General thoughts

mjcwac

New Member
Hi All,
Our boat is now named: "Explorer K". We just finished applying a few layers of anti-fouling on her, about 2 inches below the factory stripe, as she is kept on a mooring on the Indian River, FL. A regular garden solar light has been mounted at the top of the mast to comply with safe boating regulations. A cleat has been added to mast to accommodate a jib cover hoisting system. Florida sun is brutal on anything... I also invested in a boat cover which costed almost the same as the boat and trailer! The rationale is that it will add years to the fiberglass hull. After prepping the complete boat with Poly Prep, I applied 3 coats of Poly Glo to both the hull and deck, seats, and transom. It removed all the white residue of this 12 year old boat and it she shining like new. In addition to the bracket that houses the mast light, a block has been added and a topping lift has been created to lower the sail and not struggle with the boom and sails in the boat. I hope to try this set-up in the next week.

All that said to ask if anyone sees a down side to mounting a Hobie float vertically on the front of the mast (as high as possible). The lifespan of foam in our weather is questionable and probably not the best option for floatation.
Fair winds,
Michael
 
Michael have you tried a search of the forum? Try searching for the word "hobie" there are a few good posts on this subject.
 
Float search

I have read quite a bit about the float and will do a search as suggested. Thanks for the tip.
Michael
 
Hi Michael,
As someone who recently engineered the attachment of a Hobie Baby Bob atop my mast, it looks like mounting it vertically in the front would be much easier. All you would have to do is remove the included brackets, put them in a vise and pry them over to create a flange for screwing the assembly to the mast front. It might take a little finagling to get the right angle for the bends, but far simpler than the alternative when attaching to the top of the mast. Mine went on top requiring the making of a couple aluminum brackets, one to actually fit snugly inside the mast top.

Naturally you lose some of the anti-turtling leverage by not putting the Bob on top. Have you considered mounting your mast light to the Bob?

Good luck!
Jim
 

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