Hobie Cat Forums

So my son and I decided to replace the worn out shock cord for the trap lines on our newly acquired H18.

These had been removed from the boat and left to gently marinate in the blue plastic bin full of noodle like wire and rope, mysteriously braised shiney little metal bits and lightly toasted small plastic turney, clippy things; these were all bathed in a piquant dry rub of crispy seaweed and panko crunchy sand.

We checked the H18 rope and line cookbook and it said we need four 7' shock cords. I get that we need four but how are these routed? 7' seems way too long if you're going to the rail. But if you shorten them up and attach them to the rail you don't have enough give to really hike out.

Thanks for the help!

Chef Zubie

The cords enter fittings in the lip near the shroud. The forward one routes forward to an eye fitting riveted to the inside of the lip. The aft cord... routes to a similar fitting aft. You will see two rivet heads in the hull lip + / - 1" spaced where the eyes are located.

The should be a loop at the end of each cord. Take the bitter end and pass through the lip fitting. Pull all of the cord through and then up to the eye. Poke the end up through the eye. Tie a knot in the end to hold. Tuck the knot up under the lip.

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Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Hobie Cat USA

Matt,

Thanks for the reply. So the loop is on the end that attaches to the trap? How big should that loop be?

Cheers,

Zubie

Yes... trap end. Just enough to pass the line through / tie a connecting knot. I'd guess stock is about 1" Loop.

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Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Hobie Cat USA

Don't forget there is one in your boom that works with the outhaul car.

Add two rivits for this recipe.

Cork guy

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Corkguy H18

Cork Guy,

I'm a little confused...there is a shock cord in my boom? I need to do something with this?

Thanks for the clarification!

Zubie

He is just mentioning that there is another piece of shock cord in the boom. It provides forward tension for the outhaul car. To replace it, you have to remove the rear end cap from the boom, which is why you will need 2 extra rivets. I think the shock cord here is 2-3ft long.

Ill add my 2 cents about the trap shock cords in the other thread.

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1992 Hobie Cat 18 #16943
Hobie Fleet 198, Rapid City, SD

I once replaced the shock cord in my boom with out taking off the end cap. I used a stiff coat hanger and some needle nose pliers. So just know it is possible, but difficult, but with two sets of hands it made be easier.

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

I just replaced the shock cord in my boom a couple weeks ago. It is 7' long. There are 2 aluminum blocks inside the boom the out haul cleat bolts into, fore & aft. Each has two holes in it, port & starboard. The shock cord routes through both starboard holes, through the hole in the end of the traveler car, and back through both holes in the port side. The ends are knotted off.

It might be possible to route it without removing the end cap, but I wouldn't recommend it. The slot along the top side of the boom is really thin. In my opinion difficult sounds like an understatement. Besides, with the right equipment removing the end cap isn't difficult at all.

The rivets are stainless 6/6 size. You can get them easily at your Hobie dealer or search online and find many sources. Their diameter is 3/16". There are different recommendations for drilling out the rivets.
1. Use an over-sized bit, like 1/2", to drill off the head. Then use a punch to push the rivet through.
2. Use the same diameter bit to drill the rivet all the way out.

With the second option you run more risk of enlarging the holes so a new rivet may not hold as well, or at all, so the first is more recommended. However I did find that due to the shape of the casting sometimes there isn't anywhere for the rivet to go. If you find you can't get the rivet to punch through you may have to drill it all the way out, but be extremely careful here.

Installing new rivets is pretty simple too. They are stainless, so they are harder to pull than a standard rivet. I recommend a heavy duty bolt cutter mechanism style puller. You can get them for ≈$20 at Harbor Freight or Northern Tool. I've heard others complain about how difficult pulling the stainless rivets can be, but I had no problem at all with one of these. Be sure to wear eye protection though.

Also, while you have the cap off, you may also want to replace your outhaul line too. 7' x 3/16". It ties to the end cap, around the outhaul car pully (in the bottom, out the top), around the end cap pully (in the bottom, out the top), and to the cleat.

Finally, you will also want to inspect your outhaul car as well and replace any parts that may be worn out.

-Rowdy