mudskipper wrote:
chrisj wrote:
That's interesting MS. How are you positioning yourself?
In the seat leaning off to the side, or on the tramp next to the seat.
How do you sit on the aka? You must pad it somehow.
Know what would be cool? If Hobie would replace the rear aka with, say, a 1" x 12" truss with a sliding seat on top. Re-design the aft end of the boat to be flatter, like a stand-up paddle board, to make moving around easier and maybe get the boat up on a plane.
Muddy, I totally agree with you on the elbows / hips vs xbrace issues. My boney arse gets bruised all the time as I hike around the xbar and tramps in waves. So I admire your solution - move em!
For those who want to hike on the xbar and Akas, roofrack pads fit on these perfectly and really take the bite out of them.
I use the high quality 28- 30" surfrack pads made of the heavy fadeproof material and the densest foam. Something like these:
http://www.essentialsurf.com/ikorb.php?func=catalog&category_id=79&product_id=15618You will like how they have squared tops, can velcro to the middle section of the Hobie bars and feature tiedown bungee ends.
In fact, I leave the rear xbar pad on ALL the time now and add one to the front xbar whenever I transport and store the AI. They provide added protection when cartopping and flipping the yak over on the roof. Have prevented a few concussions as well, (know what I mean?)
For the xbraces I have pieces of 3/4" foam pipe insulation to slide over them and will secure them with one-handed velcro.. Going to try these under my tramps tomorrow and see what the tush says.
I have seen guys out here w/ full-blown rear deck seating platforms which allow you to slide around at will and sit out PAST the rear Aka, which seems like the perfect position to sail and fish. Picture Chris's PVC tubes extending out from the hull with a nice flat padded surface.
There's apparently lots more room for tweaking these crafts.