Has anyone out there had issues replacing a broken luff track? Mine cracked and split when the sail jammed while hoisting it (I now know I wasn’t raising the sail properly). So I went to replace it. No problem I thought – I had an extra comp tip long story) and I find the directions on Hobie’s site
http://2010.archive.hobiecat.com/support/pdfs/38584001.pdfand followed them to a tee. Carefully pry off the good luff track with screw drivers then tap it back on the other comptip. Only instead of popping back on it splits open. The hobie fact sheet said “The track should snap into place without great effort”. Well mine split without great effort. I thought maybe it was too cold (if was ~ 60F when I was doing it). So I cut off the split section and tried again but this time warm it up with hot water. It was a bit better but this time it cracked but did not completely split. To fill the gap I cut off a section off the damaged piece and put it in but this time I flood it with boiling water to really soften it up before installing. This piece actually goes on how the hobie fact sheet explains (however it was only 18” long). I latter find out second hand at our club that the local dealer broke three luff tacks trying to install one on a mast. At least I am not the only one having problems. So some questions:
Is there any better way to install the mast luff track? I now realize that it may be better if it is hot. What about drilling the rivets out of the comptip end and sliding it on from the top? Anyone had better success with this? Matt are you out there? Any ideas?