crack at mast joint

I just bought an old getaway 2001 and it has some problems. My nearest dealer is 300 miles away. If someone could help me it would save me a lot of trouble. The composite section flexes in the aluminum section. I cant pull it out to re-glue it. What should I do to seal the crack at the joint.

You must remove the tip to properly re-glue. This may require a stout post or tree... two lengths of large diameter line and a vehicle or "come along".

Wrap a length of the line around the CompTip about 5 times and tie a bowline. Tie the other end to the post / tree. Do the same to the base end of the mast and tie to the vehicle. Pull with very little effort (little or no throttle) the two parts apart. You may have to wiggle the joint a bit or heat the aluminum at the joint a little with a propane / MAPP gas torch. Pad the area the parts would fall and use extreme caution in all processes of course.

Re-bond with a good two part epoxy.

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

Could you post some pics? Sometimes the filler cracks, in which case it would not necessarily need to be re-glued.

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Sail Revolution
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Thanks Matt and Jeremy for the advice. I disassembling the mast . I used a tree and a come along to pull it apart. It didn’t take much pressure because the original glue only made contact about 15% of the surface. I drilled a small hole through the foam and let out about a gallon of water from the composite section. Would it be a good idea to slosh some bleach or something in there to prevent mold from growing or just plug the hole and glue it up.

I have a 2005 Getaway, and we keep it on Bald Head Island. We sail it at the mouth of the Cape Fear. The summer of 2008, when performing a basic jibe, modest wind, my mast cracked and tore into tow pieces, with the top barely connected.

We contacted Hobie, and they denied any design flaw, but offered to help with replacement cost. They sent us a new "tip" (upper section). We had to work pretty hard to get the remnants out of the lower section, and glue (epoxy) the new top section in, but its worked fine since.

We try to tack when possible, but often have to jibe, as tacking with the getaway is difficult.