Hobie Cat Forums

Hit a log moving pretty fast today, didnt escape damage this time, bent the rod on the rear fin and it (the rod) poked through the side of the fin.

Got on shore, took the fin off, bent the rod back straight, put the fin back on, good to go (aside from a small hole where the rod poked through)

Im still amazed how something so complex can also be so robust.

As I was amazed when I shoved off into deep water and the fin's mast snapped clean off without hitting a thing. One too many groundings and rebends.

Glad it didn't fail when I was deep in the channel. It was way too windy to tack without mirage drives that day.

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"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

As I recall, Roadrunner reckons the Mirage drive performs surprisingly well with only one fin.

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Does anyone know of an adhesive compound that could mend a tear in a Turbo fin? I hit some rocks with my fin and tore a small hole at the bottom of the mast 'hole'. I guess that the mast pushed through the rubber material of the fin when it hit the rock. The mast did not get bent.
I am worried the bottom of the mast will continue to wear on the hole increasing its size.
I do have a replacement fin ordered, but would prefer to be able to repair a small hole rather than replace a fin.

Bicycle puncture repair kit?

I repaired my fins about 2½ years ago with a rubber patch repair kit and they are still holding up, against all expectations.

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I tried abike tire repair kit...but the rubber patch pulled away from the Turbo fin as if the adhesive could not adhere to it. I did roughen the fin slightly before using the adhesive. Anyone know what adhesive I should use?

TIDALWAVE, I'm sure my patches would peel away easily if I tried, but I've just left them alone and they've lasted far longer than I would have expected.

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It does OK, but without the other fin each stroke rolls the boat a fair amount. It's disconcerting at first, but you learn to lean into it. And that's all for today from my file of things I know, but should not.

Cyanocrylate or superglue works well, wash over with freshwater, dry and abrade the fin in the repair area, I used two types a thin and a medium to build up the layers. Once they have dried I just twisted the fin and that released the s/s mast from the glue, all still in place after a year. A small piece of non absorbent material pushed inside the split might stop the glue spreading and provide some backing if the hole is larger?

GOOP. That's all you need.

I will "borrow" some of these from my 44 year old bike rider and throw them into my water tight ER bag.

The term "borrow" is the adult term my 40 something sons use, when they want something that Dad has.

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2009 Oasis
2010 Freedom Hawk 12
2012 Freedom Hawk Pathfinder

I posted another idea here: viewtopic.php?f=75&p=171768#p171768

The name of this thread keeps changing.

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"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

I think the content, rather than the name, of the thread is what keeps changing