Really uncomfortable seats?

I've had my TI for about 8 months now. We live in the tropics, so it gets a lot of use. We also have an i14t inflatable Hobie with a sail kit and we put many, many miles on that before getting the TI. So far, with a new 2011 boat, I have made a few minor mods. From what I see here on the forum, a lot of us Hobie sailors make little mods as we go along. I think this is probably common with sailors in general. It's the nature of the machine. It's powered by the wind and uses sails and ropes and there is just a certain amount of slackness associated with sailboat parts. As opposed to power boat parts where the only flexible component is the line you use to tie up. Sailboats are living, breathing things. You have to make adjustments as they settle in. Ever notice sailboats tend to be named after women, while power boats get names like "Reel Fancy"?

Anyhow, when you get the right seat pegs....you might find that taking a small piece of sandpaper ( I think I used something like 150-180 grit) and roughing up the smooth inside surface of the seat peg holes helps the expanding cam 'grab' the plastic quicker. It made a huge difference to us.
As for the seat bottoms being hard after a while, your inflatable cushions should help with that. And if you lose one, or it gets punctured, or you ever have to replace it.....I bought a couple of 'noodle' pool toys at the local grocery store for something like $ 4.99 each. I cut them into four equal sections that fit across the kayak and laced them together with paracord. Voila. A $ 5 seat cushion that doubles as a float, marker buoy, etc. and is very comfortable. I tie them to the seats to keep them from floating away when we fill the boat with water. Which happens a lot.

Did a bunch of other little mods here and there to the boat and to the trailer. As you get some experience with the boat, you'll probably find yourself doing some customizing yourself. Replace the paddles. Put black duct tape over the top of the akas to keep the anodizing from getting scuffed off. That kind of thing.

all the piddly stuff aside......how do you like SAILING the boat?

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Island life in the Devil's Triangle:
http://2gringos.blogspot.com/

I don't know. It didn't come with cross braces, so I haven't been able to take it out yet for sailing. I should be receiving the package from hobier on friday. But I'm not off again until monday and tuesday to try it out.

Ah, now I see. Just got caught up with your story to date. Unfortunate. I know how frustrating things like this can be, especially when you have a new toy you're itching to play with. We get it all the time. We have to wait weeks for stuff that comes by sea freight. And then pay a 40% import duty on top of it. So you KNOW I am hard to live with about the middle of week two when I am waiting for something some bleepity bleep idiot forgot to pack or shipped the wrong part, or sent it to the wrong country, or worst of all, MAILED it when I patiently explained for the sixteen thousandth time that getting UPS mixed up with USPS is the kiss of death and they may as well go ahead and get the next replacement part on it's way cause the one they mailed is gone forever......and they insist on waiting ten days and THEN starting to look for it....well....that kind of stuff is my life now.

When the smoke settles, you are going to be really impressed with the boat, and with Hobie. These startup problems are going to fade away into distant memory. You may even laugh at some future point in the retelling.

We have four boats at the moment, and essentially a 365 day boating season, in the trade winds, and the TI is the one we saddle up when we just want to have fun.

I haven't yet seen any posts from anyone who didn't love sailing the TI.

_________________
Island life in the Devil's Triangle:
http://2gringos.blogspot.com/

My biggest problem here is there is no wind in Louisiana. And if it does blow, it has to be 10mph to use my local lake or the wind just won't get through. An hour from me is Lake Pontchartrain, it is the second-largest inland saltwater body of water in the United States. But it is shallow, 12 to 14 feet, so if the wind is blowing more than 10 mph from the opposite end, it becomes dangerous. The next closest wind for me is another hour to Biloxi, Mississippi and then I have access to the nasty Gulf and the barrier islands as an actual destination. It would be nice if I could find some others to make the 12 mile trip with.

I figured when I got this boat that if I get to the ramp and the wind's not blowing, at least I've got a kayak.

Madwand,

I'm setting out here in the southern Rockies at 10,000', but since no one has responded to your post, I will. I think every experienced AI/TI user will tell you that winds in the range of 10-15 mph are a piece of cake for these boats. The fellows in Hawaii will probably say anything less than 15-18 mph isn't any fun. Bottom line, I think you need to get out and try your TI (assuming you can get your problems straightened out.)

Probably the majority of AI/TI users sail on saltwater, whether it be the Gulf, Atlantic, or Pacific oceans. And, they love it. These boats can handle 20-25 mph winds--as one person has said, that is just when the fun starts.

So, good luck on getting your boat in working order--then get out and have some fun.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

I wasn't saying I'm worried about too much wind. I'm saying I normally can't find any. I need it to be blowing at least 10 at home to go out or there won't be enough to move the boat. Maybe you misunderstood about Lake Pontchartrain being dangerous. If the wind is blowing over 15mph from the south, there is a 22 mile fetch and you can get 3-6 foot chop, that is what I meant is dangerous, not the wind.

