NOHUHU wrote:
These tips are not glued from the factory and so not intended to be. On a stock, mounted sail, you can probably twist the end cap 15-20º in either direction by hand.
From what I can tell this allows a slight luff rotation at the top and helps create a better sail contour and possibly a smoother reefing pattern.
On the boats where the tip is epoxied, I have been seeing a noticeable deformity or wrinkles near the upper batten. It's most obvious on the TI's and when slightly reefed/sailing close to the wind.
I have gone through a couple new sails on my AI and never glued this joint and have never been told too, so I don't know where the concept came from that it's supposed to be a fixed/bonded connection. Unless you are bracing it for a jib, of course.
Is there Hobie documentation out there that recommends this end cap be bonded in place?
other than the hardened epoxy which that I cleaned off the tip and which had clearly failed to bond to the mast, no, there seems to be very little documentation about the specifics on anything on the boat. for instance, torque specs for the x-bars? no one knows. i can say that the epoxy bond failed because there was absolutely no sanding or surface prep done before the mast tip was inserted. the epoxy broke cleanly off the mast tip and off the mast. i assume it should be glued because it left the factory glued!?!
i would disagree with the assumption that it shouldn't be glued for another reason: the mast tip and the downhaul are the only reasons you can furl the sail. if the mast tip spins, then quite a few sailors wouldn't be able to furl, since quite a few sailors don't have the downhaul installed. mine didn't have one and the dealer set mine up, i had figure it out on my own. the dealer actually said not to use it, but i could if i wanted to when i asked about it later.
also, recall how many furling drums have failed, perhaps the same thing has happened to the mast tips? i tried to spin the tip before gluing the mast together and couldn't. i had to remove the sail and really grab the tip before it spun easily. i am confident that the mast tip has been spinning all along and i needn't have glued the mast together.
when the downhaul and mast tip work together, the sail furls neat as can be but when they are out of sync, i get folds and bunches of sail.
sun E sailor wrote:
I'd be curious to hear how yours is holding up, now that you've epoxied it together.
it's doing great, in fact, i can't tell the difference. i'm happy that i glued the mast together, i still haven't found a reason not to. i expect to find that the sail furls better and cleaner now the tip is secured. we shall see.
cheers,
j