Raising the sail question .

So i have this 1973 Hobie 18,

And everytime we take it out, for some reason or another we can get the Main sail to raise to the very top , the O-ring hook stops like 2-3inches from the hook at the top of the mast.

We tried with all the man power we have and it will not budge at all, so we end up tieing it off but over time being on the water it begins to slide down , very annoying.

We even tried to raise the sail on the ground level, and it does fine, but once you raise that mast into the air, it refuses to go to the top and hook correctly?

I mean the concept of the mast and the rope pull etc isnt complicated, i inspect like every pulley and part of it while its on the ground nothing is tangled or knot , but somehow something is stopping it at that same point every time.

has anyone came across this problem, its probably so simple its laughable ?

Look at your knot or splice. It must be tight against the ring. I did a nice splice on my line but it gets tight at the top due to the extra thickness. New lines are stronger so you can drop a diameter. Just wear gloves when raising the sail.

_________________
1989 Hobie 18 Worlds Boat, Magnum Wings & Spinnaker
1987 Hobie Holder 20 #273

dale.vanlopik"at"att"dot"net

look for a tear in the bolt rope at the joint of the comp tip. if there is a taer in the rope it may catch at the comptip joint. make sure the track is clean.

_________________
Rich Vilvens
F-18 5150
[email protected]
http://www.sailblogs.com/member/f-185150sailing/

Are you sure about the year and model? The Hobie 18 did not start production until September 1976.

_________________
Jeff Serene
1984 Hobie 18 Magnum
Phoenix, AZ

i'll take a look at it again, i got a new line i replaced on it, which is alot thinner than the original one, and yes gloves are a must, i learned it the hard way /ouch



well the rope is new, and i did try to inspect the track as much as possible, i'll get a hose and try to pressure washer it out, maybe something is in there i dont see from the outside.



well to be honest, when i bought the thing from this guy he said it was like a 1990s model, when i went to go register it, they said it was a 1973 model , i know its a 18' but maybe the people when i went to go register it, they had it in their wrong. i looked at the tailend of the boat where you can see the numbers, a few of them are unreadable, i even try to take a pencil and use a piece of paper to try to fade over the numbers still a few you can quiet tell.

doesnt really matter i guess =) but thanks for all the input and help everyone=)

Also... read the sail hoist FAQ. Most issues can be corrected by better technique.

http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=371

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

Even better than using gloves is to make yourself a simple handle. I always keep a pair of plyers in the pouch on my tramp. When hoisting the mainsail, I throw about three wraps of the halyard around the plyers and use the plyers as a handle to pull the halyard with two hands. No gloves or extra tools necessary and no hurting hands.

sm