Front Crossbar Collapse

This is why you check your dolphin striker tension (Hobie 14, 16 etc.) and inspect for cracks and/or signs of metal fatigue on the bottom side of the front crossbar (where the post goes through) at least once a month. On this boat it appears from the jiggling and clanking that the dolphin striker on the port side is completely loose as in no (or totally backed off) tensioning nut.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMerznCoKdc&feature=youtu.be

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Hobie 16 (3 formerly)
MacGregor 25 (formerly)
Chrysler Dagger 14 (formerly)
NACRA 5.0 (currently)
High Point, NC

Yep, saw that on beachcats. If I had been on that boat, I would've wondered why the mast was leaning over so much and taken the boat back to shore. Not supposed to do that, that's for sure.

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Marty
1984 H16 Yellow Nationals Redline, "Yellow Fever"
Lake Martin, 'Bama.

how specifically would you go about checking dolphin striker tension? I did some quick googling and saw a post about making sure the hulls weren't canted, and a beachcat Nacra post that involved pre-bending the main beam, but not much more info than that. Specifically I have the T2.. but was wondering if there's a guide anywhere on how to tension dolphin strikers in general.

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2014 T2
past: 1974 H14

No kidding. Any checking/tensioning advice for newbies who are not familiar with this problem?

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Is it sailing time yet?!?!?

Make sure the striker rod isn't loose/rattling around. It should be snug so that if you hit the rod with your hand it makes a "twang" sound. If it rattles when you hit it, then it needs to be tightened. That's about the most scientific criteria you will find. Hobie doesn't provide any torque specs or other means of measuring the proper tension although on boats with a straight (non-arched) crossbar, you can put on just a slight pre-bend.

From the looks of the video, the striker rod was broken/disconnected on the port side from the very beginning and is just banging around in the waves. This is also on a Hobie 15 (euro model) and it looks like the dolphin striker rod attachment is different from the other US boats. As long as the striker rod on your boat is secured and reasonably tight, this type of failure would be very rare.

sm

srm-

Thanks for that. After re-watching the video, you can see the tip of the port rod flopping around. The mast is also bending significantly.
I'm not having any of these symptoms and everything is tight. Appreciate the info.

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Is it sailing time yet?!?!?

I noticed in the video you can clearly see the front crossbar flattening out when under power, even before the last tack.

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JKK
83 yellow/ white decks Hobie 14 Corando turbo
82 yellow hulls Hobie 16 Cat Fever
84 yellow hulls hobie 16 Yellow Nationals
plus a few extras that I'm restoring

Ajax, I wouldn't worry too much about this. Always check things like dolphin striker, and corner post/pylon bolts to make sure everything is snug and you should be good to go. A tight tramp also tightens up the boat as well. The DS on that boat in the video was obviously not connected or had broken on the port side which was the root cause of the failure. Bad day for those guys, always inspect your boat before hitting the water.
Happy sailing!

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Marty
1984 H16 Yellow Nationals Redline, "Yellow Fever"
Lake Martin, 'Bama.