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PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 4:08 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:13 pm
Posts: 51
Location: Belmont Shore, Southern California
Just coming back into Alamitos Bay here in Long Beach, CA. today when my mast just made a big snapping sound and fell over into the water. It didn't actually snap the mast but just bent over at a 90 degree angle. Peddled back to shore which thankfully wasn't far and fought with the sail for awhile to get it furled back up and walked home. This is a 2013 that I bought in October of 2012 and I've sailed 4 to 5 times a week since I bought it. So I've been out 200 to 300 times with no problems at all. Can't help but wonder if I did anything different but I've always installed the mast the same way before I head out. I always set the mast in and then pull up to make sure it's seated all the way. Pretty good wind today (18-20 mph I'd guess) but certainly not the strongest I've sailed in. My dealer where I bought my TI is closed today so I'll check with him tomorrow about a replacement.

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 6:07 pm 
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Joined: Fri Jan 05, 2007 9:21 pm
Posts: 2498
Location: Central Florida
Check if it was the mast itself or something to do with the mast-cup and/or front aka x-bar. Both have had past failures causing the mast to fall. Hobie is very good on replacing under warranty any failed parts.

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 05, 2014 6:20 pm 
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Location: Belmont Shore, Southern California
I'll go out now and give it a close look. Thanks for the heads up, KayakingBob. I'm hoping it will be covered under warranty. It's almost two years old but I'll see what Hobie says.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 9:27 am 
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Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:13 pm
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Location: Belmont Shore, Southern California
OK, I see what happened. There is a leaf spring type arrangement that keeps pressure on the retaining lever that holds the mast in the mast-cup. This leaf spring gave up after 200 or 300 outings and allowed the mast to slide up out of the mast cup. With the mast no longer in its correct position it splintered the lowers section of the mast and bent over at a 90 degree angle. Not quite sure how to get to the spring to replace it. Anyone have experience with this? The Hobie shop opens at 11 am, I'll go down and talk to Jeff to see what can be done.

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Last edited by motoenthusiast on Tue Aug 26, 2014 10:47 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 10:37 am 
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Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2011 1:58 am
Posts: 2893
Location: Forster, NSW, Australia
I am sure your dealer will oblige with repairs under warranty, and no doubt provide a new screw as well. To adjust that screw you can either buy a "Z" shaped screwdriver, or else clamp a screw bit in some pliers.

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2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 11:25 am 
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Joined: Mon May 02, 2011 8:48 am
Posts: 159
Location: Southwest Calif.
Sad to read about your misfortune. I hope that the problem gets resolved quickly and to your satisfaction.
BTW, that was me last Friday coming into shore at the U.S. Sailing Center in my Dune AI as you were heading out into the bay.

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 06, 2014 12:23 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:13 pm
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Location: Belmont Shore, Southern California
Hey Salty Dawg, I remember seeing you as I peddled out. I didn't have my hearing aids in or I'd waited to talk Hobies with you. (Can't hear crap without the aids but makes for very peaceful sailing.)

And thanks tonystott for the suggestions. I've got some vice grips and phillip screw tips for my drill motor so I will try that. I used to have a offset phillips screwdriver but can't find it in any of the tool chests.

I just dropped off the lower half of the mast at my Hobie dealer and they said they'd repair or replace it. I'm hoping under warranty but we'll see.

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PostPosted: Thu Aug 07, 2014 6:31 am 
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Joined: Tue Jan 03, 2012 11:45 am
Posts: 14
The mast retainer system of Hobie, is a weak part.

Too many broken mast due this issue.

We sail in Canary Island sea. Wind 20 knots and more very often.

We improoved an idea about this problem. (Raúl from Gran Canaria did it)

We installed a collar in the mast, just below the bearings plate.

Then this collar works as mast retainer in case of neccesary.

The mast with the collar installed, must work fine, roll in and roll out the sail without problems.

This collar is originaly made for the mast of the small sail boats called Optimist. (Mast safety clamp)

We take the collar, and adapted it to the bigger diameter of ours masts.

