av8erdunn:
I'm no guru, I just happen to have owned all the different model years of TI's, and am cursed with a photographic memory, that's all. Remembering everything you have ever said and done is no picnic I assure you. If you need to know the memory map of a TRS 80, I can recite it to you (LOL).
Actually Hobie has in their FAQ section a complete explanation of their Hull numbers (
viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1155)
Your born on date (like the beer) was September 2010, and was one of the first off the line of the 2011 model year.
That's the date that the hull was molded. all the other parts on the boat (AMA's, AKA bars, mast, sail, seats, etc) would have been made within a 6 to 8 month period prior to that date as I'm sure Hobie works using modern inventory control from their suppliers buying in lots with monthly release. Basically they order 3000 sets of (for example) AKA bars delivered 300 per month for a period of time (most companies these days try to exhaust their inventory monthly using JIT systems, because storage of un-sold inventory is extremely expensive.
Lets break down the TI models into three groups for simplicity, since most of their changes have been running changes that bridge model years, actually if you search this forum history, someone tried to document all the changes a while back and posted all the history (I haven't found or looked for it)
I'm just going by memory here, but here it goes.
Model 1:
april 2010 to mid 2011 ( +/- 4 months for components) ( I believe the TI was released to the market in March 2010)
Was the initial release design from the first mold, with all the original components The AKA knuckles from the first set of die cast dies that were designed too loose, and depended on only rivets to hold the aka bars on (the knuckles were basically a really bad design fraught with failure problems, but are easily repaired (but somebody has to take them apart, clean them up, and glue the bars back in properly (this takes time), all the fixes are posted on the forum). These gen 1 bars were all painted (non anodized).
The first 6 months of production included the crappy badly welded AKA mast holder cross bar, in later models the welding process was greatly improved and should not have a problem except in extreme use. If you see grey lines around the weld on the front cross you need to replace that cross bar, in my opinion if you don't see the grey lines, I wouldn't bother unless you plan to add something crazy like a huge spinnaker.
All model one's came with the mirage drive without the guide pins (nothing whatsoever wrong with these mirage units, no need to upgrade)
All model ones came from the factory with a 1/4-20 machined stud at the bottom of the mast holder that was very prone to breakage (I recommend anyone with a model one upgrade to the new stud (available on line for like $5 bucks), and can be installed easily yourself.
All model ones came from the factory with the twist and stow rudder system. Upgraded rudder systems were sent to all owners with self install instructions, you can spot these easily by opening the rearmost hatch and looking for the tied rudder lines with the rudder lines crossing over the opening. This is not a show stopper at all, the retrofitted units are every bit as good as the factory installed.
All model one's came with 1/4 inch diameter bungies holding the AMA's onto the AKA bars (these basically sucked), I recommend anyone with them self install Tom Kirkmans double redundant bungy fix (posted on the forum, Tom and a few others on this forum are very sharp in my opinion, very smart and practical). I'm sure most if not all have been repaired or upgraded by now. (not a show stopper, easily fixed).
All model ones came from the factory with a piece of tubing super glued on top of the hatch opening, this wins the award for being the cheesiest design ever created by Hobie, the guy that came up with it should have been tarred and feathered. These things leaked like a siv, and fell off all the time. Later models came with an improved seal (available on line), and hopefully by now everyone has self upgraded to the newer type seals.
Most early model ones came with a silver sail bag made of tarp material (totally sucked), the black nylon ones are much better.
I don't think model ones had the Hobie emblem embedded in the bow just forward of the hatch, and all the Hobie emblems on the AMA's mounted in the center fell of shortly after purchase (they used sucky glue).
All the seats had just clean bore holes in the hull with friction fit fittings, not the best of designs, but not a show stopper either.
Another total boner move by the tarred and feathered guy on the 'model ones' was to decide to not use marine grade epoxy to glue the furling drums onto the carbon masts, most if not all furling drums were knocked loose and slipped, and had to be re-glued on most of the early models, again not a show stopper, easily repaired and re-glued.
The earliest models didn't have the little silver plate to protect the hull from the sail control lines mounted near the back of the boat, I guess tar and feather guy figured we didn't need them.
Model 1.5:
( mid 2011 to very early 2012)
These still had the hulls molded from mold #1 you can spot them by looking at the sockets for the seat fittings, and the guide slots for the mirage drive insertion were still not incorporated (not a big deal).
During this time most of the above problems (not hull related) were fixed
mid model changes
bungys were increased to 3/8 dia I think very late during this cycle (a running change).
a new die cast mold for the knuckles was made with better fits against the tubes (another running change).
The weld was greatly improved on the AKA front cross bar (still not double welded, but way better and more reliable welding), not worth replacing unless grey lines develop along the ends and edges of the weld. (running change)
The plastic keepers inside the AKA bars were improved and failed less often. (running change), all registered V1 owners got new clips in the mail.
The grey flotation foam blocks started shipping inside the hulls during this time. (I believe a model year change)
Along with the new AKA knuckles Hobie moved to anodized AKA bars (smart move).
