Hobie Cat Forums

I have a question & hopefully someone can give me a link to a past post that holds the answer. I have 3 Hobies I bought new starting in 2008, Revo, Sport(Wife) & Oasis. Recently I bought a used 2009 AI. The 2nd time I had it out in good wind I popped the rudder pin(black old style, now replaced with new gray style).Today I had it out for the 3rd time & after a few hours I popped the brace connector. When we got in we were comparing it to my friends 2012 AI & the braces are different. It looks like my 2009 brace had a stainless bolt with the paddle retainer clip on it & the stainless bolt goes through the brace connector holding the brace to the AKA. The bolt pulled right through the connector.(In all honesty, since the boat is used, the bolt could have popped through on the previous owner & he could have just but the bolt back as other than a split dead center, it looks like it would hold during light winds again) The 2012, the bolt isn't stainless(looks nylon), the paddle retainer is on the AKA, and there is some type of wire there too. At the time it pulled through I was getting hit some boat wakes, but not pushing the boat the way I was the last time out. The 2 2012's I was with had no problems. My boat looks in good shape for a 2009, but I was wondering a few things. Is the bolt supposed to be stainless? Can I upgrade my brace to the way the 2012's are?(Wire & Nylon?) Are there parts that should be replaced as maintenance after a given amount of years(exposure to the sun)? Thanks

BUMP. No one else had this happen? I ordered new brace connectors. I'm going to reverse the screw order so it mirrors my friends 2012 AI. I will put the the nylon bolt go through the aka & brace connector. Then have the stainless (& paddle clip) go through the brace to hold in the brace connector, then the spare nylon bolt in the do nothing hole. I don't know if mine was put together wrong(maybe by previous owner) or if Hobie does it different now. I would still like to know if there is an upgrade kit available with that wire like my friends 2012. It looks like it will hold the the brace assy if the connector fails? Matt Miller?

Hi Searobin,

Both the 2009 and the 2012 come with nylon bolts which are designed to shear in the event of a collision. Some people elect to replace them with SS bolts. Here's an article by Yakass on the subject: http://modernkayakfishing.com/articles/ ... t-to-shear

The wires on the 2012 AI are there to prevent the brace sinking, as you say. You don't need to purchase an upgrade kit. Lots of people used to thread a cord through the spare hole on the brace and around the aka to achieve the same effect.

On the 2009 AI, the paddle clip goes on the brace, not on the aka.

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Thanks Chrisj, I'll do it that way.

Thanks again Chrisj. I just read the link from Yakass. Makes me realize how lucky I was to get the sail in that fast. I don't think I will replcae my nylon bolts with stainless though because in my case it was the stainless bolt riping thru the top of the connector. So it was probably wear & tear as Yakass says. I will replace the connector on the other side too & maybe do it again in a few years. The string sounds like an easy answer, thanks again.

Here's how one of mine looks:

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

Nice Bob. Simple solution. I will do the same thing. No sense carrying the spare nylon bolt unless I'm going to carry wrenches to change it on the water. (or do you keep the spare bolt with the wrenches someplace else?)Thanks.

I keep the small spares with my little tool kit. Half the time to install if you don't need to remove the spare first.

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

My 2012 TI came with split rings through holes in the spare bolts, so that when I broke an original one (with the nut on), all I had to do was insert the spare bolt and then attach the ring after keeping the end of the ring open with just about anything. Even though I still had the broken part of the bolt containing the nut, I didn't use it as I couldn't easily get the nut off.