Damaged Base of Mast

All

I was out sailing the other day, and I hadn't noticed that the mast on my AI was not locked in properly. By the time I noticed that it was sitting higher than it should, the locating pin at the bottom of the mast receptacle had chewed out the base of the mast.

My AI is a 2012 model.

Is it possible to replace this part without changing the lower half of the mast?

If so, Hobie what is the part number?

Colin

Colin, this sounds like a very rare problem which is known to Hobie Australasia. It may well be fully covered as a warranty issue.

Does your mast look something like this?


Your dealer should be able to help you.

_________________
Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

Hi Tony,

Thanks. It looks exactly like that!

I'll check with the dealer.

Could somebody from Hobie, Matt, Make comment on this?

Colin

We are all on holiday until the 5th of January. Should be no problem to replace the part I'd think. May still work as is?

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

Thanks for the reply Matt, and I hope you had a good break.

Unfortunately the wear is such that the mast is jamming when trying to unfurl the sail and is very stiff when furling it due to the mast kicking off on an angle.

I did some measurements of the mast step area at the weekend using the top plate of the ball race assembly as a datum. Dimensions recorded below.

Distance from ball race top plate to the bottom mast receptacle: 268mm
Distance from ball race top plate to the top of the mast receptacle alignment pin: 241mm
Distance from bottom of furling drum to the bottom of the mast: 249mm

From these measurements you can see that although the alignment pin at the bottom of the mast receptacle is 27mm tall only approx 8mm of it inserts into the base of the mast.
So in my case the wear to the base of the mast has caused the mast to jam as it is no longer being held true.

Matt, can you send me the part number for this part, and let me know the quickest way to get one to Perth Western Australia?

Thanks
Colin

In Australia, you need to contact your dealer who would get the parts from Hobie Australasia in Huskisson.

79511101 BASE / HOLE - '08 ISLAND MAST

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

In Australia, the website is http://www.hobiecat.com.au/

On that site we have a dealer finder http://www.hobiecat.com.au/dealers/

From there, we have a number of Hobie kayak dealers that you can contact direct.

_________________
Steve Fields
Hobie Cat Australasia
Huskisson NSW Australia
http://www.hobiecat.com.au

Matt, Steve,

Thank you for your replies. All the information I need.

I'll contact the local dealer I bought the boat from and see how I go.

The reason for my question re the fastest way to get a replacement is based on a previous experience with the local dealer detailed below.
I was needing a replacement Mirage drive mast, and when I enquired about a replacement, cost and delivery, I was told I'd need to wait about 4 weeks while they waited on a container to be filled with boats, and other large accessories....!
I asked why the Mirage drive mast could not just be put in a mail bag and sent across as it was a small item.
I was told that this was not the done thing and I'd have to wait for the container....!
I went online and bought it!

I know at most that Western Australia is 3 hours behind the Easter States, but at times it is 50 years behind!
So thank you for the link to the store finder so that I can broaden my search.

Cheers
Colin

Colin, you have 10 stores in Perth for options. Most GO stores airbag parts and ship parts weekly. If you have trouble with GO stores, just contact Matthew Williams at head office.
Easy as.

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Steve Fields
Hobie Cat Australasia
Huskisson NSW Australia
http://www.hobiecat.com.au

Thanks Steve. I'll check with them and see how I go.

Cheers
Colin

Well, I must say I'm a bit is an idiot. I fell for it again. I contacted the local GO dealer on the 9th of January about the mast part I required. I gave the part number quoted by Matt and they were very helpful and asked for the hull serial number to check that they were definitely ordering the correct piece. All good so far.
I asked how long it would take to get across to WA?

They said that they had a container almost ready to go!

I told them I was not interested in waiting for a container to be shipped and that I wanted the part airfreighted.

I was told that the container was going to leave Monday 12 January and be here for the weekend.

Ok I said, that will work on this occasion.

I phoned the store yesterday. The container has not left yet!!!
I'm now told a week to ten days before I see the part?!

Very poor service! And I blame myself for believing what I was told about delivery times. So you'll agree I'm a bit of an idiot.

I often see articles in the media about Australian retailers lamenting the boom in online sales.
I wonder why that is....... Maybe they have to look in a dictionary for the meaning of customer service!
Hobie please take this as constructive criticism of at least part of your WA dealer network.
Colin

Good afternoon Colin, Your not an idiot!

1/ In my email to you, I suggested that if you had problem with a GO store to contact Matt Williams. Any GO store can give you his details. The buck stops with him.
2/ Personally, If I have problems with one store, I choose another.
3/ The container left Hobie Cat Aus more than a week ago.

Since you have not received the part yet, I contacted Matt Williams, which was a suggestion to you in the first place.

You are a Hobie customer and the GO store should have serviced you better, they did not or so it appears.


Matt or GO will contact you cheers!

_________________
Steve Fields
Hobie Cat Australasia
Huskisson NSW Australia
http://www.hobiecat.com.au

Hi Steve. Thank you for the reply. I agree with everything you've said. To be honest, and apologies if it was not clear in my earlier message, up until I phoned the store yesterday to enquire if my part had arrived I had been happy with the arrangement in regards to my part being put in the container. They told me the container was leaving on Monday the 12th, and I'd see the part at the weekend. I didn't have a problem with this, and so I did not expect to have to use your offer of contacting Matt Williams. It was only when I spoke to the store yesterday and was informed that my part would be another 7-10 days that I got annoyed.
As a customer I have to believe what the shop, any shop, tells me, and in this case, to be told yesterday that the container had not left, and now to find out that it left over a week ago leaves me feeling, well, not very happy...... I'll call the Hobie Australia number tomorrow during business hours, and hopefully this can be resolved.

What you typed earlier, is the attention to customer service I'd heard Hobie was famous for.

Thanks
Colin

Hi Steve & Matt Williams,

Thank you for your assistance in resolving the issue I had with getting the part I required. I picked it up last Thursday and fitted it at the weekend, so all good now.

It's appreciated that if a problem arises we as customers can contact you guys for assistance. You will of course understand that I hope to not have to make a habit of it when I require accessories......
Thanks
Colin

Does anybody know the part number for the same part but on a Tandem Island mast?