AAAHHHH......my TI mast broke!

Several mast breakings have been reported recently. The whole Hobie community does not, in general, post here. Presumably there are other broken masts that we never hear about, and, perhaps, are handled promptly by Hobie.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

It has been reported in a video of the cancelled 2015 WaterTribe Everglades Challenge that a TI mast broke at it's base. I asked the video owner what happened to the Tandem, and he said, “His mast snapped at the base – wind was blowing pretty good, and he was beating hard up into the wind under full sails all day.” The video can be seen on this thread:
http://watertribe.org/forums/topic/nauticalmiles-and-sailswithafricans-2015-ec-video-edited The video is long. The person with the broken mast can be seen after 30 min into the video. The break occurred along coastal Everglades about 10 mi SE of my recent capsize (and about 3 weeks earlier.) I guess the Everglades Park marine police checked in with him and sent SeaTow to pick him up. Park police would have picked him up, but not his boat.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

My mast just broke today.

Was vacationing down in the Florida, Keys. The wind was blowing 15 mph maybe gusts up 20. I was beating up wind only my third tack and half way across the bay. a loud snap and the mast fell over at about 75 degrees.

The sail was partly furled 1-2 rolls since the weather helm was overriding my rudder inputs.

The break in the mast occurred above the spool for the furling sheet.

I guess tomorrow on the way home I will stop by the Hobie store. Bummer that the boat is out of warranty. If memory serves me, my boats a 2011.

While washing down the boat I was spraying fresh water into the mast base when one of the ball bearing popped out. I popped it back in and I rolled my hands in there for a minute to see if anything felt weird or if another would pop out. Ill post pictures later if I can.

I have a 2013 TI and I can't get my dealer who sold me the kayak to put in a warranty claim send me a receipt (which I never got) or even acknowledge me. That's Adventure Sports in Miami. At $768 a pop on a new TI mast, plus a charge of $100 shipping (thru ACK), I'm not a happy customer.

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Mark
Tandem Island- 2013
2 - Sports - 2014

Thanks for the heads up. I was going to stop by nautical ventures up a bit north. I use Adventure Time Kayaks for all my rudder pins sheer bolts or mirage drive parts. I use mostly the later for smaller parts for the island. I previously used Nautical Ventures for some hobie 16 related things. Both I have had positive experiences with.

The President of Adventure Sports got ahold of me this evening, seems this is the only place I can get some response. Said they will put a claim into Hobie for me but wasn't sure that Hobie would extend the warranty period.

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Mark
Tandem Island- 2013
2 - Sports - 2014

What I am upset about is I really wanted to upgrade to a 2015, them seats look nice...

Now I gotta buy a new mast making it a $3000 transition instead of $2000.

I feel as if the mast was used within the design parameters. So i am really scratching my head.

The sail had 1-2 turns on the mast. The wind was 16-18 and maybe up to 20 mph. 2 passagers well under the 600lb limit. I usually sail in much less wind.

I know its a complicated design issue for hobie where they maybe can't just add more carbon fiber fabric. the mast would then become less flexible, a key design feature of the TI.

Today, Adventure Sports finally got on the ball. I feel they are due some credit. I got my receipt and a Hobie claim number for the mast. Just wish they could give this kind of service without having to pull hair. Anyways it's done and maybe they deserve a second chance.

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Mark
Tandem Island- 2013
2 - Sports - 2014

I wonder if anybody is keeping track of how many breakages were associated with hiking out on a trampoline or haka.

Seems like, with the operator seated normally, stress on the mast is limited to some approximation of an ama's bouyancy.

OTOH, every pound that hikes out on a tramp or haka adds that pound to the stress on the mast once there is enough wind to bury the ama.

?

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2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

You don't even have one yet. Why are you out witch hunting on this forum? By the way, Hobie did extend the warranty on my 2013 mast and give me a replacement. Again, another example of outstanding service on Hobie's part to make their customers satisfied and whole.

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Mark
Tandem Island- 2013
2 - Sports - 2014

I do have one although, in the interest of full discosure, I am still trying to get it on the water - but I do have a dog in this race.

I would not characterize myself as witch hunting........Overthinking? ..... Probably... but that's what I do... but not "witch hunting".

Instead of going borderline ad-hominem, I think it would be more productive to point out the flaw in my observation that weight on a tramp or haka increases the load on the mast when the ama is being driven to the point where it submerges.

Also, I would admit to being one who has been accused of being in love with his own voice (and written material) - and realize that not everybody shares that love.

Accordingly, I am going to cut back on my Hobie fora activity for awhile.

Mea Culpa, and all that...

_________________
2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

Sorry Peter, I was a little rough on you there. Will be nice to hear of your experience on the water.
By the way I never hike out.

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Mark
Tandem Island- 2013
2 - Sports - 2014

This was simply a bad mast... not caused by unusual use. These masts are strong if correctly built and can handle hiking. I would expect the mast receiver or hull attachments to fail if really over loaded. That would have to be very strong gusty winds, chop with too much weight hiking out.

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

I have a 2012 TI that I bought in the summer of 2013. The first time I used it the mast broke at the base above the furler while heading up wind.
Yesterday 7/30/16 the same thing happened again. I have been out in much heaver weather with higher seas without any problems. I was on a small lake in Oklahoma with an 8 - 10 mph breeze. I had been up and down the lake twice already. It is weird that the mast seemed to just randomly broke and fell.

I called Hobie in CA, the operator said "oh too bad, It's out of warranty" and suggested that I call the dealer that I bought it from.
The first time I called them OKC Kayak), 3 years ago, the guy didn't believe me at first. He said it was impossible to break the mast while sailing.

Allen G

Still... contact the dealer and file a claim. Warranty staff can give extensions at times for issues we are familiar with.

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