Main Halyard Pulley

at the top of the mast where the main sheet halyard enters the mast itself, I do not have a rotating pulley, but a flat thing which makes raising the main sail a pain. Is this the design, or is mine broken?? If broken, can it be replaced?

I think you're talking about the "flopper". You can safely remove it, and Hobie stopped including it on 18 masts long ago.

Thanks for the quick answer... but .. Nope, I know the flopper, that was what covered the thing which hooked the ring and held the sail up on old 18's.... this is where the halyard itself enters the mast to return to the bottom for hoisting. The halyard makes a 180 degree turn over this flat thing and disappears into the mast. It seems obvious to me that it should be a pulley, but then this is the company that designed the flapper and the system of holding up the main sail 30 feet above the deck in the first place.... so, is it designed to be a flat immovable object, or should it be a pulley? If a pulley, then mine has jammed some time ago and has worn flat and needs to be replaced. Can it be replaced? What part would I order to replace it?

It is supposed to have a pulley. You should see a pin or axel that would be removed to re-install a pulley. I assume you have an older H18 Pre-Comptip? May be the same pulley though. Check the parts diagrams.

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

Here is a few photos of the mast head for H-18. You Can clearly see where the main halyard mast head sheeve is located. Hop this helps. (from THE BEACHCATS )
Comp-Tip Mast



And from an all aluminum mast:

_________________
John Latimer
'79 Hobie18 - Magnum
Sail#4854

Thanks.. that's what I needed to know.. (It's an SX about 6 years old..).

Wow! I can't get over how helpful everyone is about this.. you guys are great... Last question.. is replacing the pin/pulley something I can do at home, or do I need to go to a shop/dealer to do that?

Its only held on by a rivet you should be able to do it at home.

_________________
1992 Hobie Cat 18 #16943
Hobie Fleet 198, Rapid City, SD

If is is an SX, it has the CompTip as shown in the catalog. The parts are:

60620000 Sheave
8010151 Rivet (hollow end gets flaired and punched flat.

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

Back from the dead....

Can I just use a 3/16 pin and ring instead of a rivet?

I think it is 1/4" but yes, a pin and ring or cotter key would work.

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

Hi Captain Tom Cat,
What Matt Miller has advised is 100% correct to get the genuine Hobie part. Matt also posts the Parts Catalogues which are very helpful.

If you wish to upgrade from the standard sheave to a roller bearing sheave then I use ALLEN Brothers brand stainless high load ball bearing 25mm x 8mm.

Hopefully the link here takes you to that part. (It’s an Aussie website so you will need to find a US site but the sheave is the suggested one.

https://www.deckhardware.com.au/25mm-x- ... b-b-sheave

I use the ALLEN sheave at top and bottom and raising and lowering the sail is a breeze (boom tish!)

For ease of getting the pin out and replacing the sheave it is recommended to pop off the mast head casting by drilling out the three rivets and removing just the top casting. Once off it will make drilling out the original pin easier.

Remember to put some grease on the new pin so it doesn’t corrode with the alloy.

With the mast head casting off, check inside the mast top to ensure the foam block that seals the mast is still intact.

Enjoy

_________________
John Forbes
Hobie 18 Reimagined
Sail # 490
Boat name: 18@heart
http://www.hobie18.fun
https://www.facebook.com/Hobie18catamaran/

Note that removing the top casting on a comptip mast is a little more involved. The mast head casting on the comptip is held in place with the six rivets that also secure the halyard hook. You need to remove those six rivets and the hook to take out the casting and there is some risk in cracking the fiberglass comptip if the rivets/casting put up a fight and you use too much force trying to get things apart. I would not recommend taking out the mast head casting on a comptip mast unless absolutely necessary.

sm

Thanks for the advice.

I will be pulling off the top casting to replace the sail track. I will use a rubber mallet to tap on the side ( not too hard ) as I pull if it resists me.