Hobie Cat Forums

Does anyone know about the PA that sank at the Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel on 7/13? Apparently it began to take on water and sank rather quickly. Here's a link to the Tidewater Kayak Forum that discusses this:

http://tkaa.org/index.php?topic=4055.0


Ron Wilson

It will be interesting to find out what really happened in that situation. There are too many unanswered questions as to why the angler got in the situation that caused him to be seperated from the PA and the PA to apparently sink.

The last entry in the thread states that the PA was purchased used and implies that it had a hole in it when purchased. It's my understanding that a PA will float even when full of water. I thought I read that somewhere here on the forum.

We don't know the details as to why the angler ended up out of the PA. How loaded down it was, condition of the PA in general, etc. I would not have gone out by myself at night in an area that has large boat traffic. We'll just have to wait and see if any additional details emerge.

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Steve Stubbs
USAF (retired)

2012 Pro Angler - Dune
2012 Revolution 11 - Papaya

An empty PA will surface submerge, but not sink. However, the instant you start putting stuff into it (and how much you put into it) you have a boat that will indeed sink to the bottom.

maybe someone with factory info will know if it is possible to sink all the way. The manufacture usually does float test. Even swamped, I doubt it would sink to the bottom unless there was substantial weight attached to the kayak. It would nice to know what would happen if water entered the drain plugs.

Wow! This is my neck of the woods and my fishing club. Shows what happens when your offline for a few days.

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2011 HPA
2006 Wildy Ride 135

Another PA sank a few years ago -- the boat was capsized by a wave and the fisherman had a hatch open. I believe all Hobies have at least 40# positive flotation since 2011. It's hard to sink a Hobie with its hatches closed, even with a leak.

Oh that sinking feeling. My PA14 became water logged due to a split in the scupper hole. First symptoms were instability, It wanted to roll. I opened the hatch and saw that the hull had filled with water. The boat was very tippy but stayed afloat while I sprinted to shore. Lesson learned USE YOUR LEASH!!! I removed the drive preparing to paddle in and the boat rolled over. Drive went to the bottom. My fault totally on losing the drive. I was overconfident in the normal stability of the boat. Lesson #2 Using a plug in cart can be considered abuse and voids the warranty. I say that I know that the cart must go through the hull completely and was using the cart as Hobie instructs. It is good that Hobie recognized the possible weakness and began installing reinforcements. I am still working with the local dealer to resolve the problem either through warranty replacement or out of pocket repair. I still believe that I have the best boat on the water and love the PA.

For those interested I read on the Tidewater Kayakers forum that the folks at the local Hobie dealer confirmed the PA owner did recover the sunken PA minus the Mirage Drive and that the PA was purchased used from a private seller.

I guess you can only assume the Mirage Drive was not locked into the well or tethered to the PA. Even with currents, I would think it would not seperate from the PA if locked in. I could be wrong.

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Steve Stubbs
USAF (retired)

2012 Pro Angler - Dune
2012 Revolution 11 - Papaya

I was thinking about installing some flotation foam when I bought my first PA but was assured by Matt that the PA's would not sink ........ hmmmm

Everyone should use a leash if you are taking the drive in and out - really no reason to remove the drive for beaching - just push one foot forward and the fins will be tucked up against the hull - that's how it's designed, no reason to remove the drive under normal conditions.

Jacques,

Great points! I do have the leash kit pictured and use it as the safety mechanism it was designed for. I do usually remove my drive right before reaching shore because once I reach shore I usually lift the front end of the PA up and pull it further off the water and didn't want the weight of the PA on the drive.

I guess I'm just being protective of the drive. I'm sure not everyone uses the same beaching methods. I have pulled the drive out completely while on the water only to inspect it if I felt that I might have hit something or felt a lot of underwater vegetation was tangled up with the drive. Most of the time, just pedaling clears the soft green vegetation off the drive while moving.

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Steve Stubbs
USAF (retired)

2012 Pro Angler - Dune
2012 Revolution 11 - Papaya

I prefer to remove the Drive prior to beaching to keep the sand out of the sprocket area as much as possible (personal preference). However if you do bring the fins up, be sure to bungee them up -- if the Drive is well tuned and lubed they may likely fall back down otherwise. This can lead to bent masts.

OK, dumb question... If you beach your PA with the drive in place, how do you remove the drive? At some point you will need to lift the front and set it on top of someting tall enough to fully extend the fins vertically in order to pull the drive. Sounds like a lot more work than just pulling the drive when you are floating in 2 ft of water, and then paddling or hopping out and walking to the beach.

I do the same as you are doing, pull the drive out prior to beaching. During a launch I wait till I reach a bit deeper water before the drive goes in. I also have a leash on the drive at all times.

Roll the boat over on it's side, remove the drive, then roll it back onto it's bottom - that's the process, simple.

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Jacques Bernier
http://www.hobiecat.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HobieCatCompany