Bad start to summer sailing :(

I Finally had some time today to get the hobie out of the garage after a busy start of summer and was looking forward to sailing all week. Got my parts in and had it all rigged up, and everything was going great until the mast base decided to rip out while stepping the mast (no masts were bent or injured in the incident!)

So my predicament now is do I have to wait for a new mast base to come in the mail, or my dad made the suggestion of just setting it in the mast, and having 4 of us put it up and just have the base be held in my the weight of the mast and not the rivets that hold it.

Also, has anyone else had the mast base rip out from the rivet points??? I'm pretty sure I was stepping it properly.


Just frustrated as it is a perfect day on my lake to get the boat out!

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86' Hobie 16

I had mine rip out about a month ago. The base was fine. It was just a small tear in the mast itself(The shell the rivets go thru). The rivet pulled right through. I drilled 4 holes around the mast with the base in it and put 4 hex head sheet metal screws in. So far so good. There was no damage to the base itself. I read a while ago that someone had a mast that was badly torn where the base goes in and they cut that section off (1-1 1/2 inches of it) and re-attached the base. Not enough loss to be a big deal. I don't think I would risk not having the base securely attached as if you flop it there's always a chance that the mast can come loose from the base. Righting it would be a bit of a problem. Just my 2 cents. Regards, Steve

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"Liquid Plumber's Edition Wave" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z78PozP9dc0

thanks, and yeah I left her on the trailer and watched all the other hobies appearing on my lake that I never knew about. Luckily the mast didnt get damaged at all and it was just the base, looks like about $60 but now I want to throw on the dual trapeze set up and all that good stuff!

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86' Hobie 16

You're lucky there are some Hobies around you. I haven't seen a single hobie on the lake I'm at. Suprising because there's a whole fleet of sailboats on the north end I see out all the time.I have yet to get out on the wire. I am ordering a harness this week. I keep hearing how it's easier to balance the boat and is tons of fun. I am still in shock as to how fast these things are and unmanagable when it's really gusty. Which it is here most of the time. Yesterday it would go from 5mph all the way to 35. Wicked I tell ya!

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"Liquid Plumber's Edition Wave" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z78PozP9dc0

Make sure you are not using the old style step hinge. It allows the mast base to overshoot the step. I broke my mast base off twice before I realized what was happening. The newer style hinge prevents the mast from moving forward of the step.

And how should we know which one is the old one versus the new one ?

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Hobie Cat 16 1987
Pringle 16 1979 (sold)
Hobie Cat 14 Turbo (sold)
Subaru Outback 2008 BlackPearl

Old ones and new ones? Hard to describe, but the newer one uses a spacer to keep the hinge from collapsing at the pin-to-step casting attachment. It also has "bar" welded across the portion that contacts the casting as it rotates to the up position.

Best solution is to pull back on the bottom of the mast just as you get to the upright position. I just drop one hand low / one high.

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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 must have the old style cause my mast likes to jump up a bit when hoisting it... I had to lower it down and have somebody hold the base so it wouldn't pop up on me... not a huge deal if you have 2 people raising it.

As for the base, if you tore the metal on the base, I wouldn't mess with it.. just replace, however, if the rivets just broke, you can drill new holes and re-rivit it to the mast. My mast had a "pull through" on it and the base also had torn metal on it, so I had to put a new base and tap new holes into the new base and mast to secure it with new rivits.

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1982 H16 (C:\Worthy)
Yellow/White Prism type sails

I'm going to be ordering up a new mast base, and probably a new style step hinge.

The mast base has seen better days so I figure $60 is safer than making my own holes in this one, and a step hinge cant be that much more!

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86' Hobie 16

The "jump" you're experiencing is normal.

The mast step hinge is allowed to pivot on the pin, attached through the mast base (on the front crossbar). When starting to lift the mast from a horizontal position the hinge will be up, with it's little "feet" against the mast base. As the mast approaches 2/3 to 3/4 to vertical the hinge will want to pivot (jump) back and down, due to gravity and the weight of the mast. At this point pause raising...and give the mast a firm shove "upwards", this will kick the hinge back, and gravity/weight "should" keep it down. Having the boat level helps. Stepping the mast with the boats' bows uphill will be a booger. Gravity is your friend.

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