Madwand:
There are quite a few of us who go out in open water (ocean) with our TI's, I sail mostly the gulf coast (near Tampa) or down in the Keys (around Key West). In deeper water it's pretty typical to be in 3-4 ft swells (not the same as chop). In big chop the boat gets very wet, and all mixed up chop tends to slow the boat down quite a bit because the boat is so light. However we have ours out every single weekend regardless, and always have quite a bit of fun no matter the conditions (within reason). In and around Sarasota the typical wind is 5-8 mph and we still get around ok. One nice feature of the TI is if you pedal lightly in low winds you create an apparent wind on the sail and will pass up all the other sailboats out on the water on light days, they always give me funny looks as I pass them sitting in irons, with them saying boy I need one of those. I always tell them I'm making my own wind, and they laugh. Once you build your legs up a little you should be able to lightly peddle for 8-10 hours on the water with no issues (I do just because it's a habit, and I'm out there for the excercise anyway), even in good wind. A good saturday for me is 40 miles, and often I'll do the same on Sunday if I can. In Sarasota I wish we had better wind (5-8 mph pretty much year round), that probably why we spend about a week a month down in Key West (the winds are much better down there). Bottom line, you will love your boat, even in lighter winds. Best of luck to you getting your parts, just an unfortunate turn of events caused by it sounds like the shipper, I can assure you Hobie will make it right.
Bob
2010 TI
2007 Revo

Funny...really funny
Now that I have my AI all tricked out, the Wind God has a sick sense of humor. In the morning it is like a pancake, the flags start pumping at noon...
Woohoo wind! I put the boat together and launch it....
And the flag drops....

You know, been doing this for so long this late summer, that I don't care anymore: If there is wind or not, Finnigan (my Springer Spaniel) has a blast just waiting for me or the boat to speed up so he can do a header off the boat. I just love to get out there and just enjoy the Bay with no company. Usually before the sun goes down, a light breeze comes up to takes us home.

I couldn't ask for anything better.

Hope, you too are having a Hobie Day

Sometimes the simplest pleasure in life are worth all those headaches, Madwand

Fred

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Always looking for ways to make good things 'Gooder'

Hey Madwand, I live on a little hill overlooking the Caicos Bank. We have at least a 20 mile fetch over 9-14 ft. of water, with lots of shallow reefs, unsurveyed areas, and 'numerous coral heads'. We won't even take the Hobie out if the wind is averaging less than 10 kts. Under that we call it a power boat day.

Don't worry about a little chop. remember you got three hulls lifting you. Just get splashed a lot. Go out expecting to get soaked.

_________________
Island life in the Devil's Triangle:
http://2gringos.blogspot.com/

I usually sail on Mille Lacs Lake here in Minnesota. It is about 20-30 miles (30-50 km) across but averages only about 20 feet (7 meters) in depth. I have found that with the same wind velocity as a much deeper water body, that the waves grow to about 50% higher and about 50% shorter in length. What would be long, gentle swells in a deeper lake become really nasty chop.
I have been on Lake Erie in about the same wind speed and never even thought of putting on the spray skirt...on Mille Lacs, I always put on the skirt. Otherwise I have water in my eyes on most trips.
My i-Comfort self-inflating seat cushions make a big difference, especially after being out for a couple of hours being bounced up and down by chop.

The reason I talked about the chop on Lake Pontchartrain is because I am leary of it and when I say it's dangerous, that was referring to my stitch and glue 12' catboat and my Hobie 12' Bravo, both of which are unsafe in choppy water. I had to be rescued from both boats in that lake after capsizing, about half a mile offshore. The catboat couldn't be bailed after righting because the chop so bad and water would come in faster than I could get it out. An old man on a pier saw my mast sticking out of the water and sent a boat out for me which towed me in.

The bravo just capsized so easily that after righting it about 15 times in a row (if you don't point it to the wind, it flips right back over on you), I was so exhausted I lost it and it sailed off on it's side while I was trying not to drown. The boat that found my Bravo later found me and pulled me out.

So it is not without cause that I am scared of chop. I do hope this boat handles it better so I can regain my confidence in the water.

I got everything in but the battens today, so I am assembling everything for my next available day off next Monday.

Yes, that sounds like a nasty experience. My wife and I had a similar experience years ago with a Hobie 16 in strong winds. Of course, you have to uncleat & release the sail before righting. In any case, I think your TI will definitely renew your confidence on the water.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

Ok, received the new seat lugs and can't get the old ones off. Can't figure out how to remove this. I twisted on both sides with two pliers and nothing happened.


This video doesn't help because mine aren't like that. Mine have a plastic ring on the inside, not a screw.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSKMPTKOM90[/youtube]

My dealer got back to me after talking to Hobie. Hobie says you have to punch out the pin in the thing. Kind of what I suspected, but I thought there might be a more elegant solution.

To remove the new clips in the seat - look on the top portion (undo the velcro closure) and you'll see there is a pin that the handle is held on with (it pivots on this pin) just push that pin out to remove the peg assembly -
To then install the new assembly -pass the brass part through the hole in the same holes - and install the ring through the hole in the brass part with the stainless washer under the the ring - I think you can find diagrams here online in the support section

follow these instructions (in reverse order as these instruction are for install - not taking them off - but you'll get the idea from the diagrams): http://static.hobiecat.com/web_uploads/ ... 276201.pdf