Quick pins for Backrests - Pics?

Hey fellow Wave Sailors. I have the backrests that came with the purchase of my 2001 wave. They came with the screws ( too short in my opinion, causing the backrest to come out sometimes) and I am thinking of the quick pins as an alternative so I can remove when the wind comes up and also hoping for more fixing stability over the SS screws. Anyone have pics of their quick pin backrest set up? Also, what hole size must be drilled for the quick pin? I take it that once you have converted to quick pin you can convert back? ( heh, just like owning a Wave! )

Thanks for your help.

I will post photos soon of the Wave at Lake Whatcom, WA. Loving the boat - for the Kids and for me, the bigger kid.

Drill the pin hole at the dimension of the quick pin. Has to be a tight fit for the keeper part of the pin to lock. The seat legs should be drilled over-sized to allow the seat to move a bit without bending the pin.

Convert back to screw? Only if a much larger screw is used (diameter of the quick pins) or a new hole location is used.

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

Thanks Matt for working on Sunday! Guess that's what you do when you work at your dream job i would imagine. Just back from a quick sail with my two little girls. Good times as per usual. Love the boat. My first Hobie but it wont be the last I am sure.

Cheers,

Mark

Does anybody have a picture they can post of the installed quick pins on the backrests? I am curious to see how they protrude on the deck.

Thanks

How is this?

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Jim

2007 Hobie Wave

Perfect. Thanks Jim.

I have some used backrests.

How should I go about placing the holes in the boat to match the holes that are already in the tubes of the backrest?

I know, its a little backwards, but surely someone has figure out how to drill the holes in the boat to match the already drilled holes in the backrests?

Obviously, usually, you would just drill through the backrest tube and into the boat at the same time, to make the holes line up perfectly, but since my backrests already have the holes, I need to figure out how to get them to line up.

One other question.

Does the hole you drill go all the way through the backrest tube and through the bottom of the rail....or do you just drill through far enough to go through the top of the backrest tube only?

The hole should only go thru to top portion of the tube, not all the way through. The pins are only about 1-1/2" long.

To measure and drill in the exact location to match your used backrests, it would be very tricky, as it would be very difficult to measure EXACT with the curved surfaces, etc. My recommendation would be to forget trying to use the existing holes in the backrest tubes. I would measure to figure out where the pin would go if you were to try to use the existing hole in the backrest, and drill a new hole about 1/2" away. Mount the backrests, drill the new holes, you will end up drilling though the sleeve, and the top of the tube, only a total of about an 1-1/4". When you drill thru those two layers, stop. You don't want to got all the way into the other side of the sleeve, exposing a hole into the hull.
You will then want to take the backrests out a few inches, and just re-drill the new holes in the backrest tubes just a hair larger. Cannot recall what they recommend for a drill size, but maybe just ream it slightly larger for a loose fit into the tube. You only want the pin fitting a little tight going into the hull.

I also use a short piece of 1/8" cord to tie the ring on the pin back to the tube. Those pins tend to want to wiggle back out as you sail/trailer.

Hope this helps!

_________________
Jim

2007 Hobie Wave

thanks for the response

I really only plan on taking them off to store the boat at the end of the year.....should I go with the screw or stick with the quick release pins?

I'm thinking the screws wouldn't stay in after the first couple of times you removed them.