Someone just asked this in the thread i have but wanted to post my response for you as well. What type of fishing do you do? fresh or salt water?
Yeah they are pretty sturdy. The knobs that control the tension are the problem. I had one today just fall off while i was out on the water and the old red caps without the brass inserts are the problem and Hobie is already all over that so when you get yours make sure to look it over and see if it needs the replacement knob. The ones that have the scotty mounts are good to go but my others need to be replaced and i am working through my dealer to get those on order. I must say that for trolling i am more confident with just putting my heavy weight rods in the molded rod holders but i do put lighter gear in the scotty mounts while im trolling or catching bait. Biggest thing i will say is leash down your rods and if those happen to fail you know the rod isn't going to far.
Will get better pictures and im going to do a walk around video by next weekend of my setup. working on the back area right now. removing the crate and rigging up a wrap around pvc rod holder to go behind the live well but will make room to put a fishbag in front of it.