Yesterday a buddy of mine & i went in 1/2 on a Hobie Miracle 20 ; towed it home last night !! We had a few Beers and gazed at our new machine till
Late last night, wondering how long it would take to do a broad-reach across out 3-mile wide Lake Mohave in a 25mph wind , while riding the faces of the usual 2 to 3ft chop ?? HA !!!! ------His Wife was PISSED ...

So First Question is -- will the Hobie Mast-Bob fit our retro--fitted plastic topped Mast ; we kinda decided to NOT go out sailing without one for obvious reasons. & who's got one , or is there a better option out there ?

Should we seal up the Mast before using it ; if so How ? I heard that
the plastic part on the mast likes to leak.

Other than a few frayed stitching in the sails, the entire boat is near Perfect ; it was stored inside a shed for the last 4 years and even the tramp is perfect. It came with Two complete sets of sails ; one
of which is a tad bit smaller than the other, with a smaller jib. We could use a few mast-Balls that the mast rotates on, who's got 2 or 3 of those we could purchase ?

I predict that we will be flipping this thing over, on our first time out, so we thought we'd practice righting
it in no wind so the fear-factor would be less when it Did happen ! Any suggestions ?

Bille -- with a (Smile) !!

"We could use a few mast-Balls"

Now a word from out sponsor.
http://www.catsailor.com/store/pc/viewcategories.asp

What's the "BEST" Sealant for use on the bolts & stay-mounts ?

The hulls are ready to go back on the X-beams & i need to seal
the bolts ; what should i use that's better than silicone sealant ?

Bille

3M 5200 marine sealant is the best - but can be very difficult to remove if you need to remove things later. 4200 sealant is a little less permanent. Either can be cleaned up with mineral spirits while it's still wet to leave a nice smooth finish.

I was onced involved with a Nacra that someone had seated it's beams to the hulls with 5200. When it finally came apart, the fiberglass hull was still stuck to the beam.

a leaky mast is a disaster waiting to happen.

El-cheapo method of finding out where it leaks is to toss it in the water (by itself) and see if you can find bubbles.

A pinhole drain near the base of the mast will help drain any water that may find its way into the mast during sailing later on.

What's wrong with using a standard marine silicone? This is what's used on most boats and works just fine.

I would definitely not recommend using 3M 5200. If you ever need to take the boat apart in the future, you're going to really regret using that stuff - it is a permanent adhesive and you'll likely end up damaging/destroying the hulls, beams, or both trying to get them apart.

Use marine silicone and if your hulls leak, then you probably have a crack somewhere or another leak source unrelated to the crossbar bolts.

sm

I didn't read that far enough to realize he was talking about the beam bolts - yeah, don't use 5200 on the beams...it's great for sealing miscellaneous hardware and screw port bases (that will likely need to be removed later because it's falling apart).

since he's talking about the beam bolts, does the Miracle 20 have stainless bolts going into aluminum so you have to consider corrosion?

Hey! Good to hear of another Catsailor in our neck of the woods!
Throw the mast in the swimming pool to find the leaks. But if you do it on a hot day, cool it down by spraying it with the garden hose first. Otherwise when it hits that cool water it will suck a bunch of water in due to cooling contraction. Leave part of the mast sticking out of the water till the sun heats it up a bit and you should start to see bubbles where you have air leaks. Marine silicone, try not to make a mess, take your time, tape off around leaky areas if you are concerned about making a mess.
For the hulls, an air compressor and hose, no more than a maybe 5 lbs of pressure in through the drain plug, do not over-pressurize!!!!!!!!! squirted bottle with soapy water, squirt every rivet, screw, crack, fitting, cover, till you find all the leaks, hit them with silicone. It's a 2 man job unless your pretty resourceful . Pressurize, squirt, mark holes, wash off soap, dry completely, silicone, sail the F out of it!


Have you looked up Gordo up there at Mohave? He could be a big help.
Also, a friend sold his N5.8 NA to a guy that sails up at Mohave.
Look us up at Fleet 42.org and come over to Phoenix for some sailing at Lake Pleasant and Lake Roosevelt.

We had a Miracle at Roosevelt this weekend, the guys driving it were pretty fast!
We will be out at Roosevelt again third weekend of May at Horse Pasture.
Also, there should be a pretty good size group of cats heading to Rocky Point in two weeks, lots of Hobies!
This coming weekend, Sunday , regatta at lake Pleasant.
Get that boat together an come sailing with us!

For the hull bolts, I use a Teflon paste. Would need to go out to my shop and get the details.

Regarding the sealant question, BoatUS latest issue just had an article about sealants/adhesives for bedding deck fittings. I found most comments applicable for our needs as well.

They recommended against silicon as it tends to weather quickly and give up, and leaves a residue that nothing will want to adhere to.

They also mentioned that the 3M 5200/4200 stuff should be used very carefully and only appropriate for 100% permanent needs.

The stuff they recommended is Polyether based 3M 4000UV or West Marine Multicaulk. Seems to hit the sweet spot for flexibility, bond strength, weathering, etc.

Tef-Gel
pretty amazing stuff - http://www.jamestowndistributors.co...&keyword=product_ad_546&type=pla

Nice buy on the H20M,

An older boat now, but still a nice boat, very bouyant- could have put a bit more of that in the front end, but still a nice solid boat- in most cases.

Damn that stuff is expensive. Welcome to "marine".

I would be tempted to give Rector Seal a try

c'mon...now you're just making stuff up.

The picture was misleading...that price was for a 16oz tub and not the little syringe shown.

I realized that Still pricey stuff.

A one ounce tube lasts a long time and compared to the cost of replacing or repairing stuff it's priceless. Jamestown isn't cheap either. Look at the Tefgel site and you may find a dealer near you to save shipping costs.

Fer seriously

It works great for on all kinds of different metals and with all sorts of nasty chemicals. Its available just about anywhere.