Hobie 16 Mast cleat set up

I have recently got into sailing with the purchase of an old Hobie 16. The mast cleats and cheek blocks are a bit shot, I have replaced one of them and would like advice on the set up as I am unsure what each unit is intended to be used for? I have included a picture, the cheek block is shot, but there is another slightly smaller one riveted to the left of this original. Can anyone from the community please advise, what each block/cleat is used for and if I have all that is necessary for a successful rigging?
Thanks!

this image shows the two cleats and 2 cheek blocks one small and one original large


this image shows the original cheek block, which looks shot to me.

Yes, that original cheek block is shot. It was for the old jib halyard system, which was very easy to use but has been superseded by the "Aussie" system. Not knowing which system is on your boat, I would assume that the smaller block was added as a turning block for the Aussie halyard. I can't imaging pulling all of that halyard through a closed block but maybe that's just me. Do you have the steel jib halyard with the flat 3:1 block on the end, or a very long cloth halyard?

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'00 H16 #104691
'78 H16 #32692 ex-rental [gone]
Old Holsclaw trailer
My Hobie 16 pages

If you have the old jib halyard system (which I do) the jib halyard goes around the cheek block up to a block on the halyard and down to the cleat just above the cheek block. The cleat at the back of the mast is for the downhaul. There should be a third cleat on the other side of the mast for the main halyard. After hooking the slug on the halyard at the top of the mast, I take the main halyard around the shroud and cleat it. Then I coil the excess halyard and tie it at that cleat.

When you installed the cleat, did you use the blind plugs that go in the holes in the mast? They maintain the water tight seal of the mast by deforming around the pop rivets as they are installed. Without them water can leak through the center of the pop rivet. It is important to keep the mast water tight. If it fills with water when you go over, it may be impossible to right the boat.

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Howard

This is the info I needed, thanks. Can you tell me if the third cleat on the other side of the mast is a horn cleat or a downhaul cleat ? At present I have only 2X downhaul cleats installed on the rig. I am also a little unsure about the blind plugs? I used monel rivets, are they the same thing? if not, any more advise you can provide on installing correctly would be a great help.

AntonLargiader. Thanks also. I think it is the old jib halyard system, the one with the flat 3:1 metal block on the end. I have also located a refurbished cheek block to replace my shot one with on ebay, international postage pushes up the price, but worth the expense all the same.

Will keep you posted of my progress.

The third cleat, for the main halyard, is the same as the jib halyard cleat. It normally doesn't take any load because the main halyard "slug" is hooked on the V-notch piece at the top of the mast. That takes the load when sailing. The halyard is just kept out of the way on the other cleat.

I assume the monel rivets you mentioned are pop-rivets. The blind plugs look like "top hats". They go into the hole in the mast. The cleat goes over them and the pop-rivet goes into the cleat. When the rivet is set, the blind plug expands but doesn't break so it forms the waterproof seal.

I don't know what you mean about horn vs. downhaul cleat. There must be holes in the mast for the cleat if it is missing. The spacing between holes should indicate the size of the cleat. I don't know where you are located but if there is a dealer near you, it would be worth a visit.

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Howard

Thanks Howard
The cleats on my mast and in the above picture are labelled as downhaul cleats with my supplier, horn cleats are not necessarily a wrap around cleat more a tug and tighten, as the cleat follows an inclined angle to form a wedge, when the rope is pulled and wrapped around in a figure of eight, it tightens into the wedge and secures, do you think it matters which cleat I use as the third cleat at the base of my mast?
And thank you for the information on the plugs, I have found these labelled as watertight rivet caps with my stockist, so shall order a few ready for installing the third cleat.
Dealers are few and far between here in the UK, but I totally agree a trip to a dealer or suitable sailing club from which to compare is definitely on the cards for me.

- Jason Turner

Neither of my 16s have had a jam cleat on them, but the main halyard seems like a good application for one since it only keeps the slack out of the [very long] bitter end. There's enough load on the jib halyard that I wouldn't use one there. Downhaul, sure.

OK, actually I think there is a jam cleat for the outhaul come to think of it.

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'00 H16 #104691
'78 H16 #32692 ex-rental [gone]
Old Holsclaw trailer
My Hobie 16 pages

I assume the horn cleat is what we refer to as a jam cleat. I'm not sure I would use it for the main halyard. The main halyard will actually have slack in it when the mast bends. The halyard could come loose. I would also go back and install the watertight rivet caps on the cleat you already installed.

I can't quite picture how you would use a figure eight on a jam cleat (?).

I am sure there are some Hobie sailors there in the UK near you. Usually someone responds on this forum. Are there any places you know where they sail?

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Howard

I also have the old style jib halyard.

On my mast, the downhaul cleat (which is located on the back of the mast in the luff track) is instead located just above the side cleat (for the old style jib halyard).

I also do like Howard said: Then after tying off the 3:1 downhaul for the main, I take the last foot of the downhaul rope and loop it around the tied off main halyard and pull main halyard back tight against the downhaul cleat and finish tying it off. This pulls the main halyard further back and reduces it snagging the jib batten ends. This only works if the downhaul cleat is higher than the jib halyard's cleat. The downhaul cleat is in the luff track, so it can be repositioned without having to install new rivets.

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Tim
84 H16
82 H16
87 H14T
Tortola Sails: 115222
Blue Prism Sails: 88863
Clearwater, FL

Tim,

I do something similar to what you do with the main halyard. I coil up the jib halyard after it is cleated and leave about a foot of line which I tie around the jib halyard. I then run the line around the downhaul line and back around the jib halyard and pull tight enough to pull the halyard back and tie it off. There used to be a clip available to put on the mast to hook the halyard and keep it pulled back but I never bothered to get one.

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Howard

Winter stopped play with the preparations to my Hobie 16, thank you all for your advice.
I am now looking for the correct mast cleats and can't seem to locate any of the original cleats in the UK!
Sending off for a few used ones from ebay USA right now.. thanks again
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Jason Turner