Tandem Island 2 piece mast question

I am assembling my first TI and the 2 piece mast will not go together. It is a 2015 model. Yes I am putting the correct ends together. The top piece will slide on about 1 inch and then just stops. I have tried several times, twisted, made sure aligned straight, cleaned all the excess graphite dust out. My wife did say that she thought the top piece of the mast had a very slight bend where it slides over the bottom piece, but I did not see it. I didn't know about trying to use any type of lubricant or even lightly sanding down where the two pieces come together. Any and all suggestions appreciated. Thanks, Eric

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2015 Hobie TI Dune

The funny thing is, that's whats called a spigot ferrule and the two sections aren't supposed to fit flush. There is some room designed in for eventual wear. They come snug before coming flush and slip/spin isn't an issue. However, most of these masts do fit flush and somewhat loose. Some guys even tape the sections together to prevent spin of one on the other when the sail is furled.

A full inch of space sounds a bit excessive, however. I'd be looking for more like a half inch gap for a proper fit. Perhaps your mast sections were mis-fit or mixed up during selection for bagging and shipping. Ask your dealer.

I'll take the mast by the dealer tomorrow. Just to clarify there is not a 1 inch gap where they come together, but the two pieces only go in about 1 inch leaving about 5 inches from being flush together.

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2015 Hobie TI Dune

Okay, mis-matched pieces for sure.

For my first Hobie purchase they are making a horrible first impression. This fit and finish on the TI is pretty pathetic for a $6000 boat and now they didn't even ship the correct mast pieces together. The boat better be just awesome on the water to make up for all the headaches in getting it there.

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2015 Hobie TI Dune

Tom, you were right mismatched pieces. Dealer was able to get me a new mast same day so that was nice. Thanks for the help.

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2015 Hobie TI Dune

Mine is about 2 1/2 inches space between the mast. but my dealer made me wait for next boat delivery which i expect to arrive this month here at NC. Ive been waiting for more than 2 months now. Maybe you got yours from their existing inventory. Iwas told it has to be loaded in a truck together with their next order of boats. I dont mind the wait as i can continue using the existing one but only on low wind.

Raleigh GOPC should have had Hobie ship one out at least 2 business at Hobie's expense since it was their fault. Hope you get it soon.

"If" it was factory mistake. Dealers too can mix and match. Try to sell parts... hard to say. Simply sanding the connector should have fixed it.

Car dealers do a lot of work on a car before handing it to the buyer. With boats it is called (used to be called I guess) commissioning. Little issues do come up and they should be corrected before delivery, but far to may dealers simply hand you (or ship you) the package these days.

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

I just picked up my new TI, which I ordered back in September, from my local Austin Canoe and Kayak on Saturday. I got a call that it arrived Friday afternoon so I didn't wait long to pick it up. The staff at the store was willing to set it up for me and check everything out, but I preferred not to wait and picked it up at their warehouse still in the bubblewrap and cardboard. when I have time to mess with it, I'll let you know how my mast fits together! I will say that it the two parts are numbered and there is evidence of sanding to ensure a matched fit.

As a long-time AI owner, I felt comfortable enough being on my own for setup but Matt is right. Unless the buyer asks otherwise, the dealer ought to have everything put together, checked out, and shined up. Any problems from the factory or shipping should be cleared up before the customer sees them.

-C

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2015 TI
2009 AI (sold)
Lake Travis, Ladybird Lake, Rockport/Aransas/Padre Island
Texas, USA

I'm actually pretty happy with my dealer for the most part. They stayed late to deliver the boat to me, but had the wrong accessory box (mast, paddles, sail) so I went ahead and took the boat to start rigging. Didn't know we had a mismatched mast until later. They did pull from existing inventory to get me a new mast which got me on the water the next day.

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2015 Hobie TI Dune