I have recently acquired an H16 (adopted) and have what may seema silly question (this is my first Hobie). The upper mast section is in two pieces with a sleeve insert. Is this arrangement normal, or an old repair? I see reference to the composite tip - does this replace the whole top section or just the main halyard block, etc.

the comptip is pretty long, I don't know the exact length off the top of my head, but I'd wager to say about 4'.



It is a normal arrangement.

A two piece mast is definitely not right. Could be that you have a comptip mast (4' plastic top part with aluminum bottom part) that has been taken apart for some reason or you have a damaged, all aluminum mast that someone tried to sleeve (unsuccessfully?).



H16 from the late '80s on will have a factory comptip mast. Earlier boats will have an all aluminum mast or a mast that was modified with a comptip kit (to comply with racing rules).



If you still have questions, post a picture and it may be easier to help you.

A comp-tip is actually about 8' long and starts just above the tang. It does replace the whole top section. It's made of a non-conductive material to reduce electrocution from power wires, etc.

I have the old style mast with the one pulley on the top and i'm having problems with the small piece on the main halyard (reef point?) jaming in the top of the luff track when i lower the main. I end up having to tip the boat over to pull it free. Would the comptip eliminate this problem because it looks as if it would stick out a tad farther than the one i have? Can i just rivet that two pulley tip into the top of my mast instead of cutting off the top half for the comptip? I don't have any place to race by me so i don't really care if it's class legal or not. Also, i have the small tang on the mast for shrouds and 2 single trap lines, do i need to rivet on the larger tang now that i have a double trap line? The new trap lines are two wires into one thimble. Not sure if the old tang will support two people on the wire. Any help would be sweet. Thanks Reid

The comp-tip would stop this problem, since there is no reef stop on the halyard cable. But, this is not a very good reason to go to the comp-tip however. The new mast head is generaly not thought to be a replacement for the older type. There was a post on this topic a couple of months back, I think. It seems like you would be able to grind down the bronze stop with a hand file to a smaller size that would not get stuck in the luff track.

I'm not sure about the older and smaller tang.(never owned or seen one) It would probably hold an extra person on the trap. Just make sure the rivets are good and replace any that might be loose.(Use liners for these rivets) It's not likely the old rivet holes in the mast would match up with the holes in the newer tang, if you decided to replace it, but again I can't be certain.

My mistake, it's not the reef point, but the bronze piece that hooks under the prong on the front of the mast to keep the main up. I lower the main about 6 inches and as the piece comes out of the pulley it usually slides into the luff track just nicely and then i raise the sail out of the track to release the piece at the top. But more often than not, that piece is not sliding into the track nicely, instead it catches it right in the middle and is half in and half out and thats where my problem lies. The top of the luff track is v'ed apart from wear and tear and catches that piece just right. It would seem that if i had the new two pulley mast top, it would stick out back behind the luff track just far enough to keep the bronze piece from even getting into the track in the first place. This actually isn't a real big deal, but it's not real easy for me to tip the boat over alone and in the limited space i have. I've tried hammering the both sides back together enough to still let the sail through, but the aluminum is weakening from me hammering it back together and then it coming back apart again. If the mast shape is the same, shouldn't the mast top on the comptip fit the mast top on my mast? Or should i start looking for a newer mast? I haven't seen a topic about this here, is there anyone who has had this problem? Thanks Reid

I've been hoping someone would come up with an ingenious solution to your jamming problem. It's probably not going to help but I'll let you know what I know. My H16 has the comp tip and double pully. The halyard stop clears the luff track and stays outside. My H14 on the other hand has a single pully. The halyard stop (bronze piece) sometimes runs inside the luff track and sometimes outside. Fortunately for me it has never jammed. I think that when I lower the main slowly and gently the bronze piece stays inside the luff track. I think that is where it is supposed to be.
I would recommend polishing the surface of the luff track where binding is occurring. Perhaps a little lube at that point would help, but probably the way you lower the main has the most to do with solving the problem.
Greg
H14,H16

Hello,
I had the exact problem with the stops on the halyard hanging up on the end of the sail track when lowering the main. I decided that to cure the problem, I would want the keep the halyard on the outside of the track (since it hooks to the sail, which is on the outside) This was easily accomplished by installing a round head stainless stell screw at the top of the track. (I think it was a #10 x 1") It's just below the pully in the back of the track groove. Experiment with how far you turn the screw in, since it stands out about 3/8". Since it has a round head, the stops don't hang on it and it doesn't cause any friction when raising or lowering the main. After I installed the screw, it cured the problem 100%.
Jack