Jib bow speader hobie 17 sport

K.hi guys...and gals. I'm looking into getting a hobie 17 sport. I trust the person selling it as he is a friend. It is in good shape but he no longer has the front jib bow spreader bar for it...my question is this....the kit for one isn't very cheap..and understanding they are hard to find used...has anyone tryed to build one?..i understand there are specs that need to be followed...but it doesn't seem out of the realm of possibility to me..idk...newbie question I guess...any ideas? Thoughts ?

Could be done I’m sure. It is essentially just a pipe with a few fittings on the ends. I would think a 1-1/2” or so diameter aluminum round tube would do the trick. The challenge will be coming up with fittings to attach to the bows and bridle wires, but even that shouldn’t be too tough if you’re handy.

Some folks have also just converted spreaders from other boats (NACRA’s) to work on the 17.

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The spreader is a H16 tramp side rail. I converted a 17 to a sport years ago and I can not remember if I had to cut the rail to length. It was pretty straight forward.

The OEM spreader bar is not a H16 side rail. It's the same extrusion as the H17 boom - and considerably smaller than the side rail.