Shroud Wire Wear

My Getaway is a 2012, My shroud wires are wearing about 8 inches or so down from the top. I can't understand where this wear is coming from. When the mast is up the wires are several inches away from any other part of the boat. When the boat is on the trailer the wires are coiled on the tramp with no abrasive parts touching the worn spot.

Anyone seen this?

When the mast rotates, the wires wrap around the mast and possibly are contacting it, but this doesn't cause "wear". Are wires crossed?

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

I don't think they could be crossed. Maybe I've got something messed up on jib rigging that is contacting the shroud when it rotates. The plastic cover is worn through on both wires.

That's weird!!! Could you post a couple of pics when you get a chance?

Ok I figured out what is causing the wear, but I'm not sure how to fix it. The shroud wires are wrapping around the mast (as Miller suggested) and contacting the past at the point where the comp tip is joined to the aluminium. The edge of the aluminium is fairly sharp and is wearing on the wires.

Ideas on possible fixes... Glue some dense foam around the joint to buffer the sharp joint. Tape the joint with electrical tape?

I also noticed some cracking of the carbon fiber at the joint.

BTW the boat is a 2012 boat.

I love these forums! I saw your message, so I went out and checked my shroud wires and sure enough, I had worn wires too! In fact, on 1 side I could see bare wire- insulation worn through. I ended up wrapping some duct tape around the worn spots. And, these spots were near the mast tang.

If the shroud is wearing on a sharp edge, then simply wrapping tape around the shroud is not going to be a permenant solution since the edge will eventually cut thorugh the tape. I would use a file or sand paper to carefully remove the burr. Any areas where the bare aluminum is exposed can be touched up with a black sharpie marker.

sm

I like the idea of filing down the joint, perhaps a dremel will do the trick. You are correct in the fact that taping is a temporary fix and will likely not last more then a day of sailing. That was my solution before I figured out what was causing the ware. The tap would be completely worn by the end of a day.

I ended up using a dremel with a barrel sander to round off the edge of the aluminum. Problem solved; no more wear.

I have also seen chafed shroud wires on our 2nd hand boat.
What experience do you have with Hobie #3253W?
They are not very expensive, but are they any good?
Saludos

Honestly... if a wire is bare or does not have pre-coated wire covers... they are likely very old and should be replaced.

Add-on covers though do work and last a couple years.

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

Hmm, it is a 2012 Getaway...
I''ll try the snap-ons as the wires themselves are still intact.
Thank you.

Ahhh, should have looked further back in the post.

You might be able to cut off a bit of the existing cover and "patch" with some on this stuff, but if worn through as previously noted... something is heavily pressing chaffing them, so these covers aren't going to stand up to that. Rigging tape or something?

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

Thanks for the submitting this thread, kevinbatchelor

To my horror, my 2009 Getaway is experiencing the same shroud wear issues as mentioned, in fact, the starboard sidestay has almost worn halfway through.

If this was an aircraft type (I work in the industry) every one of these would be grounded. I can't imagine the potential product liability (dis-masting, injury, etc.) to Hobie for what clearly is an obvious unresolved design/manufacturing flaw.

The end of the aluminum section of the mast should probably be rounded by the manufacture to eliminate this as an issue. The Getaway has been around for along time, long enough that this type of defect would have been reported in the past if it caused problems. Maybe this is an issue with newer boats i.e. 2009+ or newer.