Roller Furler Failure - Again

Since January I have experienced two cracks in the ring of the roller Furler yoke on my ten year old Getaway. These are similar to failures experienced by lieslanne, "Jib Furler Failure" May 12, 2014. and fastcat "De-masted due to Roller Furler failure", 2009.
I sail in Mexico on the Pacific coast and the weather is warm and humid almost all year around.

I found the first crack after bringing the boat out of storage after the hot rainy season. I was able to have the first crack welded locally and have been sailing several times in a month. [img][/img]Now a second crack has appeared on the same yoke. I hope to get a new one but was unable to get one during a 10 day opportunity in January. A week ago I found a recent crack in the side stay adjuster around the weld.


Matt: Is this now a recurring problem? Your prior responses indicate it is rare. Is there a Hobie 5 year replacement recommendation on rigging and hardware?
Any suggestions for any dealers that stock the part: 61980000?
Regards

Lew

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Lew

A few years ago, I experienced what I can assume is a crack similar to what you’re describing. In my case, it was original equipment on a 20-25 year old Hobie 18 (same part as the Getaway). So I think cracks on these parts are possible but pretty rare. Certainly worth inspecting once a season at least.

https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic. ... er#p192178

sm

I'd say very rare to fail a furler.

I would also say rigging replacement is difficult to put a schedule on. Heavy use, smooth or choppy conditions, mast up storage? All this would accelerate wear.

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

Matt is being kind. Replace all standing rigging wires every year. Replace all attachment rigging every three years. Inspect all attachment points for wear every season and replace worn parts prior to noted failures. I had a hobie20 where the shroud anchor points on each hull each failed in a way that was hidden. Anchor bars and pins on the 16 should be replaced just like the adjusters. It's inexpensive insurance. If you sail in high winds and rough water, you may need to replace this gear more frequently than this.

I would not say Matt is being kind. I would say he is being realistic. I don’t think it is appropriate to make a blanket statement that all standing rigging needs to be replaced annually. I certainly don’t do that and have sailed Hobies for several decades.

Each situation is different. If you sail two times a year on a fresh water lake in 5-10 mph wind, there’s absolutely no reason to replace rigging every year. If you leave your boat mast up on an ocean beach where the rigging is constantly exposed to wear and corrosion and you sail every weekend in ocean surf and hard conditions, then yes, definitely consider changing the rigging yearly. Most of us fall somewhere in between and changing the rigging on a 1-5 year cycle would be appropriate, but again, every situation is different.

I certainly agree though that inspection is key. I would inspect all attachments annually if not more frequently (this is more or less part of the rigging process everytime we saill the boat anyway). Also be sure to carry some spares on board just in case something does fail.

sm

Ever since I dismasted my 16 due to a failed shroud, I check the rigging before the season and every couple months thereafter. When I dropped the mast, I thought I'd noticed a kink, but was too eager to get flying. Never again! Dave