Hobie Cat Forums

My adjustable seat strap "buckle". broke from one side yesterday while out on the water. I was able to rig up a temp fix with some rope to get by. After taking a closer look at it when I got off the water, what should be an easy fix, really is not. The straps are riveted to the frame. (top/bottom) The plastic buckle is sewn in to the top strap. I think this is yet another problem as it pertains to the seat of the PA. Plastic breaks eventually, so might be a better idea to use something much stronger or make it much easier for replacement.
My PA was bought in May, stored indoors and cleaned after each use. No way it should have broke so quickly.

Again…as stated in a previous post…I am a Pro Angler fan…just think for the money spent; the seat could be better made for fit, adjustment and repair.

Does anyone have any creative “replacing the buckle” ideas?

Thanks in advance!

use this ;
http://www.ems.com/product/index.jsp?productId=3664527

hobie will replace straps but you have to drill out old rivet on seat. It is a very tight fit to get the loop through these but once you do they hold!

keep second for emergency. 2.00 how can you go wrong

I empathize. We had two buckles break on the starboard trampoline of our TI, almost losing Cindy in the process. They were eventually replaced by Hobie, but I had to come up with my own solution in the meantime from West Marine.

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Mitch

2010 Tandem Island
2010 Revolution
Chesapeake Bay and Eastern Shore

My sailing blog
Our sailing videos

Thanks for the link Remy...I can use these for other applications. Already made a temporary, but crude fix as I was back out on the water yesterday.

FYI - After posting here...I contacted my dealer and filled him in on this matter. They contacted Hobie and from what I am told, there will be a stronger made replacement part, that will be user friendly in the near future.

Maybe one of the Hobie folks can validate this here!

Regards, JoeyB

Yes, we have been working on a buckle... not yet ready. It's a matter of ease of use over strength. We have not been able to find a suitable version to buy, so are working on our own designs.

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Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Hobie Cat USA

Hi Matt...thanks for the quick response.

Happy that you gents are designing your own replacement part. BUT...I would strongly suggest that it be much stronger than the original. There is a lot of pressure put on those 2 buckles. Especially when your pedaling into the wind and wakes.

Have almost 200 hrs and 175 miles (via GPS) on my PA since May.

The Pro Angler...is the bomb!

ps - Is there a time table when it will be available?

I have no estimate of when this will be approved and then made available.

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Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Hobie Cat USA

I had the same problem on my brand new PA. Emphasis on brand new...seriously. Thank god for Tim at Dana Point Jet Ski Rentals. He felt so badly about it that he took my seat to a marine seamstress and had them fabricate a larger marine grade strap and buckle. This is an extremely poor design and why in the world would they rivet the straps to the seat frame? My advice - find a good marine seamstress and have them fabricate a set up.

would you be willing to share a picture with us?

I would love to, but I do not own the PA anymore....you could probably contact Dana Point and ask who did the buckle repair for me.....

I had one of my buckles break so I replaced the straps with cam-lock straps of the same width. It was a fairly easy replacement, the hardest part was drilling out the stupid rivets.

I love my Pro Angler, but wish Hobie would've spent another $1.00 in parts and used stainless machine screws with nylock nuts as fasteners. Especially for parts that wear out.

Craig

ordered replacement dtraps and metal camlock from strapworks.com. Only cost me 10.00 with shipping. I'll take pics when replacing

Mr. Miller...

Is there an update on the new version of the Pro Angler "buckle" for the seat strap?

The second one broke early this week.

The replacement buckle (Stainless Steel) is on order. I suspect completion will be within a month.

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Matt Miller
Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Hobie Cat USA

Thanks Mr. Miller...would it be too much to ask, if you posted when they are available?