's what Matt had to say on the subject:

Just checked the serial number on my boat, it's a '73! I suppose I will have to change my signature. I can confirm, however, that the sails are not original. I haven't gotten around to shortening my wires yet. I figured I will wait until I install my new shrouds and fore stay which are most likely different lengths from the stock ones on the boat. I have just been hooking into the thimble on the trap wire. It is obviously not preferable, but it is better than not trapping out at all.

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'73 Hobie 16
1970's styrofoam snark