Class legal H14 racing.

My mast rotator is from a 17. The side plates and tube that go through the mast were scavenged from the dealer's parts bin. I think they were from an 18.

Your Hobie dealer can call Hobie and get the part. The bar itself is the same as the 17 as are the compression plates. You will need to cut the compression tube and it should come with a thinner/shorter bolt for the 14 since the mast is thinner. I ended up grinding the end of the bolt off about a half inch just to make it cleaner.

Installing it properly takes some time. The important part is keeping the mast air/water tight. You need to take off the base and dig out the foam plug and aluminum backer plate. Figure out where you are going to install the rotator and drill all the holes you will need. You need 4 small holes on each side for the rivets and one large hole for the compression tube. The hole should be just larger than the outer diameter of the tube. Pre fit everything! You will need to cut the tube so that it is level with the plates WHEN INSTALLED. The first time I did it, I made it flush with the mast and had to build it up with washers so that it was flush with the outside of the plates.

Just a note, the plates will have to be bent to match the curve of the mast.

Before you install the tube or rivet the plates and you have pre fit everything, push the foam plug into the mast about a half inch past the top most rivet hole--the one farthest in the mast from the base. liberally apply marine sealant to the plug making sure it is completely covered. I used a stick to smear it around. Then, finesse the aluminum backer plate into the mast so that it is flush with the plug then slather sealant all over it as well. The plug just gives you support for the backing plate. If your plug is a little loose, don't push it in past the rivet holes to begin with. When you push the backing plate up against the plug, you can push both up into the mast and get a tight seal between the two. Mine was VERY tight, so it was easy.

Let that completely dry before you seal up the mast. This would be a good time to do the same to the head of the mast so that you can have an air tight mast. In addition, I would replace the other rivets for the mast tang and halyard hook just to be sure.

Make sure you get stainless rivets and use the rivet sheaths as well as sealant to completely seal the holes. The stainless rivets are available at Lowes or Home Depot, but the sheaths might have to be specially ordered. I got a bunch off of eBay, but you can ask your dealer about them because they may actually come with the kit. I wouldn't use them on the rotator because you aren't worried about being air tight at that point. I would only use them if your holes are too large and you want a tight fit for your rivets.

When you go to install the compression plates, rivet the top and bottom holes first. then, using a hammer, tap the plate starting between the two installed rivets going out to the empty rivet holes on the side to bend the plate to match the mast. Once you put the side rivets in, you may have to do a little more hamering on the edges just to make it smooth.

I would put the compression tube in first before you rivet just to make sure it fits and everything is lined up.

When installing the rotator bar, I used heavy duty plastic washers between the arm and the compression plate/tube so that the bar rotated easily up and down. The first time I installed one, I didn't use a washer and the boom pulled the rotator up during a jibe and it cought on the boom.

That's about it. The rotator I got was wide for a 17, so when I installed it, it didn't 'close' evenly. One arm bent and the other didn't, so it was crooked. I had to whack it a few times with a hammer to get both arms to bend evenly.

I realy like the new sail shape, especially with the removal of some of the mast rotation stopper piece on the mast step base. Be careful when removing the stoppers, I broke off the entire piece and had to put a bolt in the mast step base to comply with the rules and to keep my mast from completely over rotating.

a wise hobie dealer told me when i bought my tiger." buy extra port covers you will need them" thanks jeremy

_________________
Rich Vilvens
F-18 5150
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http://www.sailblogs.com/member/f-185150sailing/

Ok Dan Berger, I got the power pack from my dealer. Can you snap a picture of your mast rotation bar on the sides specifically and I will follow your directions.

Thanks,
Jer

I can't get a current picture, but if you go to my album on thebeachcats, you can see the bar. I have the boat rigged completely non-class legal, but I did use that mast with the stock set-up, so you should get an idea of how the rotator is installed.

Note that the plates on the sides look like they are made to be in one direction. This is for the Hobie 18 with the diamond wires connecting at the rotator bar. It doesn't make a difference on the 14, so mine may be upside down (or not).

http://www.thebeachcats.com/index.php?m ... emId=17781