Hobie Cat Forums

The TI aka xbars are the same width, and so are front versus rear akas, so any 'rake' will not produce toe-in or toe-out.

Does this also mean they will retract both fore and aft evenly? I expect so, and Max can confirm this.

It looks freakish to see the bars swept back 8 inches or more at the Amas, but I will wait for Matt to weigh in on this.

There is another possibility. That Max's TI tramps are not sewn correctly or were not designed correctly to match the TI's "new" rake.

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"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

You can clearly see this in Yakass's new promo video, where he has grey tramps on a new TI.

The "fit" is way off.

_________________
"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

You're right Nohuhu. Josh 'Yakass' Holmes is who I deal with, and he confirmed their demo TI had raked akas.

We met up with friends who've recently received their TI, and their akas are 'square'. Consequently, their tramps are a decent fit.

The akas do retract fairly evenly both fore and aft, at least until close to the main hull, when there is some play due to the relatively shallow angles involved.

I'd be very surprised if the rake was 'designed'; I'm sure they should be square, and the cut of the tramps suggests that too.

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Cheers, Max ● TI: the "Yella Terra" ● Website: www.MadYakker.com ● YouTube: madyakkermax

This is getting more interesting, Max.

I would not infer too much from the cut of softgoods, (like the tramps) or the right angles in marketing picture (which could be a CAD drawing).

But it does sound like Hobie is correcting another budding issue w/ the early TI models.

Next time, you should try swapping Akas on one side with your mates newer ones. Measure and take a few picts. Might point out if the culprit is in the hull or the Akas.

It'll be easy for Hobie to swap out the Akas or braces if that's the problem.

Otherwise,...

_________________
"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

Good idea! May not catch up with him for a while but when I do...

Lemme guess,.. you'll try to pass him!

_________________
"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

It may be that you have the wrong brace connectors - from an AI - on your TI akas. This connector is the only difference between their braces. I just yesterday received two (spare) assembled braces for an AI, and they both came with a brace connector longer that those that came with my AI. I have been asked to send photographs so Hobie can figure out how this happened (the braces were in bags with the correct p/n's for an AI). Since a TI brace extends to the rear, a shortened brace connector would pull the amas slightly back from their intended position as shown in your photos. But this situation would have existed before you had the tramps. On an AI, the geometry has the front aka slightly raked, but the rear aka is aligned with the rear crossbar. So the tramps have a matching rake on the forward edge. But on a TI, I believe both the front and rear akas are aligned with their crossbar and the tramps would presumably be rectangular. The hole spacing on an AI connector is about 1-1/8". The spacing on the connectors I was sent - presumably for a TI - is about 1-11/16".

We are aware of at least one issue here... a difference in the tab location on the aft akas. There may also be a mix of AI and TI braces or parts. I have asked engineering to clarify.

One thing for sure... the ball location can not change. Its molded-in to the hull. Do not try to move this part.

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Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Hobie Cat USA

Thanks to Stringy's pics, I know I have the right connectors on the braces.

Matt, thanks for your advice re the tabs. Perhaps the easiest 'fix' would be to issue new brace tubing - a bit longer than needed, and we cut to the correct length and re-assemble?

BTW Matt, how did you do in China? I notice the Aussies were right up there!

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Cheers, Max ● TI: the "Yella Terra" ● Website: www.MadYakker.com ● YouTube: madyakkermax

I didn't race... I am support crew, so I was always first to the beach!

The trip was great... long. We had a blog running and there are lots of images.

http://www.hobiechinaworlds.blogspot.com/

http://www.hobieworlds.com/

Still trying to catch up.

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Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Hobie Cat USA

Any further advice on this issue Matt?

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Cheers, Max ● TI: the "Yella Terra" ● Website: www.MadYakker.com ● YouTube: madyakkermax

Any new progress on this issue? I just purchased my TI & Tramps and have the problem mentioned here.

The date on the hull is 9/8/2010

The distance from the pivot point of the aka hinge to the pivot point of the brace is 12-7/8 inch.

The overall length of the brace measures 22 inches.

The akas are raked back not allowing proper fit of the Tramp.

I have noticed that many of the rear xbars installed on new TIs and AIs are not properly aligned. I'm not certain about it, but this may cause the ama/akas to be a little off center. Make sure the rear xbar is centered properly under the brackets that hold them in place.

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Founder: Modern Kayak Fishing
http://modernkayakfishing.com
Blue Water Kayak Fishing guy: SL Hobie
http://slhobie.com.au

My dealer received a reply from Hobie admitting that many of the brace tabs on the rear Akas were welded "slightly off" and that only some were "way off", mines fell into the slightly off category of acceptable tolerance.

Upon further review the tabs need to be moved inward exactly the width of the tab itself, ie the welder placed the tab on the wrong side of the mark prior to welding.

In order to enjoy my tramps 100% I'll either keep trying to fight Hobie for replacement rear Akas with tabs welded in the correct location or the more likely solution is to re-weld the tabs myself on my dime.

Too bad the tramps were not included accessories, then at least a solution would need to be found, I suspect the 1% of us who opted to buy tramps with defect rear Akas are not voice enough for Hobie to react.

Oh well