Mast Base and Crossbar Bend

My mast base, with the mast raised, sits a few millimeters above the crossbar. Its the old 2 rivet kind. The two rivets are still attached even tho the base is elevated by the dolphin striker, however, whenever the sail is raised, it pulls it down and it appears normal.

I plan on getting the 4 rivet, but time and money is preventing me. I know people highly recommend it but what should I do to make my situation better. I think the problem is the crossbar bolts arent tightened enough, so the crossbar isnt elevated high enough. Is this the case?

Or would re-riveting be the trick?

If left unfixed what kind of structural problems could this lead too? Iv heard a couple creaks when pushing the boat in gusts, but nothing too concerning.

This is a very common issue on 18s. You need to re-rivet the mast step to the front crossbar. Loosen the nuts on the ends of the dolphin striker rod to take all the pre-load off the mast step. Use stainless steel pop rivets to re-attach the mast step.

The crossbar bolts don't have any effect on the mast step, but it is a good idea to make sure they're tight.

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Many strikers are frozen in the castings...

You can use a scissor jack to pull the casting down. Place under the crossbar against the post and jack the striker down / crossbar up.

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

The striker was not stuck in the casting, freshwater boat.

Only issue i ran into was the mast bearing. The bearing was moving side to side a lot on the base. Is there a type of thick washer that fits around the bolt that fits snug on the inside of the bearing, or are you suppose to tighten the screw so that the bearing doesnt move side to side?

Was a spacer on early models around the screw that fit the bearing. Short piece of aluminum thick wall tube.

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

I recently replaced the pop rivets on my mast base that has the 4 rivet design. I losened the dolphin striker lose, and drilled out the old rivets. The mast base then wanted to push up. I used an iron workers C-clamp to hold it in place as I installed the new pop rivets. By borrowing a large pop-rivet gun from a friend that runs an auto-repair shop the job was no problem. Otherwise, snapping those large stainless steel pop rivets can be a challenge.