Hobie Cat Forums

Howdy all! I am still fairly new Ti owner (still under the 1 year mark) but I have learned quite a bit from my local friends and on here. With that said I wanted to share some of the things I have done and learned with the rest of the Ti crowd (especially first time owners). I have had absolutely no sailing experience be for purchasing the Ti and in a very short time I was able to pick it right up. For the new guys just remember that if the wind gets to be above your abilities pull the the black line and uncleat it, it will let the wind out of your sail and slow you down immediately! I think this is the most important tip any new person on there first few trips out should know! I will be continuously updating this as more mods are done to the kayak.

First mod was adding the tramps money well spent! In the near future I will be adding some haka's and have a tramp haka combo later this summer.

Next mod came from my friend Nohuhu was copying the double bungee method he used. Its a nice clean look and it is how Hobie should have done it in the first place! The next few pics will show how I did it.













This next mod is almost a no brainer it makes the Ti so much more manageable in and out of the water. Simply placing double handles at both ends.





This one is an easy one keep an extra car sponge in one of the hatches to bail out any small amounts of water that may enter the boat,this way you will never forget to put the drain plug back in because you will never need to remove it lol... Also I keep all of my paddles in the front broken in half so we will never forget to bring them. I also use the extra foam holder separators to hold them in place.





Next thing I added was a shock cord I had a local kayak shop make for my anchor line. The reasoning behind it was The Hobie 3.5 lbs anchor and 6 feet of chain held the kayak so well that I thought the bow eye could rip out one day




This thing is a beast to move around! We started off with the Hobie universal kayak cart it is a good cart but the tires are not up to the mass of a loaded up Ti. We pooped several tubes while using it. So we decided to get the Hobie Ti cart with tuff wheels. So far it seems like a great cart. I have plans to get another on and make a trailer cart out of them. more to come on that later.







Another good thing to keep around are several rudder pins! They seem to go out when it is least convenient.



This next one is neat and essential when out on the tramps. I can't take credit for it. The current design came from the Batcave and was made by Tom or better known on this forum as the mysterious Bat Man.









Now I still cringe when ever we scratch the hull on our boat but putting these strips down help quite a bit when it is resting on the bow and when coming ashore. It is made from a thick nonskid that I got from a boat shop. It has about the same texture as the top of the kayak. Know I know some of you may say it is not smooth and will cut down on speed. But I doubt any speed that could be lost is even measurable.





With every thing I read on here about hulls distorting from being stored improperly made me a bit nervous. So to help combat that I used 4 saw horses and turned it upside down on the rails. I also had a steal bradded cable made and have it running through the various openings in the boat.



To protect this awesome rig from the sun I invested in the kayak cover that Hobie sells. It is very well made and worth every dime it cost!



I have another mod in the works that I will post as soon as its completed. It is a sun canopy that will ark from one side of the tramps to the other. The reason for this is so we can get out of the sun when the boat is anchored at our local sand bar.

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2012 Red Hibiscus Tandem Island

I can attest that Tophers's off to a great start and lives right on the water, in the worlds best bay.

No better place to own a TI. Makes you want be on the water every day...

Thanks NOHUHU, we need to get together for a sail some time soon.

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2012 Red Hibiscus Tandem Island

Topher,
Welcome aboard and happy sailing .
I can't believe that picture, so beautiful. I'd have to quit my day job if I lived there!

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Sun E Sailor
Ezra Appel
Palm City, Florida
2010 Tandem Island

Looking Good!

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http://KayakingBob.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2007, 2009 & 2010 Hobie AIs and a 2010 TI

Great photos of your excellent mods, Topher. Thanks for sharing them with us.

You have a clever tiller extension setup on your steering handle. It looks like an improvised universal joint. How did you build it? Do you like it? When hiking out on the tramps, can you manage the mainsail?

I like your double bungee system on your ama/aka connections. Very clean. I too will soon have double bungees installed on my TI.

Regarding your anchoring system... I too use a bungee cord to absorb shock while out on anchor. To eliminate the risk of the bungee's metal clips corroding and failing, I prefer to tie simple knots to connect the shock cord to the boat and anchor chain.

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Marc K
2010 Hobie Tandem Island
Boynton Beach, FL

Yo Topher!

I found just the right sized chain locally to secure my AI to the house. The trick is find one that will just fit in the scupper of the Amas. Way stronger than cable for the casual kayak thief.

mkrawats, that's my tiller design, hacked from a Detailer's Choice 6314 Snap and Store Squeegee. 10-15 bucks on sale.

Buy it, grab some 1/4" eyebolts and washers and stuff and you can whip one up. Tophers great closeups show it all.

NOHUHU,

Sorry about not giving you credit for the design of the tiller, I did not know it came from you. I have updated my post to show that you came up with the design.

mkrawats,

Once you go double bungees you will never go back!!

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2012 Red Hibiscus Tandem Island

No worries, Batman made yours double jointed, which is good.

I cartop and flip the hull alot so I've taken to just using a quick-connect ziptie. so I can keep the Hobie knob on and remove the tiller easily.

The hardware version uses 1/4" 20 thread eye bolts. When removed, it doubles as a great little camera stick...

So in this pic I added the same knob that is on the dagger board for the back seat steering. The reason I went with it is two fold one was just esthetics so that it would match the dagger board raise/lower knob and the second is that it is slightly larger and easier for me to operate from different points in the boat.

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2012 Red Hibiscus Tandem Island

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"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

Is that the original tiller concept?

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2012 Red Hibiscus Tandem Island

Correct. That's why he's Batman and I'm Robin.

BTW, you'll want to glue the handle on better and drive a small stainless screw through it, where it won't restrict the expansion joint.

Gary pulled the grip right off his, while hiking out in >20 knot winds and >600' of water.

Well this is by far on of the cheapest mods I have ever done and one of the best! I now we can spend even more time out on the water! There is plenty of room in there even to sit up on the tramps with out hitting your head.





And this lill fella came by to check it out.

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2012 Red Hibiscus Tandem Island

Can I ask why?

Oatesy.