Hobie Cat Forums

I am having persistent trouble getting the step link to toggle down when stepping the mast on my 16. Sometimes I just cant do it. Any hints on how to make this go more smoothly?

Other than wiggling the mast left to right to help pull it out, there is no real trick.

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Marc...
1978 Hobie 16 Keoke, sail# 36 84

If you think its a pain now, try it without the step link. My base has been broken since I bought it. That is a real pain!

I saw in a video that a guy used a pair of pliers for a little more grip on the pin and just wiggled it out.

This problem has been discussed on the forum quite a bit and recently. I bought a link from Murray Marine that solves the problem but must be completely removed for sailing. With the standard link, I always raised the mast part way then gave it "hitch" and continued up as it toggled. I don't have quite the upper body strength any more so I bought the new link. It had been mentioned on a post to this forum.

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Howard

I think (correct me if I'm wrong) you are talking about how the mast likes to pivot up on top of the front edge of the cup when you raise it, not just how to get the hinge pin out.

Mine does this every time, as it's just the nature of the linkage and angle when you push it up. I always get a buddy to get in front of the boat and give the base a shove in a back/downward direction as i push forward, which forces the mast foot down into the cup. This has been my only gripe in raising the mast.

Always been a little jealous of the mast system the H18's and H20's have, as they don't have this problem.

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1983 Hobie 16 "Rumpshaker"

I ALWAYS, got it, ALWAYS !!!! tie the bottom of the Mast with a rope to the Horizontal beam, you know, just in case ( remember this !!!! ) I also tie the bottom of the mast with a good and powerfull rubber tie down pulling aft on the mast lower base. It works every time, the base falls right in place. Then you remove the rubber bungee and the SAFETY ROPE !!! ( remember the safety rope !!!! )

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Every second that passes cannot be recovered, so make good use of every one of them that you have left.

Awesome, that sounds like an easy solution. Should have tried something like that a long time ago. Does the aft-facing pressure make lifting the mast more difficult? I do it by hand now.

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1983 Hobie 16 "Rumpshaker"

I raise the Mast using a winch in the front of the trailer, see a thread named "Hobie 16 mast stepping" where I posted a photo of my setup. Anywho, I use a rubber bungee which is about 1/2 and 3/4 inch rectangular shape, and about 3 feet long ( is black color and has two metal wire hooks at the tips ) I wrap the bungee two turns at around 8 to 9 inches from the mast pivot, and tie the hooks to the center tramp rope at about one foot aft of the mast base ( well, I will take a photo and post it ). When I raise the mast, the bungee stretches a bit, putting about I guess 25-20 pounds of force down and aft into the mast base, and the mast just sits there solid until I get the bungee out.
I don`t think it will add but a couple of lifting pounds due to the huge leverage of such a long mast. One thing for sure, tie the mast with a safety rope, mine once came loose from the base while raising it, and the thing was all over the place and flew dangerously forward and almost hits my girlfriend in the face.
I am thinking of taking a video of the way I raise the mast, I do it so easily now that I feel obigated to share my finds and my methods.

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Every second that passes cannot be recovered, so make good use of every one of them that you have left.

I think we are all looking forward to the video. Raising the mast is the one area I think we all start out very nervous about. Maybe after doing it a hundred times I will feel better, but until then, I don't ever look forward to it.

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Steve
1979 Hobie 16 "Orange Crusher"

I second a video please Johnnymoto.
Can you also get your girlfriend to re-stage the bit on stepping safety?

(seriously - glad no one was hurt and looking forward to your video)

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Jonathan
'85 H16 __/) 87468 Tidal Wave

Holly Crap !!! I swear I did forget to put that safety rope that day !!!!
( Later that same day she did not tell me when the boom was rapidly advancing towards my face and slammed my eyebrow to pieces )

Coincidence ?

jejeje

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Every second that passes cannot be recovered, so make good use of every one of them that you have left.

Anywho, I will make a plan to lower, then raise the mast, video for all for you guys to get some basics on that matter.
( Mast is now standing on the Hobie at the Beach Site ).

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Every second that passes cannot be recovered, so make good use of every one of them that you have left.

My parent's neighbor had a Hobie store years ago and still had a box of parts in his basement. One was a Murray's Step Link. I had a little spring that goes with it and keeps some light tension on the link from rotating upward. I was skeptical it would add much assitence, but installed this week and it was MUCh better than the old one with out the spring. I still had to give the mast a little "hitch" but it is now more naturally upward than up/back/down.

Gravity makes the step link work as it's originally designed. When you've got the mast 2/3 to 3/5 of the way up, make a pause in your "lift", and then give it a nice shove upwards. The link will toggle down every time.

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Sheet In...Max Out
www.fleet297.org
sailflatlands at gmail dot com

This is my first post. Just bought a used '87H16. The previous owner gave me a demonstration about how to step the mast, but I missed out on some details. Went to try it out at the lake this weekend and got the mast up, but then chickened out (or thought better of it...T-storms with gusts to 35kts). Anyway, I noticed that the receptacle for the mast has two small depressions in it for the cup-shaped washer that sits in the mast step, one shallow one in the geometric center of the spherical depression, another somewhat deeper and more forward. Which hole is the "nipple" on the cup-shaped washer supposed to sit in?

Also, i thought I paid sufficient attention when he showed me how to attach the angled windvane to the bottom of the forestay bridle...but I tried it a few different ways and it never seems that the "flag" axis is vertical...is it supposed to be? Is there a close-up photo of the set-up that someone might direct me to? Thanks.