WARNING: Wing seat broke off while sailing! Not fun

This is a 2013 Hobie Getaway, I repeat: 2013 Hobie Getaway! My wife and I were up on the wing seat and all of a sudden the arm (leg tension assy) broke and the wing seat came crashing down. We landed on the hull, because the other arm was still secure.
We noticed that the wing leg (the main supporting arm that attaches to the side of the hull) had come loose and separated from the hull, which caused the chain reaction that lead to the arm snapping off under our combined weight. So, I guess the bolts had worked loose on the one leg? Or, the bolts were stripped and it came out due to side load, not sure. I checked all the other bolts, and they are secure.
Anyway, just be aware of this! This should be covered under warranty, I would hope.

Bolts working loose is not normally a warranty issue. This is installation or maintenance related it appears. Especially if trailering any distance. You need to check bolts, pins, rings, shackles before every sail.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

I'm glad you mentioned it, I've never checked my wing seat bolts, and I certainly should be. Maybe I'll laminate a little checklist, like pilots have on airplanes.

Yep, you are correct, not covered under warranty. My dealer told me the bolts should of had lock-tite on them before installation, which they did not. Upon further investigation, the bolts were not stripped, they just worked themselves loose. Before I re-install the wing seats, I am going to put lock-tite on the bolts for sure.

Yeah, safety wire and lock-tite! I had a shackle bolt on the trailer spring work loose from a lock nut! I can only think it wasn't tightened down into the nylon. I had only 300 tow miles on the trailer, luckily a guy in the marina spotted it before I went on the highway again.
And I cleaned my jib sail and obviously didn't tighten the lower shackle bolt enough because it worked loose. We caught it before it let the mast drop. I replaced it with a bolt drilled and safety wired.
Now I'm going to check ALL the bolts on the boat. Jeez, I never thought about the wing seat bolts.

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks