Hobie Cat Forums

I find the seat bucket on the AI too low. The top of the scuppers are below the waterline which means if you leave them open, the seat bucket fills up with water before you even get underway. If you close them, the first splash into the cockpit fills the seat bucket. Either way, you sit in a pool a water 100% of the time.

Experimenting with a raised floor, I've cut a piece of 1 inch thick foam to adhere to the seat bucket, and will open it up and raise the tops of the scuppers by the same 1 inch. I think this will get the effective seat bucket bottom up above the water line. The stock seat can go right back on top, although the seat pegs will no longer be applicable for insertion into the hull.

If this works out, I may work on pouring a more form fitting false bottom (urethane foam or similar) and thus have a more permanent fix for the wet butt syndrome.

I'm with you 100% on this one Tom. I've been considering making a cast of the seat well with either epoxy or urethane resin, but I have no experience with these materials. If you intend to continue using the standard seat, you are going to have to find a way to stop it slipping forward. Because of the semi-recumbent posture needed for pedalling, the seat has a strong tendency to slip forward and it gets very uncomfortable if it does.

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I'm not sure that you need a semi-recumbent position for pedaling. The PA doesn't have such a position and it pedals fine. I think the seat bucket bottom should be an inch higher from the factory (we may find that they do this on future hulls, or not, who knows?).

In the meantime, any false bottom needs to seal well so that you truly have a new seat bucket bottom and the current scuppers will continue to function, only with a 1-inch or so higher level. I want any water to flow into the scuppers, not underneath a poorly fitting bottom.

A more rigid seat bucket (rigid urethane foam) could, of course, incorporate new bores for the Hobie seat pegs. For the time being I'll test with the foam and hope the seat stays put fairly well. If this works, I'll move on to the next level. Will keep you informed.

I am wondering if epoxy or urethane have the shear resistance to mold into the seat peg holes and then have the resulting protuberances hold the cast in place.
Perhaps semi-recumbent isn't a good description for the seating posture, but try pedalling your AI with the seat pegs not firmly wedged in the holes and you will see what I mean.

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The seat tends to slip on the plastic hull without the pegs anchoring it in place. A rigid urethane bottom in 10 to 12 lb density would be rigid enough to allow new seat peg mounting holes to be bored and used. It will also adhere to the plastic hull like nobody's business and not rely upon the original seat peg holes to hold itself to the original seat bottom. (Epoxy would not be the right product in this area.)

That's one thing I was concerned about. I don't want the cast to be unremovable, in case it doesn't work out so well. Sounds like you know more than I do about these materials. I might just observe your efforts for the time being and hitch a ride .

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Which is why I'm Gooping in a foam bottom first. Goop sticks like mad, but it's possible to remove it without hurting anything. Just takes a little effort.

Wouldn´t it be possible to create a kind of easily removeable chair to counter the "wet butt syndrome"? It could even have some walls around it self, to stop waves rolling over the kayak sides from reaching the precious butt. Pedalling would probably work even with a higher sitting position. Stability would probably still be good enough. And you would see more of the surroundings with a higher sitting position.

That is pretty nice, but it would be even better if you could use the original seat. Then perhaps one could have a more or less water proof box beneath the seat, in case one wants even more good storing space on the boat.

Even better is if you have a platform with which you can change the height whenever you want by turning it upside down. And then just the original seat, whatever side of the platform you choose to have upwards.

Perhaps a few of us can test how high a sitting position one can have before sailing, paddling, peddling, steering and staying aboard gets difficult.

The Surf to Summit seat turns out to be barely 1/2 inch higher than the stock Hobie Seat. So I'm sticking with the original seat, but now have it sitting an inch higher than before. I really don't want to be much higher than that, but just enough that the bottom of the seat bucket is above the top of the waterline. Now the scuppers can do their job.

As I am trying to live aboard the TI I could even see some use for a small portapotti in the back seat! What about that, Hobie?!

Aren't the scuppers large enough diameter?
BTW I keep my spare water supply, my VHF radio and my large fishing knife & scabbard in the space under the seat

Fantastic for sailing, paddling, steering. Passable for pedalling, but a bit more ponderous than the normal seat. No problem with staying aboard in normal conditions, but I haven't tried it yet in severe turbulence.

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Well, I tried to use the drive well once. The bastards didn´t want to sink. Had to force them down with some stick. Won´t try it again.