Eclipse handlebar socket delamination

Good day everyone.

I’m fairly new to the forum however own a few Hobie product in the past and present.

I was out testing our 12 foot eclipse this weekend and notice the handle bar was becoming increasingly lose and wobbly at the base in the socket. Initially I thought it was the usual plastic base coming lose from the aluminium bar.

However on closer inspection the whole socket was moving under the fibreglass, this was evident by stress cracks in the top layer of paint once the EVA pad was removed.

So far I have grounded away the damaged fibreglass but the plastic socket is cracked in several places.

My plan from here is to reglass the whole unit back in with epoxy resin and matting. I shall also pour epoxy around the socket as it completely detached from the internal foam.

A few questions for anyone in the know..

Can you get a replacement handlebar socket?
Does my plan sound suitable?
I assume I can a replacement EVA pad to hide the mess I’m about to make!?

We run them as rentals so not too worried about it not looking pretty as long as it’s strong as they take a battering!

Many thanks

Sounds like a good plan. I'll check with engineering on a possible replacement socket. These are built in the Philippines, so no parts here.

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

Thanks for the reply,

So far I have managed to epoxy resin the old socket in place and it’s pretty solid now. Going to glass over the top next.

I struggled to removed the old socket as the holes for the cart create an anchor within the foam. The only way to removed it was to cut the socket out thus destroying it.

However, if you could keep me updated on sourcing spare sockets it would be appreciated as I may replace the whole thing in the future. I’m based in the UK so work with Hobie Cat Centre/Shore Thing.

I’ll post some pictures of progress/repairs for future reference.