New Hobie 16 - help needed

I have a new Hobie 16 and have a few qus:

1. The traveller car comes out of the integral track at one end..what is supposed to stop that? The seller said he used a knot on the mainsheet but I think there should be a stop somewhere in the track.

2. I have bought 3 x swivel clam cleats for the main and jib but they have flat bases. Can I reuse the old ones and will self tappers do to secure them?

3. There's a twist toggle on the end of one side stay but not the other...are they that important?

4. What diameter is the tiller rob?

Any help appreciated.

Cheers

There should be a stainless steel plate that covers the opening in the mainsheet track:


There are stops screwed into the track for the jib travelers.



The old ones can be re-used. If you have removed them, they require a rivet in the hole that's not under the cleat, then two self-tappers in the middle two holes (they attach both the cleat and the base), and a machine screw/nut on the last hole (that's clear of the crossbeam).


Yes. They are required equipment.


Tiller "rob"? Not sure what you're asking here.
The stock fiberglass tiller has an OD of 1/2".

Thanks mbounds. My boat is about 1992 I think. The sail number is 104,???. No sign of a plate cover but there's the stub of something that looks like a screw and the end of the track before it opens out at the end for traveller insertion.

Why is the toggle important. The shroud adjusters seem to fit directly to the hull. Yes, I meant the diameter of the tiller rod. Thanks again.

The integrated track did not appear on US boats until late 1994 / 1995. A 104xxx sail number (if it's the original sail) would date the boat to about 2000 / 2001. In any event, you can determine the boat's year of manufacture by looking at the last few digits of the HIN that's engraved on the transom.

According to Hobie Cat, the twist toggle works as a universal joint. Keeps the shrouds from pulling the pin sideways and bending / breaking it. They are required for racing under the Hobie 16 class rules.

The only real advantage I can see to the twist toggles is when you raise/lower the mast they allow the chainplates to orient themselves so the shroud wire doesn't kink. You want to have your shroud anchor pins angled so that they point towards the mast. In order to do that, they end up being at about a 45 degree angle to the hull. When the mast is laying on the boat (prior to raising) without the twist toggles, the chain plates want to point out from the hulls at a 45 degree angle but the shrouds want to be laying parallel to the hulls. This can potentially cause the shroud to want to kink. The toggle allows the chainplate to align itself as needed.

My H17 was never supplied with twist toggles and I haven't had any issues, I just need to make sure the shrouds don't kink when raising/lowering the mast. I really don't buy the "universal joint" rationale. The toggle doesn't change any of the loading dynamics on the clevis pins/shroud anchor once the mast is raised. The critical thing is that the shroud anchor pins should be pointed towards the mast.

sm