Hobie 16 Mast Base

Hello, I have an old Hobie 16 and when I took the mast down at the end of the season, the base of it broke. This is the cast piece (not sure the material but seems quite soft since it broke). It appears to be attached to the base of the mast using rivets. The piece that broke is the piece that receives the bolt used to hold the mast when you need to lower the mast. I am trying to attach a picture, but am having great difficulty. If someone can send quick instructions, I'll add a pic.

How would I go about replacing this piece. Do people order from Hobie? Hobie Dealers? How would one find one?

I am in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Thanks for any help in advance.

Also, if someone can tell me where the serial number is located, I'll use it to identify the model and year of my cat.

The mast base is cast aluminum. They can break after several decades of use. To replace it, remove the rivets that hold it into the mast. If you haven’t removed rivets before, you will want a nice sharp drill bit about 5/16”-3/8” diameter. Carefully drill off only the head of the rivet. Then use a 3/16” straight punch to drive the shank of the rivet into the mast. Once all rivets are removed, tap the casting out of the mast. You can use a large flat head screwdriver and a hammer to hit the edge of the casting. Move the screwdriver between sides so the casting comes out straight.

The new casting taps back into the mast. It will not come drilled, so you will need to “match drill” it to the holes in the mast extrusion. Drill the holes to accept 3/16” diameter pop rivets. You will want to use stainless steel rivets and will need a heavy duty riveter to pull the S/S rivets (they are about $25 at Harbor Freight).

A replacement mast base should be available through a Hobie dealer. Murrays also has them.

Definitely make sure that you know what model of Hobie you have because the mast bases are all different. The serial number should be etched into the transom of each hull.

sm

Like SRM, we've seen that happen often.
Awful, but very fixable.

We sail out of Nepean SC, west end Ottawa.

Please contact me, I'd be glad to help or guide you on this and any Hobie project.

Join us this summer at Nepean SC?

Happy St Paddy's day

_________________
2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'