Hobie 18 Luff Track Repair

Hi, I have a ~1984 18' and had the boat out last week. The main sail wants to hang and come out near the top of the mast while hoisting the sail up and again while taking it down. I noticed I have some missing sections and cracks in the plastic inserts on the upper section of the mast.

From what I can tell from the parts diagrams, I think that is called the luff track. I am not sure what I need to order to fix this, nor do I see how to change these parts. According to the 06 parts guide:

LUFF TRACK UPDATE 5040410
LUFF TRACK 38584001

What is the difference between these parts and will they fit a 1984 model? and how to replace these parts?

Thanks,

Jeff

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1984 Hobie Cat 18
1998 SeaDoo GSXL

The update is a metal section added some years ago. Just the top 12" to be sure the sail stays in place. Some halyard rings (welded aussie style) can peal the luff out of the track when the mast and sail rotate in oposite directions. You do not have to use an update section.

The luff track #38584001 is the universal track replacement part.

Find instructions in our support area:

http://static.hobiecat.com/2010_archive/support/pdfs/38584001.pdf

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

Hi Matt, thanks for the info. Do you recommend i get the update? The only incident I have had when the sail was up was after getting assistance from a friendly boater to right the boat after capsizing. I had him lift the tip of the mast to catch the wind. I later realized that when he did this the top of the sail came out of the track. It was impossible to lower the sail and i had to re-capsize the boat to put the sail back in the track so i could then lower it.

Let me know if you recommend the update and I will order both parts. And if i should get the update, how is that installed? i don't see it in the instructions you provided. if it a user servicable item?

Thanks,

Jeff

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1984 Hobie Cat 18
1998 SeaDoo GSXL

I would get the metal piece first and see if you can remove the damaged plastic track and cut it off. Its possible to flip the plastic track and cut off the damaged areas. The metal piece isn't easy to install, I used a rubber mallet to knock it on.

The metal updated track is 12" long (I believe). If your existing plastic track has 12" or less of damage to it, you can simply cut out the damaged area and use the metal track. Actually, depending on the damage to the plastic track, you may be able to get away with removing more if you need to.

The plastic track is very easy to remove and install, you carefully peel it back with screwdrivers, and then snap it back on. The metal section was a royal pain. Maybe I wasn't doing it right when I installed it, but I pounded on it with a mallet and it would not go on, so I finally drilled out the rivets to the head cap, slid the track on, and then re-riveted on the cap.

sm

It's been a while, but today I finally got around to replacing my luff track. After reading the difficulties of installing the 12 inch metal update, I was going to ditch it and use all plastic as it was. However the plastic was too short. Turned out to be easy to install both the metal update and plastic. The trick with the metal is that one lip is smaller than the other. Insert the larger lip first and with considerable hand pressure at one end, it will snap into place.

Both parts came with good instructions. Now I can go sailing again without worrying about my sail getting stuck in the up position. I also upgraded the inspection ports to water tight screw on type with the utility bag inserts.

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1984 Hobie Cat 18
1998 SeaDoo GSXL