mast chip

The mast chips on my new h16 last only one sail. Also,the dolfin striker rod is visible at the bottom of the casting. Is this nomal? And the chip often moves when the mast is raised. Any tips?

Do a search on this site for "mast chip" - it's been discussed a lot.

Or you can come to the St. Andrew Bay YC this weekend and we can explain in person. There will be a lot of good Hobie people there for MidWinter's East.

S Miller:

When I had my 16 I made my own chips. Get a piece of pipe the right size and put it on a grinding wheel. Sharpen it to a sharp edge. Go to a plastic supply company and buy Teflon in sheets, it is cheaper. Use a hammer and punch them out like a cookies cutter. MUCH cheaper that way.

Doug Snell
Hobie 17
Soon to be Nacra A2
www.tcdyc.com

Yes it is normal to see the top end of the dolphin striker post in the cup of the mast base.
There are contured bearings sold by the hobie dealers or may be Muray. Those might stay in plase better than the flat chips. For a while I use a hollow type of golf ball (not user what they intended to be used for). I cut them apart at the seam - they fit very nice - and cost about 5 cents per bearing. I would not use the golf ball idea if you keep the mast up for many weeks at the time.

Patrick

if you can't find a local plastic supply house checkout either of these industrial suppliers:

http://www.mcmaster.com
http://www.mscdirect.com

You can find all kinds of stuff here for repairs or making gadgets.

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO

The striker post should be visible, but it should not be poking up into the cup. It should be flush with the bottom of the radius.

New boat? New boats from Hobie USA and Australia come with the "chip keeper". This is a series of holes drilled into the cup. The chip presses into the indents and holds the chip. You have to pry them out. We sailed the '04 Mexico 16 Worlds boats the equivalent of full years normal use over the 10 day regatta... never had to replace a chip.

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

you can always use 2 liter coke bottle lids

_________________
Tom & Nancy Page H20 803

The alternatives all work but they have their own issues. The teflon chip is still the best solution because it has less friction and does not cause any wear to the mast cup or mast base. The key is to update your mast cup to match that of the new Chip Keeper version to which mmiller referred.
The Chip Keeper is incredibly simple to duplicate. All you need is a Dremel type tool and a small square end metal cutting bit (like a tiny end mill). Take a look at the image I created. You cut 4 or 5 half-moon plunges into the lower portions of the mast cup. That's all it takes because you only need to create some indentions so that there will be more friction between the mast cup and the chip than between the chip and the mast base.

Updating my 2001 boat took only 10 minutes last summer. I've had no chips blow out since the mod.

Golf Ball Whiffle balls cut in half. Buy a ton of them, keep them in your gear box with a putter and wedge in case the wind sucks you can play with them.

We go to the local plastics supply house and buy scrap sheets pieces to cut our own. Teflon works great (if you can get it).

Love the golf/wiffle ball idea, and let's tee it up some time. My old neighbors and I became very good at wiffle golf on the Saturdays we were "supposed" to be babysitting. Quite the site, driving down our street, to see us in the yards in full attire, pushing kid's in strollers and pullcarts with clubs.

_________________
hobiejohn at earthlink dot net
Fleet 297