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PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2011 5:38 pm 
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Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2010 3:46 pm
Posts: 23
I am having problems with the halyard sticking when the mainsail is nearly fully raised. I sometimes have to jerk the halyard repeatedly to get the last bit up and position the metal stopper on the halyard under the forks to hold the sail up. A bit frustrating sometimes. When I examine the halyard the wire to rope splice is getting old and stiff with a bit of rust showing throught the rope-I suspect from the wire rope inside rusting a bit. Probably the answer is a new halyard but perhaps someone has had this problem and fixed it-maybe I am blaming the wrong thing here. When the jerking works it goes on up easily but it has to be "played with" for a few minutes until all goes well.
Regards
Peter


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 3:19 am 
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Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2010 3:46 pm
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Some further details-:
Was home today after a 4 day camping sail and had the mast down and tried the halyard going through the pulley while I looked for problems-couldn't see any and it all ran freely.
It certainly has me puzzled.
Whatever is happening must depend on the weight of the mainsail being involved-any ideas?


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 3:27 am 
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Joined: Wed Aug 18, 2010 8:15 am
Posts: 495
Location: Saint John, NB Canada sailing on Washademoak Lake
Must be the sail not sliding well in the mast. Clean the slot in the mast and put some sailkote.

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Marc...
1978 Hobie 16 Keoke, sail# 36 84
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PostPosted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 7:13 am 
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Joined: Tue Sep 08, 2009 3:58 am
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I agree. Usually the sail is the one that gets stuck.
When raising your sail, have one person stand on the main crossbar (one foot onm either side of the mast) and push upward on the mainsail, until wrinkles form. Then it´ll be easier to pull the mainsail up from the halyard.


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 21, 2011 3:28 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 27, 2003 12:44 pm
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Location: Oceanside, California
Agreed, the sail will not feed itself into the luff track... read the sail hoist FAQ for a good description of the technique:

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=371&p=981#p981


Quote:
Raising the mainsail of a Hobie can be more difficult than need be.

Several factors can cause the mainsail to be difficult to hoist:

Dirty luff ropes and luff tracks. These can be cleaned with soapy water and a scrub brush. If you want to use a lubricant, keep away from oils and waxes that can attract dirt. Use a dry silicone spray. Most all Hobie sails now have a Teflon threaded bolt (luff) rope to ease the hoisting effort.

Battens and sail shape. The battens stiffen the airfoil shape of your sail. Over tensioning of the battens can cause a couple of problems. Luff protector caps can be forced against the mast and cause drag when hoisting. The battens also force the sail shape into a curve. The luff curve (seen when laying the sail out on the ground, as a large arch) is typical to Hobie Cat main sails. The sails "airfoil" shape is mostly created by the miss-matched mast bend and luff curve of the sail. The luff curve is more than the likely mast bend and when the mast is straight (while hoisting) the difference is dramatic. This luff curve going up the straight mast can cause significant drag and hoisting problems when done incorrectly.

Outhaul. Be sure the outhaul is fully released before hoisting.

Hoist Technique:

Keep the batten tension to a minimum. Hoist the sail slowly, while feeding into the mast opening. When the sail gets about 3/4's of the way up, begin aggressively feeding at the bottom opening and reduce the amount of halyard effort. If the halyard is pulled tight when the sail is not being fed into and up the track, you will have problems. The sail luff will pull taunt and the curve shape will bind in the (straight) mast track. Lower the sail slightly and begin feeding again.

The best way to feed the sail is to stand in front of the mast and reach around either side to "sandwich" the sail between two hands (above the feeder opening) and push the sail up the track. Pull with the halyard, only the slack created, then feed again. If the sail binds, lower slightly and begin feeding again. This technique can be done by one person, but is certainly easier with two working together. It is VERY important that the person on the halyard only pulls the slack up the mast and does not get ahead of the feeder.

Locking the Hobie 14/16/Getaway halyard:

Once the sail is fully hoisted (be sure that the sail is fully inserted into the feeder). Pull the halyard forward of the mast by 3-4 feet. Hold the halyard on the centerline of the mast. Pull hard and hold the tension while bringing the halyard into the mast. Release the halyard tension and see that the sail remains fully hoisted. This seats a small bead, in the halyard, under a two finger prong "hook" and the top of the mast. If the sail slips down when downhaul tension is added, repeat the final hoist technique again. Be sure the bead is clear to pass the hook before pulling tension on the halyard.

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


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PostPosted: Mon Mar 28, 2011 3:04 am 
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Joined: Sat Apr 24, 2010 3:46 pm
Posts: 23
Thanks for that-sounds like the problem is fixed.


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