Mast step link is bent

Hi guys,
I don't know if this is just clumsy me, but very often when I raise and lower the mast I bend the mast step link (I have a Hobie part).

After each time like this it is getting harder and harder to insert the pin in the link and through the mast. I use pliers and hammer to shape the link so that the pin can go through, but it also is getting harder.

Now I'm at the point where I can no longer insert the pin so I use a thinner screw instead and that makes me nervous.

The link looks like rather easy part, but I cannot shape it right any more. Is there a template somewhere or can someone tell me the distances and angles of those 'ears'?

It is so frustrating now - I'm rigging the boat withing 30 minutes, 15 of which I'm trying to push pin through the link and the mast.

Does anybody have this problem?

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Yuri
Hobie 16
Laser Vago

Dude, I've been having the same problem. I've just been bending it back over and over. You have your buddy that's helping you raise the mast walking all over the place: alright man, walk to the left, now a little further, back to the right, raise it up a little, no it's not in there yet! and so on. I wonder how much that little part is? Might save myself some agony in the long run.

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James
86' Redline Hobie 16
Sail # 76909

you guys need to spring for the new and improved (by mmiller) H14/16 mast step link for $20.95...worth every penny. If you want it to last forever, remove it while you sail. Can flip up and get mangled when mast rotates.

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Sheet In...Max Out
www.fleet297.org
sailflatlands at gmail dot com

The old one came with a spring to keep it down and out of the way. The only time I ever mangled mine was when I would allow the mast to weave around a little on the way up. Does the new one have the spring? I currently have a Murray's one that is a litttle more robust than the Hobie, but "they" say that it is too big and gets in the way of the mast when it is fully raked and rotates.

That is what I have! I do remove it before sailing. I bend well before I go sailing.

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Yuri
Hobie 16
Laser Vago

The one I bought last year (Hobie manufactured) was significantly beefier than the one that came on my boat. Of course for some reason the pin that came with the new one doesn't fit (too big), so I use the old (smaller) pin. However the link that is sold now looks to be 1/8" thick steel. It doesn't bend.

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1984 H16 - #80541

I have a fairly new rig and the mast step link has the holes for both a 14 and a 16. After about the first month, the pin would only go in the hole for the H14. The step link is bent only slightly but the 16 hole just will not line up with the pin.

I've looked at the link closely and can't figure out why I can't continue to use the hole for the 14 since it seems to be the path of least resistance. I can't see what would be improperly torqued. Am I just wrong?

I have an H16 and got a new Hobie step link a few months ago. The pin will only fit in the H14 hole. I use a screw driver for the pin. I tied a bright orange streamer to the handle. The screw driver is easier to insert and remove, and the streamer much easier to see so I don't forget to remove the pin before sailing.

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Alan
'86 H16, Sail #89057

Have you guys tried pushing/pulling the mast as far forward as it will go to hit the 16 hole? I connect my jib sheet to the chainplate at the bridle and honk on it to pull the mast forward. Even so, when I set the boat up with max rake, there is interference where the top of the hinge meets the bottom of the mast base. I got an old hinge and ground it on the interfering corners (near the 14 holes)....works great now. sorry, no pics.

Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi

After stepping, make sure you remove the hinge before you tighten the shroud wires. Hinge gets twisted, distorted and is very hard to remove once you put compression on the mast. And, like everybody else says here....get the newer hinge.

I went through a couple of year. I think of it as a wear item.