Hello Dogslife,
Very sorry to hear this happened to your boat, but I'm certain Hobie will send a new dbl-weld Crossbar, as they have done for everyone who has reported this problem so far. When I replaced mine, I used Blue Loc-Tite on all the bolts including the ones that go into the brass inserts, which I cleaned out with compressed air beforehand. It's an easy replacement after that.
The good news is that we have now succeeded in bringing attention and awareness to this problem so that everyone (including Hobie) can be proactive. By looking at the weld on an old style Crossbar, we can see the "Grey Line" for what it is... a crack. I think it's only a matter of time (meaning sailing hours) before all if not most, of these Crossbars will need to be replaced.
Hobie recognized this was a design flaw when it first started happening last year and has stated as much. That's why they changed their production to a stronger, double weld/plate that goes all the way through the new Crossbars.
mmiller wrote:
This is an extreme load failure which we have seen a few times before. We have already made changes some time ago to the way this is assembled and welded. This corrects any consistency issues with the welding process that may have contributed to this type of failure. The plate now passes through the crossbar and is in contact with the back surface. Should be two welds (outer edges of the plates protrude through the back surface) on the back side of any crossbar with the newer process.
I don't understand why this has not recievied the attention it deserves and I want Hobie to recall all the old style Crossbars now, before some one gets seriously injured by a mast falling down and possibly hitting them.
They recalled the old Twist and Stow rudder and gave us a better functioning one (Thank You) but seriously, I don't remember hearing anyone ever saying that their old rudder flew off and hit them in the head. What are they waiting for?