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slipping seat strap fix
http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=26555		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  pablo [ Fri Jun 18, 2010 9:19 pm ]
Post subject:  slipping seat strap fix
OK - don't get me wrong - I love my new (well 2009) AI. But I hate the seat. In particular, I hate the insidious way the straps slowly slip until you find yourself practically laying on your back.

Yeah, I know that tucking the straps back into the adjuster-buckle thing will stop this, but I like to move the seat to different positions ocassionally, because my back gets tired of not being supported properly by the too-low back and in-the-wrong-place "lumbar support." As you might guess, I'm not small - 6'1" and 200 and mumbledy-mumble pounds. But this is no excuse for the clearly-inadequate engineering of the straps. I took a picture of my starboard strap after a total of 9 outings, not sure if you can see it, but it's lost about 3 of its 9 lives:

Image

Years ago I built a sit-in kayak whose seat back was adjuted by nothing more than a length of light line and a V-cleat, which worked fine, so I went looking for similar solution. This is what I came up with:

Image

This is made up of a length of 2.8mm line and a "Line lok" line tensioner made by the clamcleat people. They're quite strong and cost less than a buck:

Image

I've tried it out and it works great. It's not as easy to adjust as I had hoped (you have to disengage it to move it in either direction), but it's still easier than the straps. The followig link shows how they work:

http://www.duckworksbbs.com/hardware/cleats/line-lok/index.htm
Author:  Cowsgomoo [ Sat Jun 19, 2010 1:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: slipping seat strap fix
Interesting idea. My seat slowly slips back too. After an hour or so you wonder why your back is hurting and adjust the straps again. I tried the tri-glide buckles but they didn't work for me. Maybe they were not strong enough. I've put the cam-lock jobbies on now. Will test it next trip.

I'll keep your idea as plan "B".
Author:  kayakingglenn [ Mon Jun 21, 2010 10:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: slipping seat strap fix
I Had Velcro tape sewn Onto the Straps. Problem solved! :mrgreen:
Author:  Cowsgomoo [ Mon Jun 21, 2010 7:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: slipping seat strap fix
kayakingglenn wrote:
I Had Velcro tape sewn Onto the Straps. Problem solved! :mrgreen:


Another neat idea! I've got some velcro in my box of "stuff".
Author:  ChaosDave [ Wed Jun 23, 2010 8:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: slipping seat strap fix
there is another thread on here somewhere that has details of a replacement part that doesn't slip, probably the easiest fix.
Author:  pablo [ Wed Jun 23, 2010 6:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: slipping seat strap fix
Yes, but I'm the vindictive sort - which is to say I'd rather replace the whole thing (clearly designed by undersized engineers - I work with undersized engineers, so I should know) rather than add parts to it to fix it/further complicate it (though the velcro idea sounds interesting - but then again I don't sew).

My loathing all harks back to a single event. I foolishly agreed to be a "safety boat" in a private "Swim Across the Bay" event (I live at the pointy end of the Chesapeake - that's the northern end to you outlanders). I had two tasks - to pace a swimmer, marking his position (so he doesn't get run over by a gravel barge) and to guide him. I learned three things very quickly: 1) swimmers are SLOW (<1 knot), can't swim in a straight line to save their lives (if they're within 45 deg. of the plan, you're doing good), and can't hear you shouting at them that they're going the wrong way because of the water in their ears. After the first mile, none of the swimmers were within a quarter mile of any of the others, mostly due to lateral drift. I had my tramps out in case a rescue was needed - this was a mistake: the Mirage drive is no good for station keeping, which is the best way to describe pacing a swimmer. A paddle would have been better. Then a 12-15 knot crosswind rolls in from the south. This is the only wind direction that generates anything resembling "rollers" up here - and they were ~3ft. high at one point, thank you very much. Drove the swimmers north as fast as they were swimming east and turned a 4 mile swim to more like 6 miles. The kayaks had much more windage and we were all fighting to beat the crosswind even harder than the swimmers while simultaneously creeping across the Bay.

The upshot is that I had to sit in that !@#@! seat for well over 4 hours, during which time I was multitasking so hard I didn't have even a few spare seconds to fix the !@#$%!! strap, or even shift my position to ease my back. Hence my hatred.

On the up side, once my swimmer finished, I spent several glorious, relaxing hours sailing, on a beautiful sunny day, in a beautiful, steady 10 knot breeze (rare in these parts), during which I could shift position and mess with the strap all I wanted. This was one of the best sailing experiences I've had and I'll remember it for a long time.

But I still hate the seat.
Author:  NOHUHU [ Wed Jun 23, 2010 11:28 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: slipping seat strap fix
:lol: But aren't these the same pencil-necked engineers who brought us the wonderful self-inflating tush pad? I see you have one.

If someone has a competitive seating solution they prefer for the AI, I'd love to hear about it,
Author:  pablo [ Thu Jun 24, 2010 6:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: slipping seat strap fix
Actually, if you look close you'll see it's actually a 2006 seat, not the 2007-2009-style seat I'm complaining about. I took Roadrunner's advice and ordered the older style seat, which is taller (my main desire) and has fiberglass battens for stiffening:

http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=18204&p=90412&hilit=taller+seat#p90412

I ordered the inflatable bottom pad when I ordered the seat, though I really don't have a problem with that part (I come with my own padding in that area). It does slip around less though.

Jury's still out on the benefits of the 2006 seat. It's better, but maybe not markedly. I may ultimately end up trying the 2010 version, which is also talller than the 2009 design. If that doesn't work I'll try the aluminum lawn chair solution.
Author:  PassWind [ Fri Jun 25, 2010 7:01 am ]
Post subject:  Re: slipping seat strap fix
... whatever the daggerboard sheath is made of is a wonderful no-slip material ... I now store mine under my butt and dont seem to slide at all :idea:
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