Mast Problems

Darwinian has it mostly right as far as my terms.



The wear I'm concerned about is at position 2. I agree with D that the wear shown at 5 is caused by the locking device, and also agree it would be less if the mast were a bit higher, which would also eliminate the wear shown at 2.

8 is the mast. By "mast base" I mean the little plastic cup on the bottom of the mast that the pin sticks in. It's not in the picture, obviously. The mast should contact the boat at that cup/pin joint and at the ball bearings only. The contact at 2 and 5 should not be happening, and would not if the V brace were adjusted so that the mast sits a bit higher.

That is very helpful, Tom and Darwinian. Thanks.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

Howdy!

Matt, many people here are discussing technical fixes to acknowledged bona fide problems we AI afficionados face. Quite often, such discussions are buried in threads under topics that make them difficult to find. Similar questions are thus understandably posted numerous times.

I propose you expand the technical sticky notes section to include Hobie's best advice on how to deal with all problems associated with different years of production. Folders within folders would be fine. Step-by-step pictures would be necessary for people like me whose main tool is a hammer. This would serve dealers as well as street rabble (many of the sailing riff raff on this list know more about the AI than most dealers).

Repairing mast separations with System 3 epoxy... Adjusting the V brace...
Adjusting the rudder... Replacing the rudder bolt... Replacing spectra lines... How to pound the seat pegs into place without damaging things...
Repairing fractured internal supports with epoxy...

These are just a few of the topics which should be included, off the top of my head.

Happy Trails!

Chris

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And in the end,
the love you take,
is equal to the love,
you make...
--The Beatles

Matt's picked up some of this stuff in the FAQs. Maybe we need a thread. "What topics to put in FAQs?"

Alternatively reply endorsements on great posts "Please place in FAQs" If Matt sees a number endorsements he'll know it's something worth while to include.

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I like those forums where they say "SOLVED" to an issue I search on, so I know... I created the FAQ section for that kind of thing. The factory approved answer section.

I like the idea of a Forums suggestions section. In fact... we already have that. Scroll down to the bottom of the forums.

http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewforum.php?f=12

Post a link to the topic that you suggest we add to the FAQ and I will have a look.

Please understand... forums are not my number one priority and I review as time allows, so I can't always get right on these issues.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Good ideas, and thanks to Matt!

Got the mast back today from the dealer.

Went to fit it in the receiver.

Hold the phone.

The internal pin that fits into the bottom of the mast had rusted off! Thats' the small bolt like protrusion from the metal plate held in by four screws.



Definitely the reason I saw the mast moving with the sail furled and probably the reason the furling drum collar got pushed up. The bottom of the mast had nothing to ride on, but the plate itself.

I also noticed that the pin must have been hollow and appeared to be welded to the plate. The remains showed a cylinder, not a sold pin, along with clear corrosion. Weld failure might also be a possibility although I don't think so. The thing will have to be disassembled to find out.

I didn't get a picture yet, but will tomorrow when I hit the water.

I believe this has to be a warranty item. I'll need part 79514101 '08 Mast Receiver and 71320001 Gasket to replace it. I have asked the dealer to check with Jacques.

I can do the replacement myself, and if Hobie wants, return the old receiver to the dealer to ship to Hobie for inspection of the plate.

While I wash the boat all the time, sometimes it's on top of the truck so salt might have accumulated in there. I'd make sure yur receiver is flushed out thoruoghly. I'll start adding a squirt of WD40 to the maintenace list also.

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Yeah, until the mast receiver is drained, it is like a salt water bath, not just a few drops. I have taken to flipping the boat over and letting it sit upside down on the Hobie cart with the hatches open, while I am tying up the aka bars etc. I need to do that anyway, because I rack the boat inverted and don't want it dripping on the car, but it ensures everything is well drained. Also, I can hose it down while inverted on the racks and be sure I have washed away all the residual salt.

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Dan, it was probably electrolysis that did your support pin in rather than rust. Stainless steel is highly subject to electrolysis. Stainless steel is an alloy and will deteriorate internally rather than just at the connecting points.

On my sloop, which I sold two years ago, I had a stainless steel lever that moved the rudder. It had to be welded and reinforced three times due to electrolysis, twice by me and at least once by previous owners. The last time I took it in the shop owner showed me a long one inch thick stainless steel propeller shaft that looked like a honeycomb because of electrolysis.

All the more reason that all salt water should be flushed from the mast well after use.

Ron Patterson

I always flush out the mast socket with fresh water when we've been sailing in salt water, but I haven't found a good solution to getting that fresh water out of there. Sometimes I get it out with a chamois cloth, but mostly I just let it sit there. I'm not going to flip the boats. Any other ideas?

a drain hole in the base of the mast receiver with a rubber plug that you could somehow remove when you have finished sailing???

Or maybe just a drain hole without a rubber plug, as I never really care for it to hold water.

I think all boat designers should be required to clean their designs and leave them completely dry once before they're allowed to sell them. We'd see a lot better drainage on all types of boats.

After flushing with fresh water I just flip it upside down. Seems to work every time.

Ron

what should the clearance be between the bottom of the rim of the furling drum (Tom's #2) and the mast holder with the plastic balls?

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I try to adjust mine to be less than 1/2 the reefing line thickness, but never to touch the rim. That way if slack caused the reefing line to drop off the spindle, it will go back on when tightened instead of jamming under it.

Kayaking Bob