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PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 6:41 am 
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I just heard from Trailex that if I use a 350 instead of a Hobie trailer the boat warranty would be void. I find that interesting.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 7:05 am 
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Location: High Point, NC
I don't believe that Trailex has the authority to enforce or void Hobie's warranty.

Given that Hobie's kayaks are often trailered on any number of various non-Hobie trailers, racks, roof mounts, etc., I seriously doubt that Hobie has any such disclaimer in their warranty policy. I'm sure there are ways to transport the boat that aren't good for it and Hobie might take issue with some such means, but a Trailex 350 trailer isn't going to do anything to damage your kayak.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 8:33 am 
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I see you speaking only of trailering the TI.
I only rooftop my TI and it is quite easy to do. I fit the kayak and Ama's on the rack and the rest inside the vehicle ( a mid sized SUV).
It saves the hassle of a trailer ( cost, maintenance, repairs) and the difficulty of finding 2 consecutive parking spaces on beaches. You will need to be able to lift about half of the main kayaks weight to the top of your vehicle (while the other end is on the ground) but that is really the only difficult lift involved.
Amongst all the incredible ingenuity that goes into the TI, the fact that one can have this kind of portability for a 2 man, 18.5 foot sail craft is remarkable!
Try it if you are physically capable before spending all the extra money. You may find you would rather buy another Hobie Kayak with the savings!


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 10:40 am 
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
oceantoeverglades:
I agree with you 100%, the TI is actually way easier to load onto the rooftop than our old Oasis was. I honestly cannot tell any difference in weight (maybe 5-10 lbs) between the Oasis and the TI, and because it is longer and has a lot better hand holds it actually makes it way easier to load a TI onto the roof verses the Oasis. I'm in my 60's and not a big guy (5'8) overweight, and broke my back a long time ago (used to be 5'9 before I broke my back), so my back is not very good. Yet I loaded TI's on top of my car every weekend (sometimes 2-3 times per weekend) onto my SUV with no issues or problems all by myself (no help, the way I prefer it). Once you get the routine down it easy with very little effort. I know in a bunch of posts, nobody agrees with me (car topping TI's is kind of a touchy subject LOL).

Here is my rig all set to go to our other house down in Key West, we go down there once a month or so. In Key West parking is a premium and our house down there really has no place for a trailer so we just keep the TI on top of the car, usually 3-4 weeks at a time. If I had a Revo or something smaller I would worry about it down there, but lets face it, I simply can't imagine a couple teenagers running down the street with a TI on their heads trying to steal it (there is an advantage to the size).
We have a couple hundred thousand miles traveling with the TI's (and other kayaks) on our roof all over the country and have never had any problems or issues. We have multiple motorcycle locks on the boat so someone would need to really work to get the stuff off, I feel if they can do all that without setting off the security system on the car, waking me up, and them surviving the encounter with me, they get to keep it (it's all insured anyways).
Image

I used to use Malone V wing roof racks, but since I got the T-bar (which I got via Amazon for around $90 bucks), it made my life a lot easier. Now I just place a pool noodle on the roof, lift the boat nose up and place onto the Tbar (I would guess I'm lifting about 50 lbs (same as a bag of salt), I then go in the back and lift the boat and just slide it forward, it rolls on the pool noodle, and is actually quite easy to push forward and back on the pool noodles (with no roof rack system at all besides the factory roof racks which are very strong and durable on the Yukon)). On long trips I place a couple extra pool noodles under the hull to distribute the weight better, but don't bother on short trips.
That's all the good news, the bad news is if you do car top any kayaks in salt water, it takes a huge toll on you vehicle, we actually rusted out the roof on our Denali and had to have it replaced (under warranty). I spent $150 bucks for a Harbor freight trailer, and another $150 in aluminum and rigged the trailer to haul the TI. Everything fits in my garage, and is actually faster and much easier to get onto the water. This is the setup I'm using right now.
Image

Hope this helps
Bob


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 15, 2013 3:44 pm 
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Location: Forster, NSW, Australia
Gee Oceantoeverglades, trailers must be pricey in your area! I bought mine, made to measure by our local trailer guy (he took a "tinnie" trailer, extended the drawbar and fitted the Hobie cradles, winch and dolly wheel) for under $1000. I sail twice a week, and hose of TI & trailer after every trip, and store the rig in my garage. Too easy.

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 5:24 am 
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Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:14 pm
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Location: South Florida
I've been a long-time critic of roof-topping any kayak/AI/TI because of the inevitable rusting out of your vehicle. I guess if you plan to sell your car every 3-4 yrs, you could pass the rust problem on to the unsuspecting buyer--just be sure he/she is not your friend.

Trailering your boats is a much better idea, but you can be sure if you do not buy a galvanized trailer, or better yet an aluminum trailer, you are going to have serious rust no matter how thoroughly you wash your trailer including springs, axel, etc. If your steel parts (trailer or car) come in contact with ANY salt water (yes, even 1 drop), the rusting will begin. No matter how good the paint job, no matter how thorough the rinse with fresh water, the rust will continue.

This advice is coming to you from a person who has rusted out all kinds of steel equipment in South Florida--even equipment which has never touched salt water. The difference between a salt water environment such as south Florida and a fresh water environment, like the mountain west, is amazing. I have tools in the Rocky Mtn environment that are 25 yrs old and look like new. The same tool in S FL would be covered with rust, maybe unusable, in 5-10 yrs. To the degree possible, all my tools in S FL are kept in boxes/drawers, some sprayed with WD 40, to reduce their exposure to the salt water environment. I live 3 mi from the coast in S FL.

