Merits of Epoxy

I have been bitten by the bug and finally purchased a 2001 Getaway.

The mast sections were not bonded by the previous owner.

The Hobie manual recommends bonding the upper section to the lower section with epoxy.

I trailer to and fro a lot from where I have the cat stored to the nearest boat ramp. and was interested to hear what problems has anyone encountered with not bonding the mast sections?

What are the pro's / cons if any from a trailering perspective.

Thanks
Steve

Water in the mast is the big issue. Even after the sections are "bonded" by dealers, there still are frequent water problems. Otherwise I don't think there are very many issues with the mast in one-piece.

However, keep a close eye on your hulls. Especially around where the x-bars enter into the hulls on the underside. There were issues with the roto-mold cracking on the original models. I can go deeper into this, but I am sure Hobie could give you better information.

Mast Glueing

This is a must on the Getaway. The hounds / wires attach into the CompTip section. If the mast is left loose, the play can cause damage to the CompTip and / or mast extrusion. For best sturcture... glue it.

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

Getaway Cracks

The number of issues have been low, but we have seen cracks in the plastic from time to time. Most have been at the bow spreader, some at the cross bars. A few in the transom area. All are covered by Warranty. None have been devestating failures as the hull structure stays intact and the cracks appear to form very slowly.

There are a couple of possible issues. The boats are cooked in a huge oven. If the temperature varies or is lower for some reason (bad burners) it can leave the hull (or portions of the hull) under cooked. This appears to leave the material more brittle. If the area is thinner and or brittle, the combination can cause a problem.

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