Cleaning Aruba hotstick

After a heavy season of racing I've gotten some sand inside of my hotstick and it doesn't adjust anymore. Any suggestions on how best to clean it?

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Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan - Marketing Officer
USF18 - Social Media Manager

2010 NACRA Infusion
2004 F18 Hobie Tiger - SOLD
Hobie 16 - BREAKPOINT - SOLD

Remove the handle/grip if possible. Submerse in water. Slosh back an forth then try to unlock and extend. As you get it moving and adjust all the way in and out it will flush the debris out. Repeat, repeat till clean.

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

Flushing with water is your best bet. Resist the temptation to use a lubricant (like WD-40) on it.

If it still won't budge, you can try tapping it carefully with a wooden or rubber mallet. You may even need to knock out the roll pins that hold the end fitting in place so you can tap it in both directions.

sm

Working it back and forth in a pool after the grip or cork is taken off. You also need to forcefully rinse it with a hose after EVERY use. McLube Sailkote is excellent to use for lubrication

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ADDICTION
1989 HOBIE 18 SE/sx wings
HOBIE ALTER SIGNATURE MODEL

This happens to me about every year. One great thing about sailing on LM is the fresh water works great. Last year I think it took me an hour to work it free and it was frustrating. All I did was take off the foam grip, stand in the water and keep dunking, twisting, pushing and pulling. I knocked it periodically on something hard (big rock on the beach), being careful not to crack it. Eventually I got it moved a couple inches then things started to go faster. When done, I fully extended, fully rinsed, fully dried and fully sprayed with a dry lube like sailkote. I know you're not supposed to do that, but I like it and I've had the same stick for 10+ years.

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1989 H16
2009 H16 squaretop

Thanks for the responses everyone. Good to know that it's salvageable. I got it used for really cheap.

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_________________
Catamaran Racing Association of Michigan - Marketing Officer
USF18 - Social Media Manager

2010 NACRA Infusion
2004 F18 Hobie Tiger - SOLD
Hobie 16 - BREAKPOINT - SOLD