I just ordered / received a mast hinge for my H18. I tried several well-known places and all were back ordered until I came upon the Tackle Shack, which had the part in stock. The places I tried first told me that Hobie was back-ordered on many parts (even rudder cams), so I'm thinking..."will there be a day when I cannot get parts for my H18?" Anyone else seeing delays in filling orders on Hobie Parts. I was also told that Covid is causing a spike in demand for sailing parts because more people are sailing... and THAT'S GOOD!
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Tim Young
Hobie 18' + other stuff that floats and goes.
Kentucky
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Hobie 18 Parts Backlog???
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Posted: Aug 31, 2020 - 12:32 PM
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Posted: Aug 31, 2020 - 02:15 PM
This is not unusual for many recreational items. See bicycles and bike parts for a perfect example. Most of these industries went to "just in time delivery", so that they didn't have to hold/warehouse stock. Or just trimmed back back-stock to minimal amounts as a matter of business for the same reason. So, there's not a whole lot of warehoused parts. Take COVID, which stops production for a bit, then ramp up demand and suddenly you're all out for a while.
And, yes - I'v seen a slight delay in getting parts - but I got them (my 21 uses a lot of the same pats - mast hinge is not one of them).
For Hobie 18's and other large-volume legacy boats - I rather doubt any vacuum in the market will stay long. See Murray's, for example. Do they not already machine (or have machined) some of the delrin parts locally? Cast pieces might be another issue. I've got a little CNC router and have been tempted to try and do aluminum parts, but that'll take me a while to figure out... Surprised we don't hear more about that kind of ingenuity/method of repair.
Good luck.
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Chuck C
NACRA 500 Mk2
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Posted: Aug 31, 2020 - 02:28 PM
doubtful - resell other peoples product. private label everything.
tackle shack is local to me = great guys,the pass the test (curse like sailors) and have walls of gear. I have purchased dry suits and miles of line from them.
they actual drove 15 miles to me/my first cat 20 years ago, picked it up, drove it back to the shop, and re-rigged it for me.
$90,000 later it was like new! ( jk - kinda)
someone local had a casting/rudder failure and tried to order from Mystere. They said they were on backlog and due to covid had no idea when more could be sourced.
I assume these items need to be ran in batches and all those industries have had their worlds up ended with months of lock up, order changes / cancellations, venders and customers going belly - up. etc
Edited by MN3 on Aug 31, 2020 - 02:33 PM. -
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Posted: Aug 31, 2020 - 06:59 PM
Hobie announced several years ago (probably more than 10) that the 18 was out of production and that they were no longer producing specialized parts for this boat (as well as several others like the 17, 20, 21). They will continue to make things like rigging, tramps, sails, etc., but castings, extrusions, weldments, and other special items that need to be manufactured in bulk will no longer be sourced due to low sales volume on these parts. Once the remaining inventory is gone, it will not be replenished. I have no idea on the status of specific item inventories, but I would consider yourself lucky you found a new hinge.
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Posted: Aug 31, 2020 - 10:33 PM
Yup, very lucky. Howie has actually been awesome in supporting these long out of production boats. I couldn't believe how forthright, up-front and generous Matt has been with me and my 30 year out of production boats even sending me scans of pieces of original engineered drawings!
Talk about making a believer... Too bad they don't do but one glass boat anymore.
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Chuck C
NACRA 500 Mk2
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Posted: Sep 02, 2020 - 02:29 PM
I had a metals shop in High School, in 1979. We used a sand mold to make aluminum castings. Basically it was a duplicator. Guess I'll be sure not to throw away the broken part in case I need to duplicate it!
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Tim Young
Hobie 18' + other stuff that floats and goes.
Kentucky
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Posted: Sep 03, 2020 - 10:48 AM
We did that metal shop thing too - had a foundry an dwore pure asbestos aprons... We cast eagles, then cleaned them up. They stopped that part of metal shop when they were pouring aluminum one day, it was raining outside and water dripped into the ladle of aluminum. Blew up, scattering molten aluminum all over the shop. Luckily only minor burns, but the kids pouring were splattered real good all over their PPE, but weren't hurt at all as I recall.
That, however brings up an issue; I imagine Hobie has to be pretty aggressive about protecting their copyrights and patents, though many may have expired by now. I guess if you "improve" on the design somewhat you could supply an aftermarket, though small as it might be. Cottage industry.
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Chuck C
NACRA 500 Mk2
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