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PostPosted: Thu Jan 02, 2014 10:49 pm 
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Location: Melbourne, Australia
Hi guys,

I just have a couple of questions about the mast receiver/v-brace on my A.I.

The last few times I've been out, I noticed a clunking sound occasionally coming from somewhere around the
mast receiver (it was tricky to pinpoint while on the water). When I got home and had a look around inside
the hull I discovered that there was a small amount of free-play in the left-side strut (the one on the right
in the following photo):

Image

I tightened the turn-buckle slightly to remove the movement. Are there any special steps I should go through
to check that the v-brace is set up correctly and has the right mount of tension?

The other thing I noticed is that there is some wear on the top of the bearing-plate.:

Image

I checked all the screws and everything appears tight. I also checked the furler-drum and that appears fine, with
no movement or slippage. Is there anything else I should check?

I also was a bit surprised when I was looking at the v-frame strut attaches to the inside of the hull. The brass
hull-inserts seem to be partially exposed and it appears that the plastic around the inserts was been ground/melted
away prior to the struts being attached. I'm assuming this is done at the factory? If so, it looks like a very crappy
job, not what I'd expect from Hobie:

Image

Image

As ever, all comments and feedback gratefully received.

Cheers,

Mike.


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 7:25 am 
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Location: High Point, NC
You want the struts to be tightened/expanded until they are snug. Not overly tight. Just good and snug.

The "clunk" you hear is most likely the mast simply moving side to side in the mast receiver. As you can note, it's a fairly loose fit which allows the mast to spin easily when furling or unfurling the sail.

The wear on the top pate is due to the furling drum not being set at the perfect height. When the mast is turned and it kicks over slightly, one edge of the furling drum may rub the base. It's glued on, so not much you can do there. Mine's off a little too and I just keep a little bar soap smeared on the receiver top. This acts as a bit of a lubricant.


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 5:50 pm 
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Weird! I noticed that right away Mingle. Very strange, as this appears to be a very new boat.

In the photo, there are a few more Tbuckle threads exposed on your port side. Not too unusual for a hull to be warped though.

Assuming your mast furling ring is not ungluing, I would slack both Tbuckle sides to neutral, then apply neg compression or pos expansion turns till the furling ring is well clear of the bearing plate.

Tell us what works.


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PostPosted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 10:41 pm 
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Location: Australia
That wear on the top of the bearing plate is due to the way the furling drum is positioned in relation to it. The wear is most obvious on one side because when the sail is out it is pulling the mast toward you slightly, and that's where its making contact. Fix this by adjusting the turnbuckles. If you manage to get the drum sitting higher there will be less or no contact. You'll find furling to be noticeably smoother when you get this right.

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PostPosted: Fri Jan 03, 2014 11:20 pm 
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I've read every thread carefully relating to the turnbuckle adjustment and frankly I still don't know.

Let's make it simple-
1. loosen both turnbuckles with a spanner until you can move them with your hand.
2. With the mast in tighten them equally until the mast lock/release doesn't allow easy release.
3. Back off turnbuckle tension until mast release/ lock works correctly.

You have now applied max pressure allowable on the mast step. IS THIS CORRECT?


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 6:08 am 
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The V-brace truss is there to provide support for the mast receptacle system, not to adjust the height of the deck, which requires putting one heck of a lot of strain on all the parts and pieces.

You don't want the deck pushed up or pulled down. You want it locked in at its relaxed, normal position. Expand the turnbuckles until they make contact with the mating surfaces. Expand until snug and lock in place.


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 1:23 pm 
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Location: Central Florida
One reason for some confusion on instructions on adjusting the turnbuckles is that it is different for earlier AI's than later AI's. TI's (I think) are the same as later AI's.

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PostPosted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 2:12 pm 
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Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
Yes, it seems it depends on whether you have V1 or V2 aka. :? It appears V2 have limited adjustment.
Hobie do need to provide clearer info on how to adjust the V-Brace and how to get correct clearance between the mast furler collar and V2 x-bar bearing plate.


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PostPosted: Sat Jan 04, 2014 3:57 pm 
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The correct clearance should be set by the position of the furling drum on the mast. However, as most of us know, these things are not always glued on in just the right spot and even a couple or three mm can result in clearance issues.

I don't know what process Hobie uses to adhere them, but a jig could easily be made that would serve to located each and every one at the exact some location.


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 2:12 pm 
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Stringy, and yet there is no other factory adjustment available to us.

So if that doesn't fix it, something is out of whack with the assembled product. Most likely the hull or the mast furling ring.

Assuming that the mast must float freely on the mast step plate pin, the only other thing Hobie can do is make the pin itself height adjustable. Not an easy task. Teflon inserts in the mast base hole? Maybe.

It would make more sense for them to add a little extra clearance to every furling ring installed.


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 4:43 pm 
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Location: Jerrabomberra, New South Wales, Australia
Or a new bearing race design so that the base of the furling drum comes into contact with the delrin bearings, or bearings and race incorporated into the base of the furling drum perhaps. Tolerances would be tight but the action would be smoother, wondering how the bearings would live up to it though. :?:

As for the turnbuckles getting loose, how about a small drop of loctite?


Last edited by xdcammer on Tue Jan 07, 2014 3:58 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 5:02 pm 
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My AI didn't have the set screw hold down lock nut shown in Mingle's pic. The nut doesn't get a mention in the current Hobie parts catalogue. The only thing holding my mast receiver down is the V brace. Any one else missing the lock nut?

The clunking sound reported by Mingle I suspect is the V brace twisting after tacking when the pressure on the sail kicks in? Mine also made that alarming noise until the set screw sheered off. The pics of the top V brace connection seem to suggest that some twisting has been going on. I tightened all nuts and installed a 35mm set BOLT that holds the receiver down and haven't heard the "clunk" since.

The wear on the mast bearing is normal as the mast rotates while sailing - some wax would help.


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 5:13 pm 
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davew wrote:
The wear on the mast bearing is normal as the mast rotates while sailing - some wax would help.

I've not had any mast/mast cup/mast brace problems, but one thing I know is that wear is not normal. See Yakass post above.

Keith

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PostPosted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 5:22 pm 
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Location: Jerrabomberra, New South Wales, Australia
Hmmmmm, going to have to check mine now. I know I had some wear on my 2010 model mast receiver plate.
It was no problem though.


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 05, 2014 5:30 pm 
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Location: Kailua 96734
Chekika wrote:
davew wrote:
The wear on the mast bearing is normal as the mast rotates while sailing - some wax would help.

I've not had any mast/mast cup/mast brace problems, but one thing I know is that wear is not normal. See Yakass post above.

Keith

Ditto that. Not normal. Even if it's becoming the norm


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