Hobie Cat Forums

I am having an issue with the SS main sail feeder that is attached to the mast in the track to assist in feeding the mainsail bolt rope into the track on the mast. Mine is cutting the cover (looks like kevlar) on the bolt rope of the sail near the top and especially near the bottom of the sail.

When I first got the boat last year it was opened up too far and the bolt rope would pop out, I bent the ss guide in with some pliers and it seemed to work fine till a few weeks ago. I am thinking I need to do the same thing again.

Does it help to have a properly working ss main feeder or should I just remove it?

I need to do something soon so I don't damage the sail any further and now I probably need to have the sail repaired also.

I removed mine because sometimes, when raising the main, the bolt rope would ride up above the feeder and it was a Pain in the a$$ to get it fed back down thru.

Word of caution, either put the screws back in the holes or seal them so that the mast doesn't fill with water if/when the boat goes turtle.

Stephen

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If the grass is greener on the other side of the fence, maybe it is time to water your own lawn.

Remove it, it's worthless. It causes headaches, damages the sail, and provides no benefit.

As mentioned, reinstall the screws with some silicone to prevent the holes from leaking after removal.

sm

Why does my sail feeder cause me no problems and his causes havock? I have an 84 18SE.

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ALLEY CAT 1984 RED LINE HOBIE 18 MAGNUM
Sail # 10505 or 277

I wish I knew the answer to that question.

I think I am going to take mine out the next time I get to the boat.

If your bolt rope is in decent shape, the luff track is clean and lubed, your sail is laid out on the tramp with the bolt rope aligned with the luff track, the feeder has the right gap and no sharp edges, then everything will work OK. However, if anything is off, the feeder will just cause problems. It will catch the edge of the sail, or the bolt rope will pop out of it forcing you to lower the sail and start over, or even worse, it will tear your sail. And the thing is, it does NOTHING.

The machined edge of the luff track opening is plenty smooth to easily guide the bolt rope into the track (it's smoother than the sharp edge of the feeder). We took this off our boat probably more than 10 years ago and all the problems disappeared. I've never used it on any boats since.

sm

I removed the sail feeder this weekend, put the screws back in with some silicone sealant and the sail fed great into the mast and moved much better for the halyard hook process. I wish I had done this before it cut up my bolt rope cover on the sail. The damage to the sail doesn't seem to be causing any problems or getting worse so I will probably delay getting it fixed by a sail loft.

What is the best lube to use in the sail track?

McLube Sailkote is gold. Spray it on both sides of your mailsail bolt rope as well as the mast sail track. Works wonders. I've also used the less expensive "Blaster" dry lube you see at Home Depot. The Blaster works for a while but seems to wear/wash off a lot faster than the McLube.

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Irie, mon....
'82 Hobie 18 SE with '85 Nationals Prism (White) sails
'73 Laser HID# 3463

+1

Sail feeders need to be very well adjusted to your sail to work properly. I've adjusted mine 0.050" at the time until the fit was perfect. Now it works great. I can hoist the main single handed and with just pulling on the halyard.

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H17

I can hoist my mainsail single handed by just pulling the halyard too, and I don't use a sail feeder. Plus I don't have to worry about the feeder tearing my sail or getting jammed. I took that useless thing off my boat years ago and never looked back. I'm pretty sure new boats don't come with them anymore.

sm

You are correct, Sir! I've locked up FX-1 and Gateway, both have no sail feeders.

I guess, I will consider mine a nice and shiny decoration.

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H17