emh161 wrote:
Interesting, I was handling it again earlier today and listening to the sound carefully, While I'm way too new at this to rule out the dead rivets theory, the sound is more like a swishing sound than what I think would be a more metallic sound of pieces of metal colliding with the boom end caps.
Which suggests a question: Are the booms (and masts too) filled with some material that may be breaking down and sliding around inside? I've read that masts are buoyant, which I tested and found to be true in my pool, Also checked the boom and it floats. Checked for air bubbles that might indicate leakage and saw none even with the spars submerged. Let them float for an hour and reweighed them to see if any indication they took any water in -- same weight.
Question about rivets: Have read Hobie used/uses Monel rivets for corrosion resistance. Can anybody confirm that? If so, any suggestions on where to get them?
There is a foam plug near the top of the mast but none to my knowledge in the boom. I think we've ruled out all other options. Your cat was used as a drug mule in the eighties and your boom contains a brick of Acapulco Gold.