THE HAKA BENCH SEAT - AN ALTERNATIVE TO TRAMPS

Now that makes no sense at all Chris!

Haka picnic table used in Chekika's latest Everglades trip last week.

Oh and Hakas and a tent will work just fine. Some people thought there would be a buoyancy issue and you wouldn't be level. You're perfectly level laying on the hakas in a tent or not.

Very professional setup Jim. Cruising in style. Where were you hiding the iPad?

Our group is coming out of winter hibernation, it seems. Yesterday we sailed the T3, the Hapa AI, and two AI's- all with Hakas. Unusual to see a group of such upright Island sailors.













We were unfurled all day, in gusty winds. At one point, I was way out on the bench and nice 20+ knot gust still managed to bury the leeward Ama on a reach and give me a the sensation of flying a hull. Doesn't happen often, and didn't last long enough.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Nohuhu--I notice that your haka seats are shorter than the ones on the yellow AI. His extend beyond the aka arms and yours are just to them. Have you talked about which is preferable? I just picked up an AI this week and I'm thinking of making a pair of hakas soon. I think the haka is a great idea both for sailing and fishing and look forward to using them.
Cheers,
T2

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Fish worship--is it wrong?

Tx2, That's our friend, Kuamookane's boat. It was his trial run with our group and his new Hakas. He's a great sailor already.

He chose the board length very carefully. As he tells it, that's exactly how much scrap lumber he had left over from a project, so he divided by 2 and they just fit.

Mine are a bit longer to allow for my big okole and still short enough to fit in a car. 72" seems about right. Here's mine:

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

NOHUHU,
It was great to finally meet yall and see the awesome boats that I have read about on here! My wife and I are looking forward to sailing in the future with your group.

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2012 Red Hibiscus Tandem Island

I'm new to the Hakas too, but from what I've worked out so far: If you want to use them for a camping platform at any stage, 7' will accommodate most bivvys. At the other extreme, if the Hakas extend just beyond the akas (like mine), I think you need to put some sort of lip, or the PVC pipes, at the end of the Hakas, to stop them slipping off. Any comment from NOHUHU on this assertion would be welcome.

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I think you'll find the 1' or so extension off the rear Aka to be the most helpful, for sailing purposes.

A little extra decking here also leaves you a small platform to attach accessories and rod holders.

Chris, I'm going to remove my front PVC (the angled one) and replace with pads. I'm beginning to like the idea of sliding the Hakas in and out to adjust for landing/changing conditions.

My impression so far is that rubber padding and tight bungees will hold Hakas in place easily when your weight is on them. When it is not, they can be nudged with a little side force, but will never come off if strapped properly.

Topher, I would love to "stress test" your new TI on the Bay with you sometime! We can lend you a set of Haka to test as well. Just contact me.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Thanks NOHUHU and ChrisJ. I'll post a pic when I get around to making mine.
T2

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Fish worship--is it wrong?

The fun stuff NOHUHU !!! When you get to that point in strong winds it almost does feel like flying. You feel the power of the wind so much more than when you're sitting in the bucket of water that the Hobie seat is in.

And I recommend going with extra haka length on each side of the akas. Great for strapping gear on during camping expeditions. A simple pad under the hakas where they meet the akas with shock cord loops underneath that I pull over the ends of the hakas holds them in all conditions. Like you mentioned, they sometimes move a little if a strong wave buries you but it's easy to quickly reposition them by hand. That flexibility allows you to reposition them to use your paddles when needed. If they were too short and the front slipped off the aka .... then you could have a serious problem. Having them overlap a foot on the akas takes away that worry.

It's got to be fun sailing with a group of fellow hakaholics.

Mahalo to all the Hakaholics contributing here.

TIP - As you plan your Haka design, it's worth it to devise a tiller extension at the same time.



You can often operate the tiller by foot, but there are times and starboard tacks where it's not advisable. The quality of your rudder control improves with the right hiking stick.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Wow, that looks very elegant NOHUHU. Yours?

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That's my design, adapted on my pal's TI3 boat.

It's the only hiking stick in the world used for the rear seat of a tandem island. So, one of a kind- for now.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Progress report:
After reading Chrisj’s link to a wooden car (above) I’m warming to the idea of plywood.
I had some 9mm marine ply sheets so I cut them down to test how they would go as a deck on top of the ladders. The ply felt very strong with no flex at all. In fact with the rungs at 30cm centres 6mm marine ply may be OK.



The ladders are secured to the aka using 40mm Tube Clips and bungee straps through the rungs. The ply is secured to the ladder using 25mm tube clips, so it all comes apart easily.







The ladders can straddle the cam cleats and should make an effective camping platform


I need to do more testing but I think the marine ply once sealed will work well. It is light and very strong. I have to work out whether to cut it into planks or cut out slots using a router.
The combination of ladder and ply has worked well enough on this 'dry' mock up to continue with this and refine the concept.

Nice one Stringy! For someone who doesn't like working with wood, you seem to be pretty good at it . Being able to bring the hakas together over the hull is a real breakthrough in using the boat for camping.

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