Hobie Cat Forums

The rivets on the mast tang are lose. At first glance this seems like a big problem Is it safe to sail with lose mast tang rivets? We sailed the boat in a regatta this month and I noticed the lose rivets rinsing the salt off the mast. I tried pulling on one of the lost rivets with some pliers and it didn’t come out. The boat is a ’97. Is this expected for 11yr old boat?

The adjustment part of the tiller crossbar is lose. The two small set screws that hold the threaded end to the crossbar won’t tighten. It seems like the set screw threads are stripped. I’m not sure how to fix that. Thanks,

Abraham

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Loose rivets would be a problem. Get them replaced before the mast is damaged or the whole thing fails.

The loose screws have stripped the plastic. You may be able to spin the fitting and re set the screws in a different position.

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Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Hobie Cat USA

What kind of drill bit do I need to drill through a stainless steel rivet? My plan is to replace the rivets one at a time. Should I try and use any type of sealant?

How can I tell if the dolphin striker is tight enough?

A standard, mulit-purpose drill bit good for use on metal should be all that's necessary. The best method for drilling out rivets (in my opinion) is to use an oversized bit (about the diameter of the rivet head) and drill off only the head. Then use a punch to drive the rivet shank into the mast. This is better than just trying to drill through the shank as you minimize the risk of oversizing the hole.

Personally, I would drill out all the rivets first and remove the tang. That way, you can clean the mast and tang and remove the old silicone sealant. Then do a dry run to make sure all the new rivets line up and the tang looks like it will seat properly. Then apply sealant and install the rivets. One note, Hobie installs all the rivets on the mast with rivet caps that help seal the mast. You should probably reinstall with these caps.

The dolphin striker should be tight enough that it "rings" rather then "thuds" when you hit it with your palm.

You can tension to create a very slight convex curve on the top of the forward beam. Sight down the beam from one side to the other.

_________________
Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Hobie Cat USA

I just re-read your original post. If only a couple of the rivets are loose, then go ahead and replace them one at at time if you like. If enough of them are loose that it's worthwile replacing them all, then I'd go ahead and drill them all out at once, then clean up all the surfaces and re-seal everything.

Another note. Drilling out loose rivets can be a pain sometimes because the drill just causes the rivet to spin. Sometimes you can put a vice-grip on the rivet head, or angle the drill sideways slightly. Otherwise, you may have to grind the head off.

sm

Go up to the hardware store and pick up a 3/16" cobalt drill and drill those suckers out. I drill the head off and use a punch to punch the rest of the rivet in, as srm said. This will assure that you won't damage the mast any further. Drill them all at once, so you can properly install the caps. Definitely use rivet caps and the correct rivet.

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Another note since you (Abraham) sound like you're new to working with rivets- 3/16" stainless (or monel) pop rivets are quite hard to pop with your basic Home Depot hand rivet gun. It can be done, but doing the 10 or so for the mast tang will give your hands quite a workout. Before taking off the mast tang, you might want to get a couple extra rivets and caps (the caps make it harder to pop) and do some test runs through a couple pieces of aluminum to make sure you can pop them. Of course if you have a heavy duty rivet gun you'll be fine.


sm

yep i had that problem. once i got the heavy duty rivet gun the job was finished in five minutes. the ones they sell at home depot just can't handle rivets that large (even though they say they can!).