Best regards from Tenerife, Canary Island.

Ignacio, from abisal12 (you can visit us at facebook) where I will drop some pictures of the optiparts mast adapted collar idea.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Abisal12 ... ts&fref=ts

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwpN8WjTJkA


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PostPosted: Sat Aug 09, 2014 2:07 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:13 pm
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Location: Belmont Shore, Southern California
Thank you, vilcoyote66, for your comment. I agree that the leaf spring setup is a weak point for holding the mast in place. I am going to find a collar as shown in the video you posted a link to, and add it as a safety for the present setup. Here's a very short video showing what the mast looked like after I beached my TI.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=p ... y40NsdbElM

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PostPosted: Sat Aug 09, 2014 4:28 pm 
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Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2011 1:58 am
Posts: 2893
Location: Forster, NSW, Australia
vilcoyote66 wrote:
The mast retainer system of Hobie, is a weak part.

Too many broken mast due this issue.
SNIP

There has hardly been a lot of broken masts reported in the forum. Should I be looking elsewhere?

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2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker


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PostPosted: Sun Aug 10, 2014 2:15 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:13 pm
Posts: 51
Location: Belmont Shore, Southern California
So I bought an offset phillips screwdriver to tighten the screw on the leaf spring but something else is missing I think. Looks like there should be a screw or bolt on top of the retaining clip holding that down. I don't know what should be there and can't find a blowup of parts that should be there. Anyone know if Hobie has an online pdf. file showing all the parts of the different components of the TI? I'm starting to think the only way to do this properly is to remove the whole mast cup assembly in order to get the proper tension on the leaf spring. Not sure if this is a task I want to tackle so I thinking of loading the TI up and taking to the Hobie dealer and see if he could do it. Has anyone else done this procedure and give me any advice?

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 13, 2014 8:00 pm 
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Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:13 pm
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Location: Belmont Shore, Southern California
Just some follow-up for anyone interested. Lorraine from Facebook's Hobie Island Club had Brendan from Hobie's warranty department email me with info on how to make my repairs and expedited my mast arrival at my local Hobie shop, under warranty. Awesome company and people! Brendan advised me to remove my crossbar and this would make repairs accessible and much easier. I was amazed out simple and quickly this was done. No problem whatsoever. It was so obvious once he told me what to do. So the mast is in but I found the spring is shot so I ordered a new one and it will be here Friday. I should be sailing by the weekend. I'm going to look for the mast collar that was mentioned in earlier posts and mount that as a backup. What other manufacturer gives this kind of service, warranty and help, thank you Hobie!

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 19, 2014 6:01 am 
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Joined: Sun Sep 23, 2012 5:24 am
Posts: 9
Location: Havre de Grace, Maryland
Had the same problem, was out with my daughter and TI mast broke. Hobie replaced the mast.
I noticed that the mast clip screw had come out and was missing. My dealer gave me a new one from Hobie, but I noticed that it was only 1/4 inch long so I replaced it with a 1/2 screw. Haven't had any problem since.
I also agree that the clip spring is weak and doesn't keep the clip engaged properly, I have used a small bungee on the clip to keep slightly more pressure on the clip to the mast.


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 19, 2014 10:28 am 
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Joined: Tue Jan 11, 2011 5:13 pm
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Location: Belmont Shore, Southern California
After everything was done I can clearly see the spring failure was the cause of my problems. The screw was missing on my mast retainer also but when I took off the crossbar it was sitting under it. I'll look for a longer one and try that also. I'm still waiting for the spring to come in and it will only take me about ten minutes to put everything back together but your idea of a little extra help for the spring sounds like a good idea.

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PostPosted: Wed May 06, 2015 1:59 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jun 17, 2013 5:25 pm
Posts: 387
Location: Jaco, Costa Rica
I can understand snapping the mast at the collar. But I snapped mine the other day on a 2013 TI, much higher. Has this happened to anyone else?
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