Shroud wires damaging mast

I have a 2002 Wave. Yesterday I lowered the mast to attach the jib halyard line. In doing so I noticed both shroud wire swages are cutting/wearing into the mast. I have a shackle attached to the mast and the two shrouds on the outside and the forstay in the center of the shackle. Is it possible I have setup the boat wrong? Maybe the forstay is too tight thus pulling the mast forward into the shrouds?

For now I have covered the swages with rubber hose to keep the damage from getting worse. Any thoughts on a fix would be appreciated.

Thanks

I have the same thing happening. I have not worried about it too much. I wrap the offending area in duct tape. What is happening is when the leward shroud goes slack while beating and you hit a wave, the shroud will wiggle and hit the comptip - you can hear it "smack" sometimes if your listining for it.

I used to add some non-skip tape to the wear areas of my first H16 mast. The Wave is even more prone to this wear due to the unlimited mast rotation. Be sure it is not rotating back and forth while left on the beach.

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

Thank you for the responses.

I guess my hose wrapping will have to do until I can design something better. Maybe an aluminum cover for that area of the mast.

I had it out today with two on the boat and had the leeward hull buried as it plowed through wave after wave. I kept an eye on the rubber covers I installed and they held up under the conditions today. It's a short sailing season here and I try to keep that in mind rather than spending time fine tuning the boat every day.

t-bone

"I had it out today with two on the boat and had the leeward hull buried as it plowed through wave after wave."

You may want to check for any water in the hulls... older Waves sometimes take in a lot of water or there maybe hairline cracks at the bottom. Sometimes water gets in from the loose plugs and/or the inspection holes below the seat pads. You shouldn't be burried like that. Also it helps to seat as far back as possible. Some also suggest to have the mast raked as far back as possible.

Enjoy your Wave.

Do you suggest placing the forestay on the last (loose) setting and adjust the mast rake with the shrouds? I do not have it running very tight.

There is no water in the hulls and I was sitting at the rear portion of the padded seat.

That wont help any. I have experimented and there is no way to stop this. Just keep the affected area wrapped in tape or something to protect it.

OK, I have tested the wire swage/mast damage fix.

The answer is definately duct tape. Wrap the swages a couple of times with duct tape - get as close to the shackle as you can and wrap all the way down to where the rubber shroud guard starts. Next, cut a strip of tape and stick it to the mast where the damage is occuring, in fact layer the tape strips (two or three layers of tape). Obviously dont tape up the sail slot

This has totally stopped the damage. You may need to check the tape job from time to time and re-apply if necessary.

Perhaps you could substitute electrical tape if you want to stick with the black motif. I havent personally tested that one yet.

To stay with the "black motif" I use black hockey tape and it works fine.

NEVER use duct tape except on heating/cooling ducts.
I too, am a fan of the Red Green show on TV, and I love duct tape, a great Canadian invention, (along with WD40).
However, the 'glue' on the tape leaves a terrible residue. Don't ask how I know.
You are much better off using hockey tape, or electrical tape.
Any other suggested materials, folks?

Enjoy sailing your Waves, back to my H18.

cheers

_________________
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.'

Having read that the shrouds damage the comp tip on the Wave, I too notice this beginning to happen on my new Wave. Looking closely at what is going on, I noticed that the metal clamp that hold the shroud wires in a loop is what is digging into the comp tip. The clamps flare out on their end and have a edge. It is this edge that is digging in.
Since I don't have access to a grinder, I am going to use a file to take this edge off then wrap the clamps in duck tape. I was looking at the bridles on the 16 and 20 and they stick out more from the mast than the wave's bridle it not as great a problem with them. Can Hobie use clamps that don't flare on the end to keep this from happening? Or at least take the edge off.

The edge on the Nicropress sleeve is caused by the crimping process. It's not really practical for Hobie Cat to remove it.

The Comptip is above the attachment point for the standing rigging, so I'm not sure how it's being damaged by the sleeves.

Really, this is just cosmetic - if it bothers you, wrap the sleeves with electrical tape. Don't use duct tape - it leaves a nasty, gummy residue.

Hello Matt,

On the Wave, the shouds attach to the comptip.

Heat shrink plastic on the Nicro sleeves will help. Also note what Matt Miller suggest. a strip of non-skid, the rubberized type, placed on the mast at the rub point, will end this issue as well.

On the issue of bow down, this is somewhat normal on the wave in big air. The mast is almost on the bow so all the power is up front. This forces the bow down. Your are sitting back and the mast is racked back. Downhaul hard to flatten the sail, travel out if you have a traveler, and that is all you can do. Look at the pictures of sailing on Mission Bay (viewtopic.php?f=24&t=25834). I pulled hard on the tiller and sheeted in to make this happen, but given the right conditions, you will not have to try, it will just happen. Sheet out quickly and hold on! Usually you can save it, but if not, right the boat and try again.

Thanks for the clarification, Mike. Makes sense with the two-piece Wave mast - the wires hold the mast together.