Wings Questions

Bad news. I found a crack at the support strut weld, port wing, aft leg.



I'm sure I already know the answer, but is this sailable? I know it's unrepairable, and I believe Hobie is out of replacement parts.

On the same token, this is what I'm dealing with on the forward leg endcap, where the rivets had slipped.





I was going to try to hammer it flat and re-rivet the endcap, but given that the aft leg is also damaged, I'm not sure if it's worth continuing. Thoughts? Anyone know where I can get a new leg?

I will certainly be contacting the seller to see if I can work out a refund for the damaged wing.

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Mike

'79 H18 standard 'Rocketman II' sail #14921 RIP
'78 H18 (unnamed) sail #14921
'08 H16 sail #114312
'97 H21SC sail #238

Take it a shop and have it TIG welded. The crack is common and easily repaired. NOT just any welder can weld AL so make sure you find the right shop. If you are worried about the AL moving when welded (A good welder can control the heat), have him weld it while fixed/installed on the boat. This will fixture the correct position and prevent movement.

Redrill the arm and put in new rivets 45 degrees from the existing holes.......or just put new rivets in the existing holes. My hunch is that piece is not going anywhere. You could also have the welder tack the pieces together.

If I tossed everything that had problems like this, there would be much fewer people sailing.

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H18 '85
H18 '89 "Knotty Passion"
H20 '96 "20/20 Vision"
Fleet 259 Central Coast California

My understanding is that the wings are heat treated Aluminum and can't be welded on, unless you have the now annealed weld re-heat treated in a furnace specifically designed to heat treat aluminum, which is expensive for a one-off item.

Have you seen this done on SX wings before?

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Mike

'79 H18 standard 'Rocketman II' sail #14921 RIP
'78 H18 (unnamed) sail #14921
'08 H16 sail #114312
'97 H21SC sail #238

Yes and often. The only AL part I don't recommend welding is the front cross bar. Wings are fine. (I work for a huge Welding company).

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H18 '85
H18 '89 "Knotty Passion"
H20 '96 "20/20 Vision"
Fleet 259 Central Coast California

I agree, I would just have the wing re-welded. I have seen also where some people have even reinforced the area by adding a gusset between the main wing tube and the support tube - probably not a bad idea.

The end caps don't look that bad either. If you were really worried about it, you could have the welder fill in the existing holes in the wing tube and then you could re-drill them. Otherwise, either new rivet holes 45 degrees offset, drill out the holes and install larger (1/4") rivets, or epoxy the end cap into the tube as well as rivet in the existing holes are all options.

sm