Hobie 16 Front Crossbar Parts

Hobie 16 Front Crossbar Assemblies have changed quite a bit over the years.

Mast Step/ Base:

Over the years, sailors have discovered the way to get the H16 to point better and race “better” is to rake the mast back and shift the center of effort on the boat. The Factory has responded by adjusting the cut of the sails and hardware to facilitate maximum mast rake.

The first hardware change was in the early 80s. The mast step was angled further back and the mast base was adjusted to suite.

At the 2004 Worlds, the step and base were adjusted again, and include the addition of little divets to help capture the mast bearing.

While an older boat can upgrade performance by replacing the mast step and base, it’s often not as easy as just drilling out 4 rivets and replacing. The castings have changed enough and the holes were originally hand drilled, so it often takes a handy person to do this job properly.

Jib Sheeting Systems:

The original boats came with stainless tracks with integrated cars/ cleats. Various aftermarket kits became available to improve the performance such as the Trentec cars and Murrays traveler kits.

In 1997 Hobie started building boats with integrated tracks. The first boats with integrated tracks, still utilized the spring pin adjustment system.

In 2005 Hobie upgraded the traveler cars with rollers, just like those found in the rear traveler cars. By this time the line-adjustable traveler systems became standard and the front corner castings include an integrated pulley for the control line.

In 2019 the Ronstan cars that we used to make our upgrade kits were discontinued and stock ran out in early 2020. Sailors wishing to upgrade their old systems can either utilize our Kissme upgrade kits to use their existing tracks or upgrade to the new Series 19 Ronstan tracks with our new upgrade kits.