After finally getting the right rivets for the job, I started to re-rivet my mast base today. I was pretty surprised to see how corroded the base was when I got it off (I'm going to try and attach a picture of it).

Can anyone tell me which rivets are the original Hobie rivets? I know they only put three in, but the previous owner drilled two extra on each side. On the mast itself, hole closest to the sail track on each side and the hole in the front of the mast are still in good shape. I suspect these are the original 3 rivet sites. When my replacement base arrives I'm thinking of just replacing the original three rivets and just making sure there is a good seal around the 4 extra holes in the mast. Any suggestions?

I'm also curious to know what the "plug" inside the bottom of the mast is made of. Is this something that is easily replaceable if I need to cut off the very bottom of the mast to start fresh with the rivets?

I've got two 16 masts that have just one rivet on each side, about even with the thickest section. They've worked just fine for years, however I believe the catalog lists three rivets. I would guess the third would go in the front. It's quite common however to see masts with several extras added for extra strength?



I hope you're replacing this mast base, it doesn't look very solid. The plug is usually made of closed cell foam with a polyurethane sealant around the plug. I've been able to pry one lose to clean out sand that somehow got into a mast, and later resealed. I don't know if Hobie offers a plug for the mast, but a replacement could be made if needed.

When I replaced my mast base, I found that the new one had a fractionally shorter flange. Since two of the three original holes hadn't properly pierced the original base (one hole made a nice semi-circle in the rim of the flange; the other had a [broken] thread of aluminum at the top). So, I guess I really only had one good hole.



I checked with the experienced cat sailor at the local Hobie dealer and he said the best thing was just to drill new holes.



As to the plug, that came up too as there was clearly water in the mast. His advice: drill a hole through the plug to let it drain and then seal it back up with silicone caulk. I decided not to bother with that right now because I concluded the water had mostly gotten in through the top plug and I didn't have any more 3/16" rivets so I wasn't going to take the halyard sleeve off that day. But I do need to do that because the water that came out was very dirty indeed.



BOL,



John