new flat head sail gets pulled out of top 8" of mast sl

I finally bought a new set of sails for my 18 year old Hobie 21 SE. The new sails have a square top which adds something like 8 square feet of sail area I believe. Unfortunately the top 3-8" of the luff rope (correct term?) has started pulling out of the mast sail slot at the top depending on the wind conditions (but the sail head stays engaged in the masthead lock). This makes it extremely difficult to pull the sail down. I am sure this is a result of the change of angle of the effective load on the sail rope because of the square top (more perpendicular loads).

Since there are lots of square top sails on Hobies now, I must not be the first person to run into this problem and am wondering if there is a well known solution to it. The top 10" of the luff rope has an extra wrap of material around it so it is already (slightly) thicker than the rest of the luff rope.

Any ideas ?

If you have a comp tip then the aluminum luff track upgrade should fix this problem. If you allready have the aluminum piece I don't know.

I would ask the sailmaker why it is not working properly, they should have some ideas on how to fix it.

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Brad Stephens
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I second the alum fitted piece first. If it continues after this upgrade, have the sailmaker change out the luff rope to the next largest size or sew a sleeve of dacron over the affected area. Do the alum upgrade first.

Bob

_________________
Bob Curry
Master Unirig Sailor

Thanks you guys.

I just found out about the 1' aluminium luff track upgrade and have purchased it.

If I still have problems, a sail maker said their solution is to replace the top 6" of the luff rope with a solid deralin (plastic) rod (attaching the rod to the sail by wrapping it in a cover sewn to the sail).

Don't believe the instructions with the alum luff. Its harder than they say. I found it easiest to use three people. 1 holding the mast steady at the spreaders and the other two pushing the track on at each end. With a mallet I don't think it would have ever gone on. Be careful removing the plastic track and put the alum on before you replace the cut plastic, it must slide by the hook.

What instructions ? All I got was a piece of black extrusion, was told to take the mast cap off, pry off a foot of plastic track, cut it and slide in the replacement aluminum track. I was hoping to do this in about a weeks time. Any forewarning as to whether this approach will work and or whether the job is much harder than it might first appear would be greatly appreciated!

Whats this "the other two pushing the track on at each end" ?

Thanks

I don't think it's the sail. My original main (!) on my 21SE does the same thing, it started last year.
Where do I find these aluminum pieces?

Call your local dealer. Ask for Hobie Part number 50404101. 12.5" Luff Track Update - $27.10

Brian C

de,
There are instructions on this site. Don't think you should take the top cap off. Pry the plastic track off and cut off 12". Then snap the aluminum track on and slide it up to the top. Reinstall plastic track. The aluminum track is designed to snap on the comptip, yes I said snap on. The plastic goes on no problem but the aluminum is not that easy. As I said earlier we used 3 people to install it. Two of us pushing at each end of the aluminum track until it snapped on, then slid it up. I tried knocking it on with a mallet as the directions indicate for hours with no luck.

Thanks guys, I just ordered the parts.
Now I'll check out the instructions on this site.

Pardon my ignorance but can you point me in the direction of the directions for the luff track install.

The one below is for the plastic track, but should tell you what you need to know.

http://www.hobiecat.com/support/pdfs/38584001.pdf

Brian C

Brian,
Thanks again for your help. I wish Mariner Sails Wind and Water Sports was in my neighborhood. I still can't seem to locate that file in the support area.
A couple more questions as you seem to be the go to guy for obscure parts like this.
1. Any other upgrade parts I should know about for the 21SE?
2. I have tried for a while, including asking Matt M about this one. The 21SE has four phillips ss machine screws, two in each hull with their axis running straight into the side of the hull just below the deck at the end of each crossbar. One of my screws is stripped out. I tried drilling over one size and tapping for a larger screw, no luck. I still do not know the function of this screw and if I am in danger of hull/crossbar connection failure. My best guess is that it was used to hold the crossbar end sockets in place during hull curing. Any ideas here?
Brian W

Oooo... Not sure I could handle your winters.

The support files are all pretty much Adobe PDFs. So if you don't have acrobat reader installed, or have pop-ups blocked, it will be a problem.

And I'm not really an obscure parts guy. I'm just the guy who answers the phones, emails and uploads data into the shop website. My boss on the otherhand is totally into the obscure parts. He recites part numbers from memory. He's been involved with Hobies since the 70's, selling boats for 30+ years and sold me my first cat. The luff track was only easy because we'd just done one.

As for the SE, I've only seen two in my brief career since it's been long discontinued. Probably the things I'd do if I owned one is run ultralight line for the mainsheet and jibsheet, upgrade all the blocks to top of the line Harken or Schaeffer, EPO2 blades and maybe fair the centerboards. But like the H-17 I had, the 21SE seems to be very well setup right out of the box.

We've got a "local" customer from Corpus who pounds the snot out of his in the surf. So most of what I know about the boat is because of the things he's broken. Like with the Trifoiler and 21SC, 21 SE specific parts are somewhat difficult to get.

As for the 4 screws, I have no clue and can find nothing in the documentation I have. Matt definitely has more years at this than I do, so he'd know first. If I remember, I'll ask the boss tomorrow when we open up.

Brian C