Hobie Cat Forums

The mesh material that covers the wings on my Hobie 17(sport) is wearing on the top inside edge toward the (middle to)rear. I suppose it could be from us rubbing on it as we sit and sail or perhaps from the original standard hiking stick hitting there. Any thoughts on the real cause and (more importantly) what to do to prevent further wear?

It's caused primarily by the tiller extension. The textured surface of Hotsticks seem to be particularly abrasive.

In any event, the best cure is prevention. Get a length of 2" OD diameter PVC central vacuum cleaner pipe ($1.50 / ft. on-line) long enough to cover any wear areas you have on both sides. Cut a ~30 degree section out of it lengthwise, cut to length (so you have a one for each wing), then just snap if over the edge of the wing where the tiller lands. Voila!

Anther way to deal with it is to remove the wing trampoline, rip out the stitching on the inner tube sleeve, sew on reinforcing patches, then resew the tube sleeve. You can use cover canvas or some other durable fabric / plastic to cover / patch the wear areas.

The wear you mentioned was a problem I had also. The hiking stick is defimnately the problem (it is just to convenient using the wind to steady the tiller). SO I bought aftermarket wing covers that had 2" wide vinyl reinforcement on that inner edge AND it was cheaper than the Hobie covers. Both the Hobie and after market seats are sewn, so the superior welding found in Hobie tramps could not be a deciding factor.

I had to start putting extra non-skid on the decks of my boat because I'd wear through the gelcoat from pinning the tiller extension down. Holding the tiller is slow, so I deal with it.
A tiny bit of wear, over long periods can do a lot of damage.

THANKS! happy sailing