Hobie 20 Main Sail Problem.
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Posted: Mar 05, 2010 - 11:42 AM
Like the others have said, start by fixing this problem. It's really frustrating when something on your boat doesn't work as designed, just makes every day you use the boat a pain instead of a pleasure. We've all been there.
If you don't sail around a lot of other boats it's easy to believe that the problem you have is normal, like having to use a vehicle to pull the main halyard! Not hooking your sail could be the source of your sail popping out of the track, you are changing the design and stresses, especially as the mast rotates.
As others have stated, you should be able to EASILY! pull up the main.
Think about this, can you lift the main off the ground when it is rolled up? Doesn't weight very much does it? That is all the weight your are pulling when you pull the main halyard, everything else is friction, fix the friction and your sailing day will be a lot more pleasant.
Besides the cleaning and McLubing, a frayed or swelled bolt rope can be a major source of friction. Luckily if the rest of the sail is good, the bolts can be replaced by a sailmaker.
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
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Posted: Mar 05, 2010 - 12:24 PM
i agree with clean and lube the track. ( i think i will clean mine today)
also look at how tight your battens are.. tight battens make it MUCH hard to pull up your sail
if you have to pull hard, and bend the mast.. its very believable that it will pop out -
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Posted: Mar 05, 2010 - 12:40 PM
I uploaded the sail pics to the tech gallery but can't figure out how to get them here. I think you can look at them there. (And a shot of my girl!)
I think you guy's are right. I need to make it easier to hoist the sail. I'll clean the track and add mclube to the mast this spring. I'll try it with the battens loosened too. I think doing these will help a lot. I'd rather not replace the comp tip or track so maybe the easier fixes will do it. And no there are not many cats around here. None like this one.
Eventually I'll get another main too.
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Daniel Evans
N I20 Miami FL
N I20, N 6.0NA, H 20, H 16 Chesapeake bay
I have a hard time passing up a good deal on a big cat.
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Posted: Mar 05, 2010 - 01:53 PM
I don't think that main is factory, but it looks in fine shape to me, bolt rope doesn't look damaged.
To embed your pics here.
Easiest to do using Firefox
Open two browser windows, one with photo album, one with your forum post.
Right click directly on the picture you want to show, choose "copy image location"
Come back to the forum post, clickon the "Image" button (in the group of URL Email Image Quote)
That will insert this in your post
Right click bewteen the image tags ](right click here)[
and paste in the url of the photo.
I'll do the first one for you.
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
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Posted: Mar 05, 2010 - 03:13 PM
Aw I you have an Admiral for your boat.
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Dustin Finlinson • Magna, UT
Member: Utah Sailing Association
1982 Prindle 18
1986 Hobie 17
1982 Prindle 16
1980 Prindle 16(mostly)
1976 Prindle 16(mostly)
Check out "Prindle Sailors" on Facebook.
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Posted: Mar 05, 2010 - 04:00 PM
I can see that she has left you speechless.
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
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Posted: Mar 05, 2010 - 06:17 PM
I need one for my boat...
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Flightlead Bimare F18 HT SpaceCoast
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Posted: Mar 05, 2010 - 06:37 PM
I had this exact problem with the H21SE. The cord would pull through the top of the luft track. after many hours of research on Hobie.com and others I saw that the H18's had that same problem. I had to tip the boat over to release the sail from the hook. Once the boat was on its side I saw that the cord had pulled out of the track. Hobie dealers will order the fix for you; the 12,5" aluminum track. It is very easy to install, but just to re-iterate, be very careful when prying off the plastic track, cut 12.5 inches off the plastic track. I was lucky to have access to a chop saw. Of course the aluminum track is harder to install since it is not as flexible. You need a rubber mallet to pound it into place once you have it in position. You may need to file off material between the plastic/aluminum track transition to smooth it out. Problem solved.....good luck(Sorry I can't remember the part number)
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Flightlead Bimare F18 HT SpaceCoast
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Posted: Mar 05, 2010 - 09:29 PM
I just noticed that this thread is actually in the wrong forum. I'm moving it to the Technical Help forum instead of the Site Talk forum (Site talk is about features and problems with this website)
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
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Posted: Mar 06, 2010 - 10:28 PM
i cleaned/ lubed my track yesterday and my sail went up so nice and easy today.. glad i did it..
BUT i would personally not use mclube. it is very expensive ($18/can). requires removal of any previous silicon (with a solvent) and when you spray it in the track.. most will settle in the back of the mast track (where the sail/boltrope will never touch it). I guess if you coat the heck out of the track, some will mist in the right spot.. but again i wouldn't go that route
what i do is use a slug (part of a bic pen), wrapped in a folded rag (tshirt part) and liberally sprayed with $4 silicone. i run it up and down, remove, re-soak (spray liberally) and do it again... all while on the trailer so i have access.. do this every few months and ... ahhhhhh so much easier to raise (and lower). took me about 2 minutes to do... -
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Posted: Mar 06, 2010 - 10:49 PM
This is a good point with all the mention of McLube in this thread.
What I do is clean the mast and track with WD40, using the slug method you mention. WD40 is a great cleaner and doesn't leave any sticky residue. Then if the sail needs any more help spray the McLube directly on the bolt rope. ( this isn't usually neccessary, in fact the sail can get so easy to raise that when you release the hook the sail fall all the way down like a curtain)
WD40 does a nice job on the outside of a black anodized mast, cleans it and makes it look new for a couple of months.
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Damon Linkous
1992 Hobie 18
Memphis, TN
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Posted: Mar 06, 2010 - 11:14 PM
i will definitely try that next time... sounds like a good idea. for some reason i love the smell of that stuff too.
PS McLube has it's place.. today i liberally sprayed my spinnaker with sailkote (mclube)... the best part... wasn't my can!!! (thanks jimmi)
to bad i didnt pull out my chute.. just wrong angle for where we were sailing
edited by: andrewscott, Mar 06, 2010 - 11:14 PM -
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Posted: Mar 08, 2010 - 12:46 AM
I have a H20 and I feel your pain. The sail is heavy and the comptip can make it complicated. In the last year I have had to replace the long plastic luff trac twice. One place to really concentrate your attention to is the interface between the metal part of the luff trac on the mast and the plastic comptip part. This must be exactly flush or you will have all sorts of trouble. The plastic pece cant start to warp and pull away at this point. This costs about a 90 dollars to replace with a new one. you can take off and file away on the plastic piece to make it flush.
Get rid of the little metal sail feeder at the bottom this is only gets int the way and can chew the foot of the sail. Make sure you seal the screws back in when youre done.
You really need to be hooked in at the top. This main can need a lot of downhaul causing lots of stretch on the halyard and stress on the roller at top.
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Posted: Mar 09, 2010 - 11:53 AM
I have the sail feeder on my H21SE mast. It is chewing up the bottom end of the cord when I feed it in for down-hulling. But then again, I have old sails; time for new or newer set of sails anyhow.
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Flightlead Bimare F18 HT SpaceCoast
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