the 79 h-16 i just bought creeks somthing feirce. would lubeing the post sockets with teflon, graphite or such help the matter?

Probably a little bit, but for the most part not really. Shimming the pylons with pieces of aluminum cans and keeping the tramp tight helps a bit, but as a reference I bought a brand new H16 in 2006 and it squeaked only slightly less than the 85' H16 I had replaced.

If you aren't, you should be using a bearing on the mast cup. That'll squeak like crazy if you don't have one in there.

thanks karl, and i happen to have some real aluminum stock for shimming. thanks again

If used "BUD" cans are good enough for the corner panels of my car.. they are good enough for your shims!!! (kidding)

A drastic solution is to epoxy the corner castings in place. Makes the platform more rigid and stops the squeaks.

hmmm...to me, that creaking was always the sign/sound of a new boat. After the pylons and corner castings got some wear, and loosened up, that creaking would slowly go away. "Sounds" like you got a keeper.

Save a bunch of money from Hobie and find a piece of thin wall pipe the size of the pylon puck. Sharpen the edge on a grinder. Buy sheets of Teflon at hardware store and punch out and make your own pucks. That is what I did back in early 80's for mine.

Doug