Hobie Baby bob brackets | should I make some for you guys?

DeereJ18

DeereJ18

New Member
I got my 1998 hull#4680 capri 14.2 late fall/early winter. Never sailed it yet. Ive seen a lot of posts regarding flotation and turtling. I am perfecting a baby bob bracket that bolts right on to my mast. Currently making my 4th version. The bracket uses the bolt on top of the mast that is for the main halyard pulley thingy. Anyway, would you guys be interested in a bracket? I figure that since I am spending so much time perfecting the bracket for me, I can make some for you guys. Im just not sure if the same bracket will fit the newer selden masts... I can also attach some pics.

The bottom line is that im 17, and very bored during this quarantine so I am making this bracket (and the rest of my boat) as perfect as possible .
 
I’d love one! I’m planning on buying a baby bob soon for my 14.1. Not sure how we can coordinate, but count me in.
 
Yep I bought one a few years ago from a gentleman who had made more than a few in his day. The nice thing about his version is that it has a perfectly tight fit inside the mast down to a point where it hits the through bolt for the halyard pulley. I drilled a set of holes through the mast and bracket to facilitate a through bolt to secure bracket. Use a pair of flat washers, one lock washer to secure the wing nut, and you're good to go!
The advantage to this vs. running your bracket farther down to use the pulley bolt is that I can easily mount or remove the Bob. It would be a PITA to have to remove the pulley and bolt every time you wanted to remove the Bob. But maybe you could wing nut it to the bracket and just remove it that way, leaving the bracket in place .The disadvantage to my setup is that you don't get as solid of a connection. There's not much "meat" at the top of the mast for the bolt secured because you have to clear the pulley, and the bracket doesn't go down as deep into the mast. But it's still pretty strong, don't think there's an issue here..
Once I get more tech savvy I'll send some pics..........
 
Kind of off-topic, but this is what I use to mount my Quest mast float. It works great, even after I aded that strange-looking bracket for the topping lift.

Nice of you to produce a bracket for others. :cool:
 

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DeereJ18 said:
I got my 1998 hull#4680 capri 14.2 late fall/early winter. Never sailed it yet. Ive seen a lot of posts regarding flotation and turtling. I am perfecting a baby bob bracket that bolts right on to my mast. Currently making my 4th version. The bracket uses the bolt on top of the mast that is for the main halyard pulley thingy. Anyway, would you guys be interested in a bracket? I figure that since I am spending so much time perfecting the bracket for me, I can make some for you guys. Im just not sure if the same bracket will fit the newer selden masts... I can also attach some pics.

The bottom line is that im 17, and very bored during this quarantine so I am making this bracket (and the rest of my boat) as perfect as possible .
Click to expand...
Can you contact me @ [email protected] thanks
 
I just sold the last bracket a week ago. Will be making more ASAP with a few modifications that I see fit. I will post a picture of the new bracket on this thread once I make more. Ill also add a email you can use to contact me if you are interested in purchasing one. For now, standby.
 
I am really anxious to get a baby bob bracket for my old Capri 14.2. Let me know what the bracket looks like and what it costs when you get a chance.
 
DeereJ18 said:
I got my 1998 hull#4680 capri 14.2 late fall/early winter. Never sailed it yet. Ive seen a lot of posts regarding flotation and turtling. I am perfecting a baby bob bracket that bolts right on to my mast. Currently making my 4th version. The bracket uses the bolt on top of the mast that is for the main halyard pulley thingy. Anyway, would you guys be interested in a bracket? I figure that since I am spending so much time perfecting the bracket for me, I can make some for you guys. Im just not sure if the same bracket will fit the newer selden masts... I can also attach some pics.

The bottom line is that im 17, and very bored during this quarantine so I am making this bracket (and the rest of my boat) as perfect as possible .
Click to expand...
Hi, I’d be interested in a bracket for my 1988 if your selling? I can be reached at [email protected]
 
Hi, I just bought a 88 mod 1 last week and have a Baby Bob on backorder (appears to be a national shortage at the moment). I would be interested in a bracket too. I can provide my contact details on request.
Thanks, Pete
 
aquaman said:
Yep I bought one a few years ago from a gentleman who had made more than a few in his day. The nice thing about his version is that it has a perfectly tight fit inside the mast down to a point where it hits the through bolt for the halyard pulley. I drilled a set of holes through the mast and bracket to facilitate a through bolt to secure bracket. Use a pair of flat washers, one lock washer to secure the wing nut, and you're good to go!
The advantage to this vs. running your bracket farther down to use the pulley bolt is that I can easily mount or remove the Bob. It would be a PITA to have to remove the pulley and bolt every time you wanted to remove the Bob. But maybe you could wing nut it to the bracket and just remove it that way, leaving the bracket in place .The disadvantage to my setup is that you don't get as solid of a connection. There's not much "meat" at the top of the mast for the bolt secured because you have to clear the pulley, and the bracket doesn't go down as deep into the mast. But it's still pretty strong, don't think there's an issue here..
Once I get more tech savvy I'll send some pics..........
Click to expand...

Yes Aquaman that was one of my brackets, I'm glad it is working well for you...I need to make some more of them, it is a good design but takes a lot of work to shape it to fit tightly inside the mast. Thank you Aquaman, happy sailing!
 
DeereJ18 and Entropy,
Could you attach images of your baby bob brackets? I'm interested in getting one too (if you still have them in supply). Cost and shipping estimates (to NC)? Thanks.
 
People have asked about the Baby Bob brackets I have made in the past and have I have been considering doing more this winter. The brackets are constructed out of solid aluminum stock and hand formed to fit snugly inside the Capri 14.2 model 1 mast top. They include all stainless hardware, all included. Everything is included other than YOU will need to drill one hole through the mast, parallel and just above the top sheave pulley bolt, just beyond the pulley with rope radius. There are cheaper brackets advertised that fit outside the mast, consisting of exterior straps and take much less time to construct and typically designed to stay in-place once mounted. I have had good response to the bracket I have designed, my bracket is easy to disconnect, it stays connected with the Baby Bob, detaching quiickly from the mast for cleaning and trailer transport removal (one bolt with a wingnut, simple). The design I have come up with is time consuming to construct due to the extensive hand form work. It typically takes me about 20 plus hours to complete one bracket (all hand made), so doing a few at the same time would be helpful. You can contact me at [email protected]
 
I can vouch for his bracket, it is a precision fit that works like a charm! Now I think I posted a bunch of pics a while back, .........
 
Hello JonnieMorganSail, I made the bracket for Aquaman. I hope to make some brackets this summer and will post them on the Sailing Forum once I start. Thank you for your interest.

Entropy
 
Yep and that was a super duper feat of engineering! I've seen all the different approaches taken to design the attaching devices and this one leaves them all in the dust! I can easily pop the Bob on/off in less than a minute anytime I do the mast hoist/lowering. There's a procedure to be followed in order to do this, if anybody wants the skinny let me know.
Cheers!
 

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Hello, yes I made the bracket for Aquaman as well as a few others on the site, the most recent was this summer. I am not able to mass produce them because much of the process is hand forming using a hand file and takes time. If you are needing a bracket right away I wouldn't be able to do that, but a number of weeks I can. It's a good piece but does require the buyer be able to drill one hole horizontally through the mast and bracket while the bracket is fully seated, once that hole is done it is ready to use and all stainless hardware is included.
 
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