The left hand trapeze side bar of my newly aquired 1970ish Hobi 14 is showing signs of imminent breakage. The aluminium has gradually rotted around an old rivet hole, and worked its way around the diameter of the section. I am worried my weight (110Kg) will soon cause it to break. My Question is, Can I have someone Weld a patch to the area (I'm sure I must have a specialist aluminium welder in my area) or is it better to replace the whole section (assuming they are available) Will welding a repair cause the section to loose its integrity. (i.e. will the metal go soft, or brittle etc). Or is it a major engineering feat to replace the side bar. Any advice from others who may have had the same dillema will be most welcome.

Mark,
The 2002 Hobie catalogue shows the replacement side bar at $122. Unless you know someone with enough expertise and is willing to do the repair for nothing it seems hardly worth it to repair. It sounds like it will probably fail somewhere else.
Replacement requires removing the tramp from the frame, and removing the frame from the hulls. (unbolt the frame at the four pylons and gently tap the corner posts with a wooden hammer (or 2X4) upward a little at a time moving from corner to corner.) Be prepared to catch the hulls. Also, remember the lacing pattern of the tramp. Smear some grease on the pylons when reassembling. By the way, the side bars just slide into the corner with no rivets.
Estimated time of repair: 2 to 5 hours.
Good sailing
Greg
H14, H16

Hello,
Maybe you can check with Dan Berger danberger@mindspring.com in Virginia Beach for a used side rail. I'm sure he'll have one on hand, as he is always buying and selling 14s and 16s.
Good luck,
Jack Hoying
Fort Loramie, Ohio
Prindle 18 #1645
http://www.bright.net/~jmhoying/sailing/prindle.htm

my 14 had the same problem. a friend gave me the side frame from a h16, i cut it to length and it works 'good as new'- not a difficult repair and theres a lot of h16 parts out there. and 16s dont attach the shroud to the side frame so your 'new' 16 side frame wont have a corroded hole in it, you can drill a fresh one.

I'd certainly just find a used part. It's easiest.

But I disagree about aluminium repairs being expensive. Maybe it is where I live, but I use a welder in Dresser, Wisconsin, and he is cheap and does good work. If a replacement part seems too expensive, it never hurts to ask.

(I am so glad I'm a freshwater sailor and don't have to worry about corrosion.)