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PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 8:41 am 
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Location: Okinawa
After pulling off the old carpet I have just discovered terrible corrosion on one of my side stays where the chain plate is riveted. I know from browsing the forums that it is a common problem on 14s.

Ideally I'd just replace it but out here (Japan) spares are non existent. So in the make do spirit that I rebuilt the whole boat with I'm weighing up my options and am looking for opinions from those who may have had similar trouble.

The corrosion is such that 2 rivets are basically just floating pulling on nothing with only the underside rivet actually holding the chain plate on. I get shivers when I think of how close I must have been to a dismasting when outside the reef in the open ocean swells.

The repair I'm thinking of is as detailed by Jose in this thread

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=17&t=33573&hilit=side+bar

"insert an aluminium pipe about 300 mm long inside the side bar and pop rivet the side plate, bar and pipe. It works well. The pipe's circumference needs to fit snug inside the sidebar curve and be about 5 mm thick. This is what I have in both side bars of my H14. "

I have on hand some suitable aluminium pipe and can get the stainless rivets easy enough locally. Once that's done I may consider going the next step and doing as Dan Berger did here

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=4056

Any thoughts or suggestions gladly welcomed.

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Hobie 14 1991 Plum 40525
Hobie 16 1985 Nationals White Prism 91964
Hobie 16 1985 European Championships Palma 114072

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PostPosted: Tue Oct 08, 2013 9:13 am 
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Joined: Mon May 09, 2005 10:25 am
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Location: Jersey Shore
Depending on how severe the corrosion is, you can just drill out the rivets and move the shroud tang forward or aft an inch into fresh metal and re-rivet (the class rules even allow for this).

The other option would be to pull the side bar off and flip it around end for end and then re-rivet the anchor plate in position, again in fresh metal. You may have to cut a new opening in the tramp slot if you do this in order to get the tramp on.

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PostPosted: Wed Oct 09, 2013 8:51 am 
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Location: Okinawa
Thanks for the reply. I went down to the beach today and took the boat apart and now have the side rails at home ready to fix this weekend. Here are a couple of shots of the corrosion around the chain plate. It's not totally clear from these shots but in your opinion do you think the side bar would be structurally sound enough to re-rivet without the reinforcement of a short pipe inside? I do tension the tramp by pulling in the side bars with the main sheet which I can see crumpling them at that point if I am over zealous with it. I suppose I have the pipe at hand so I'm thinking I might as well. Are there any downsides to doing this? I've seen mention of putting tape (gaffer?) between the chain plate and the sidebars when you reattach which I'll also do. I will keep my eyes open for used 14/16 side bars Stateside - freight might not be too bad if I can get them shipped via APO/FPO.

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Hobie 14 1991 Plum 40525
Hobie 16 1985 Nationals White Prism 91964
Hobie 16 1985 European Championships Palma 114072

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PostPosted: Wed Oct 09, 2013 9:42 am 
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Location: Jersey Shore
Wow, that is really bad. I would guess that your rail rug does a nice job of holding moisture and keeping the area constantly wet with salt water. When you reinstall, maybe cut the carpet so it's clear of the shroud anchor by an inch all around.

I can't really think of a good way to get a pipe inside the rail and secured. Maybe you could use a piece of hard wood (pressure treated) cut to fit snug inside the rail and then hold it in place by using a couple wood screws drilled through the rail and into the wood.

Another thought would be to buy some aluminum sheet stock, about 1/16" thick, cut out maybe a 4" x 6" piece and bend it so it wraps around the side bar, then rivet it to the side bar (use aluminum rivets), and then cover the whole thing over with carpet. You would have a bit of a lump there, but it would probably not be a big deal.

Either way, I think I will definitely want to flip the side bar end for end so your're mounting the shroud in fresh metal, and isolate the shroud anchor from the side bar using tape or some other non-conductive barrier material.

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PostPosted: Wed Oct 09, 2013 6:08 pm 
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Location: Okinawa
I appreciate the input srm. I might be over thinking all this I know - just better to think of all the options and choosing the best one before jumping in at the first one you think of. Everyone hates that feeling of stepping back looking at the finished job and then hearing a voice over your shoulder saying "You should have just..."!

You are spot on as to the reason for the terrible corrosion. Here's a picture of the other chain plate where you can see how the previous owner installed the carpet right over the plate. I was planning on doing as you say leaving a good inch clear around the plates once I've relocated them.


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I like the idea of flipping the bars so there is maximum distance between the corroded area and the new location. Though If I can get the pipe idea to work maybe that would be a stronger fix because the pipe will run behind the damaged area strengthening it there. The aluminium pipes I have to hand are about 50 cm long. They are just very slightly larger diameter than the side bars but I managed to press them down a tiny amount to make them very slightly oval. They fit almost perfectly to the profile of the side bars and they are held in position nicely which should simplify the job when I come to drilling/riveting. I will stop the pipe from moving along inside the sidebar while I drill with some old wooden curtain rails inserted at both ends! (also lying around in the scrap pile "see honey I knew that pile of crap would be useful!")



Bottom line it's a 30 year old boat that was given to me, had massive issues (holes in hulls, delaminated decks) that I got back in the water and have had an absolute blast on (check the picture in my sig. the ocean here is stunning). At some point I can see the hulls folding up around me like a cheap deck chair...until then!

edited to add: just thought of a third option - combine the two ideas - flip the bars and reattach chain plate to fresh area AND reinforce the previously corroded area with the aluminium pipe similar to your idea of wrapping some Al plate around...mmm. Food for thought.

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Hobie 14 1991 Plum 40525
Hobie 16 1985 Nationals White Prism 91964
Hobie 16 1985 European Championships Palma 114072

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 7:08 am 
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Location: Okinawa
I went with the third option of flipping the bars to relocate the chain plates in fresh metal and also strengthening the area where the chain plates were previously located that had been badly corroded. It went as good as I could have hoped. Riveting 4.8mm (3/16) stainless rivets is tough, I only had a very basic (cheap) riveter but managed without breaking the tool - or my hands!

Here is the corroded area with aluminium pipe inserted and riveted in place (used plain aluminium rivets for that)

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A look down inside - not that clear a shot but you get an idea. Pipe was a good fit, had to very slightly flatten it to fit and to sit right.

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The relocated chain plates.

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Still have to locate some replacement carpet and contact cement then I will reassemble the frame, I realize the flared part for sliding the tramp in is now at the 'wrong' end - to save time cutting (bending?) the slot could I not just install the tramp into the sidebars then attach to the castings? I'm thinking I can but my spatial awareness is not too good without the parts at my feet to look at!

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Hobie Wave 2004
Hobie 14 1991 Plum 40525
Hobie 16 1985 Nationals White Prism 91964
Hobie 16 1985 European Championships Palma 114072

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 11:20 am 
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Location: Clinton, Mississippi
Pretty sure you can install the tramp starting in the back just like you did from the front before. A lot of people flip the side bars on Hobie 16s when the frame is apart to move the slot to the back so that those "looser" corners of the tramp are in the back. At our club, it's probably 50/50 front vs. back.

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PostPosted: Mon Oct 14, 2013 12:55 pm 
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Location: Jersey Shore
Looks like a good fix. I think that'll really beef up the side bars.

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