Keith

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"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

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PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 6:36 am 
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Location: Long Island NY
Amen Keith - I bought a trailer specifically because I didn't want to continually give my SUV a salt bath.

My usual launch is at a beach and intended for small personal watercraft and sailboats. When the tide is out, I always laugh at the jetski guys who back their tow vehicles so far into the (salt) water that their rear bumper is in it.

Can you say Swiss Cheese in a few years ? I knew you could ...

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Alan W.

Papaya AI2 to replace my well worn V1
TheTwins - His/Hers 2007 Papaya Hobie Adventure Island's (v1.00.01)
.. and a Hobie Outback SUV


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 9:09 am 
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Ooooh, hadn't thought of the salt issue, too. While I hate having to spend all that on the trailer, I think for me and our vehicle situation right now trailer is the best way. Can use alternate car, don't have to unload it when we get home, and it will be easier for me if I take it out alone or with one of my daughters without ze husband. And with the winter weather situation the last few years in NJ, I'm wondering if my backyard is safe to store it outside—if I can find a cheap place to store it indoors on the trailer I might do that. It's been a long time since I had my 16 back there, and these days branches and trees seem to drop every time there's a storm. And there are so many more storms... I may, though, stick mostly to inland locally for a while. Many incidents in Barnegat Bay of boats hitting submerged debris, surfers getting tangled in wiring, and questions about the water quality on the Shore and on LI.

Is that about 19' length combined for the TI on the trailer?

And another Barnegat Bay-powerboat related question—is there a safety flag mount built into the boat, or is that something I'd have to add?

Thanks!


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 9:48 am 
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
Moondancer:
If you look at the picture above of my TI behind my roadster, you will see a small red piece of plastic tied to the safety strap that holds the rudder up, that's all I do. I got the plastic from Lowes (free), or just find a piece of red cloth to tie onto the safety strap. The safety strap is removed when you go out sailing, we just keep our rudder safety strap with the flag tied to it in one of the mesh pouches when on the water. If your going to be on the highway quite a bit you will need something that doesn't flap around in the wind and destroy itself.

The boat itself is over 19 feet long with the rudder up, I would guess closer to 23 ft length for both boat and trailer (the trailer hitch sticks out in front of the hull), and I'm sure every trailer is different
Bob.


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 11:07 am 
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Location: South Florida
Around saltwater these issues are never simple (compared with fresh water.) I'm really thinking out loud here. If you are going to leave your boat on the trailer, that undoubtedly means you will wash the saltwater off while it is on the trailer--nothing more logical & convenient. However, it brings up the point of getting that saltwater into various crevasses and openings of your trailer, where it will not get washed out. Hence, if your trailer is ordinary steel, you now have a serious corrosion problem. Your steel trailer, in 2 or 3 years, is going to look worse than the rust-belt of western Pennsylvania (hope I didn't offend anyone.)

My 20-yr old, galvanized kayak/AI trailer has plenty of rust, although it still looks pretty good. This picture was taken about 3 yrs ago and has 3 AIs loaded. Often you cannot see the rust--the tongue of that trailer rusted out on me this year (as I was driving through Everglades National Park.) I could have seen the rust if I had been more vigilant. Fortunately, I was done with my solo trip, and the breakdown was more an inconvenience than a trip breaker. It is a painted galvanized trailer, although the tongue was ordinary painted steel--why "ordinary steel?" Too long a story for now.

Image

In any case, if I buy another trailer, it will be aluminum.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 4:21 pm 
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Location: Forster, NSW, Australia
I have s short garage, so specifically ordered the shortest (galvanised steel) trailer possible. The bow of my TI is no more than a foot from the front of the trailer (there is just enough room to swing open the wagon'e tailgate).
Image
Also, I got a sailmaker to sew up a rudder cover from a cheap hi-vis safety vest, incorporating some retro-reflective stripes too.
Image

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 4:56 pm 
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Nice rudder cover! I actually was thinking (and wasn't clear) about a safety flag while on the water--it occurs to me that if I get the dune color (which I really like) and have the sail furled, I won't be terribly visible to the nutjobs barreling through the bay. Is there something to stick a safety flag into (like a dive flag), or is that a mount I'd have to add?

Thanks for all the great advice, everyone!


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 6:42 pm 
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Location: Forster, NSW, Australia
Realistically, no flag is going to be more visible than the TI itself. If you are really concerned about this scenario, just buy a hi-viz safety vest as worn by road workers etc, or just unfurl the sail (leaving it flapping) if you see someone coming on a dangerous course.

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker


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PostPosted: Tue Jul 16, 2013 6:44 pm 
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
You can't put a dive flag on unless you have divers in the water, they are very strict about this. Diver flags are very important and prohibit any boat from coming within 300 ft of a boat with a dive flag ( large flag) or personal dive flags ( small flags). Also you cannot hang a small dive flag on your boat ( not legal). The guys at the dive shop told us all the rules and said they are well enforced. I have a big dive flag on my TI when we dive. I would just clip it to the mainsail control line on the furled mainsail, but now I have a couple halyards, I just raise it up one of those.
Other states may be different but I doubt it. In key west a couple I know did get fined for not removing their dive flags after diving, and were driving.
Obviously I'm biased because I'm a diver.


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 17, 2013 7:40 am 
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Sorry, I meant "like" as in the same type if mounting, flag on a stick. Looking at the TI specs, it does appear that there's a rod holder so that looks doable. How do you have the halyards rigged?


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