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PostPosted: Sat Jul 23, 2016 3:44 am 
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Joined: Sat Jul 23, 2016 3:18 am
Posts: 1
I demoed a T2 yesterday at a Hobie dealer and we had an issue with the mainsail coming out of the mast track at the top. I see that others on the forum have had similar issues, and am concerned this is a problem that will reoccur.

As background, I have been sailing a H16 for 30 years, and have sailed many Getaways and Waves in various locales around the globe. I am looking to replace the H16, and the T2 looked like a good trade-off of performance and durability. I was impressed by the boats performance.

After reading the other posts on the mast track issue, I realize in retrospect that we did about everything wrong when raising the mainsail. First, we were unable to raise it fully which evidently is a definite no-no. But I have done this many times on the H16 - especially later in its life - without issue. Secondly, in trying to fully raise the mainsail, we pulled on the halyard with force - also a non-no. And finally, when the mainsail would not come down, we lowered the mast and then forcibly removed the mainsail which likely distorted the luft rope.

In spite of doing everything wrong, I am still concerned that this can occur even if done correctly as the plastic track on the top section of the mast does not appear to be rigid enough to retain the luft rope. I also noticed that the tracks on the upper and lower portion of the mast were slightly misaligned.

I did find the prior posts about the issue, but can not tell if this is an ongoing issue with the T2. I also found similar post for the H17 and see that Hobie has a retro-fit which appears to replace the upper plastic track with aluminum - suggesting it is an ongoing problem.

I am inclined to buy the T2, but will not if I have to lower the mast to lower the mainsail. From the posts, it appears the luft rope on the mainsail may have been compressed, leading to further issues unless remedied.

Any advice would be welcomed.

Peter


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 25, 2016 8:26 am 
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Joined: Tue Jul 09, 2013 4:04 pm
Posts: 80
I've been sailing my T2 pretty regularly all summer (I went out 4 of the past 5 days). I have mast up storage, and have never had to drop the mast since I raised it this spring. I also have not had any issue with the luff rope coming out of the track. I have noticed if I have the boat positioned with the bows pointed downhill on the beach the luff rope takes more effort to get into the track at the bottom correctly. I've also noticed that sometimes where the wire portion of the halyard integrates with the rope portion, it will sometimes get stuck on the wheels at the very top of the mast. To remedy this, I drop the main about 6"-12" and pull down on the halyard smoothly so it has some momentum as it gets to the wheels. Then it goes right through. Any time I've ever hit any resistance, I've just done that (and made sure I was feeding into the track at the bottom correctly) and never had an issue. I never try and "force" the sail.


My guess is that particular sail and/or mast track has been damaged by not doing the right things. If you're going to buy, don't buy that particular boat. Also, I've been absolutely thrilled with my T2. I'm coming from a few years of sailing a 70's 14 for what its worth.

_________________
2014 T2
past: 1974 H14


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 4:56 pm 
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Joined: Fri Dec 27, 2013 8:54 am
Posts: 67
Location: Pinellas county Florida
I agree that the sail will not pull out of the track if you are careful about alignment and halyard force. I have not had any issues since my post on this topic.

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1985 Hobie 14T
2014 Hobie T2


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