Dolphin Striker Post on an angle

Newbie, please forgive any ignorance. 2008 Hobie 16 purchased 3 months ago. My Dolphin Striker Post keeps getting out of alignment. Whenever I use the righting line it pulls the base of the post to one side by 2 inches/50cm. I have to apply enormous force to bring it back into line with the mast.
Checking inside the mast step and front arch, the striker is not bent. The top is moving from side to side and pivoting on the point where it enters the underside of the arch.
Should the D/S post go up into the base of the mast step to stop this? At present, the top of the post is below the top side of the top arch and the mast step which seems to be the problem, but I'm guessing.
If it needs to be up in mast step, how do I achieve that? Disassemble the rod and post and then screw the post up into the step then reassemble? I don't see any thread in the step to receive and hold it.
Thanks

You are on the right track. Yes, the dolphin striker rod should be screwed into the step, and it sounds like yours may be broken. Either way, you need to correct the problem ASAP. The dolphin striker is a truss that takes the (considerable) load of the rig exerted downward through the mast. This is what keeps the main/front beam/crossbar (what you call arch) from collapsing under load while sailing.

Someone probably used a vehicle/winch to drag the boat with a line attached to the DS rod (big no-no) instead of the main beam. It's fine to move the boat by hand holding the striker, but not that kind of force. (I'd even recommend that your righting line be attached to the main beam instead of the striker assembly.)

If the rod is broken, I expect the top portion will be a bear to get out of the step. Likely both will require replacement.

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16

Thanks The post is not broken and the way it moves is laterally along the DS, not fore/aft as if pulled by a car as you suggest. It just seems not to be screwed into the mast step. It takes load. I guess I can try to screw it in and see if that works. If not I will need a new mast step.

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Hobie 16 2008.
Sailing in Hong Kong
I first got hit in the head by a boom 50 years ago. Been sailing ever since

This is a photo of a dolphin striker threaded into the mast step. The mast step had to be cut in half to separate it from the DS since the dolphin striker treads and mast step had fused together due to corrosion.

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Tim
84 H16
82 H16
87 H14T
Tortola Sails: 115222
Blue Prism Sails: 88863
Clearwater, FL

So it seems the DS was not properly tensioned and the step had lost its thread. So not fused on, quite the opposite. The Post had dropped out of the step and was pivoting on the point where it enters the underside of the front beam.
I have managed to reseat it in the step and tension the DS so that the post is not moving about. I do need to order and install a new step as currently the post is now up against the underside of the mast base.

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Hobie 16 2008.
Sailing in Hong Kong
I first got hit in the head by a boom 50 years ago. Been sailing ever since

A question - I have read that most people attach the righting line to the dolphin striker. After reading the two recent threads on bent dolphin strikers, are there any concerns that the righting line may have caused or contributed to this?

I seriously doubt if sufficient force can be exerted while righting a H16 so that it bends the striker rod.

Sure, if the boat is being towed, or pulled, and the one end of the line is tied to the striker.

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2015 H16, with spin,
SOLD 1989 Hobie SX18 Sail # 1947 "In Theory..."
'Only two things are infinite, the universe, and human stupidity. But I'm not sure about the former.'

These things are stainless steel. They cannot be bent without significant force and as they are brittle, more likely break under stress when cold. Stainless fails catastrophically, not gradually. Mine was not bent, it was just pivoting on the the entry point to the lower side of the front beam.

As the thread on the step has failed the top of the rod is free to fall out when the boat is not upright and then the righting line plays its part. In the upright position the DS and post are under stress and cannot move. I've tensioned the DS to reduce the chance of movement. I need to replace the step.

The righting line could never bend a DS post, I also doubt towing could do that (I could be wrong), more likely towing results in the top of the post being dislodged as mine was and the post pivoting front to back making it look like it is bent.

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Hobie 16 2008.
Sailing in Hong Kong
I first got hit in the head by a boom 50 years ago. Been sailing ever since

There are plenty of striker assemblies out there that got bent somehow. Certainly a normal righting procedure would not bend it. However, if you sail long enough, the necessity of a tow or righting with a power boat will arise. Seas may be rough and/or hulls may have taken on water. I can easily tie the power boat line to my righting line without fear of bending anything since it's attached to the main beam.

Back to the actual problem....How badly damaged are the threads? Might a thread insert (helicoil) solve the problem? If there's enough material there for a thread insert to bite, it should hold since the only significant load it will take is when the striker rod is under compression. If that's doable, I expect it would be a lot easier and less expensive than replacing the step.

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16