With Hobie being bought and sold a couple times in recent years, the parts supply situation is ... not so good. We're looking for a comptip and finding they're most/all out of stock.
Anyone know anything about the 'new' Hobie under Bass Pro Shops mgmt coming through with new stock?Â
What boat are you needing a mast for?
Are you planning on racing in Nationals? If not, why not get an older mast that is all one section (all aluminum)? Find an older boat that you can pick up for cheap, with a decent all-aluminum mast. In my opinion, all-aluminum masts have better, more controllable bend characteristics.
It could be that some Hobie fleets say that they require comp-tips for local regattas. But with many fleets dwindling these days, they would likely allow an older boat with an older all-aluminum mast to compete.
I know that in the 1990's when we were racing H18's every weekend, no RC cared about comp-tip or non-comp-tip. Most racers I knew preferred the all-aluminum masts.
Hobie went to composite tips merely to subdue all the ambulance-chasers, certainly not for a performance edge.
Hobie Getaway mast, for our club rental program. No wires overhead so we could do with a regular mast. No plan to race this particular boat.Â
We're familiar with buying beat up boats for parts... no viable boats currently nearby (Miami FL). But also a worry that the parts supply seems to be dead. Was hoping that BPS acquisition would normalize supply...
I have little hope that BPS will continue the Hobie Sailboat line. The people I know that shop at BPS call them blow boats. Anybody have an idea how many Hobie 16's were sold in the US last year?
I just checked Tackle Shack in St. Pete. Their website is down/dead. I haven't tried calling them. They gave very good service to me over the past 40 years.
Call andy at Tackleshack. Â I bet he's got one squirreled away..
Call andy at Tackleshack. Â I bet he's got one squirreled away..
@mikekrantz I noticed that the Tackle Shack website https://www.tackleshack.com/ has been down for a while. If they need help getting back online please have them contact me. I love a good website rescue. https://www.memphisguru.com/
A long time ago, about 1994 maybe, my parents were on vacation in the Tampa/St.Pete area. I finished a regatta in the Panhandle and then figured I'd tow the boat on down to them and get some more time on the water. Free place to stay in their rental.
Checked around and found out about sailing from Dunedin Causeway but had no local knowledge, just went for it with my (never been on a cat before) Dad as a crew and setup helper.
It did not go well. We got setup but not in the ideal place, and on the wrong side based on the winds and sea state. Just as I was fully rigged and about to push off, a local thunderstorm popped up and knocked the boat onto it's side, with both of us underneath. Dad tried to hold the bow but the boat pushed him underwater.Â
I sort of got the boat dragged more into the wind but by that time were had scraped down towards the rip-rap just under the water. When I righted the boat the daggerboards fell down and one of them caught between rocks and broke the tip right off!
After we got the mess cleaned up and boat back on trailer (never sailed that day) I started looking for somewhere to get the dagger repaired. Found The Tackle Shack and drove straight there arriving just before they closed. They took my mangled daggerboard and fiber glassed a new tip on it overnight and I was able to get it the next day and sail the rest of the week thanks to their quick work.
So that's my TackleShack story and I hope they are doing well.