During this period I'm guessing tar and feather guy decided to move the furling cleat closer to the mast without consulting with the original designer, which caused the front AKA brace to flop back and forth (the famous clunk noise). Once they discovered their boner, they moved the furling cleat back to it's original position (problem solved).
Also during this time someone in manufacturing decided the holes in the little rectangular block (3/4" x 1" x 4") holding the mast down needed to be bigger to make it easier to assemble, bad idea, as this added to the famous clunk problem. Once realized they switched back to the original design. If you have the clunk sound it's probably good to replace that block, and if the furler cleat is not in the outmost mounting screws, it would be good to put it back. Regardless of which versions of these parts are on the boat, it's a good idea to keep an eye on and re-check (and locktite) any of the screws in the mast assembly often.
The little stud at the bottom of the mast was replaced with a rolled stainless version, this eliminated most of the stud breakage problems. (again making sure everything stay tight is most important).
A new rudder pin (better and stronger material) came out (all backwards compatible).
All boats from the factory had factory installed rudder systems from the new design (problem completely solved)
There was a time early during this period they were installing bolts in the rudder gudgeon that were too short, all registered owners recieved new longer stronger gudgeon bolts in the mail. (problem solved)
Someone in manufacturing ( I assume tar and feather guy (LOL)) during this time decided that it was just too hard to slip the two mast halves together so they made the joint between the mast halves a loose slip fit (nother boner idea), this caused everyone's mast to twist when furling and unfurling (twisting the sail on the mast). Tom Kirkmans solution was to just wrap tape around the mast at the joint (brilliant and simple solution), problem solved.
Another minor fix during this time was in the sail, near the bottom, it appears the rivets and gluing of the strap buckle at the base of the sail was improved over V1 sails (that buckle ripped off on my first V1 sail)
The gluing of the furling drum was greatly improved (problem solved)
I think I remember also during this time, better improved (two shot molded) tiller handles came out with an optional ball you could add to the handles to make it easier to steer. (this might have been a late V1 running change)
Better hatch seals were supplied during this time with new boats, still not a complete re-design of the hatch system yet, but way better than the super glued tubing thing.
I think the IML graphics molded onto the side of the hull might have changed during this time also with a prettier design (don't remember for sure, (so many boats (LOL))).
Pretty much anything that broke or was replaced on V1 boats would have been replaced with V1.5 components under warranty, so I doubt you will find any V1 boats out there with all original parts. I'm sure any remaining V1 AKA knuckles would have been repaired or upgraded by now by the owners.
If I found a really good price on a V1 boat I wouldn't be too concerned, as I know every problem can be fixed and they can be brought up to V1.5 pretty easily. This effects price, as a V1 is not as valuable as a V1.5, especially if nothing at all has been upgraded.
Model II:
This was a brand new mold for the hull, it's very easy to spot because it has the guide slots for the mirage drive.
V2 has the tongue and groove seat locks (little grey or black inserts in the hull under each seat).
V2 hulls also have the black re-enforced scupper hole inserts in the front scupper tubes.
New mirage drives with the guide pins added to the design (basically a little stronger re-design of the mirage drives), however there was nothing wrong with the old design.
The front hatch was redesigned, and is much better than any of the previous designs.
A Hobie emblem was added in front of the forward hatch, and the good news is they went to a better adhesive, and all the emblems no longer fall out after the first month of ownership.
The hull design itself is slightly different, the bow area appears to be a stronger more robust design, and about 1 inch shorter from the mast to the tip of the bow than the previous mold.
I suspect but can't prove that the seating areas were sculpted slightly differently and a little dryer (at least in my opinion), I doubt if any of this stuff is visually detectable.
All add on components are V1.5 (no V1 parts can be found on any 2012 models that I know of)
I'm pretty sure all 2012 model year TI's came from the factory with the double welded front AKA cross bar (problem solved once and for all)
Most of the hulls came from the factory with 3 brass inserts installed in the stern (all 1/4-20 if I recall) but the majority of the gudgeons only had to screws (a very confusing time), I think later versions even came with a larger screw at the bottom (all running changes), all un-announced. To be honest I never have had any problems with any of them, so I'm not concerned which one I have. My 2012 was purchased in July 2012, and I have the three 1/4-20 brass inserts in the hull, and the two hole gudgeon, never had any problems.
Models 2013 and forward
Everything is basically model two components through out, the design is very mature and complete, with no running issues (most every problem was rung out prior to 2012 model year)
I have heard rumblings that there maybe some problems with a later re-design of the mirage drives, I have no first hand knowledge of this because all I have is 2012 stuff and have no issues or problems with anything I have.
I'm only working from memory on all this history so I'm sure there are plenty of things I missed, pretty much every problem, fix, and solution can be found in the forum history (a treasure trove of information (though I've never used it, LOL)
Conclusions:
To be honest I had no major issues or problems with either my 2010 or 2011 TI's that were show stoppers in my mind. Anytime I did have a problem Hobie always replaced everything with the most current components under warranty. My AKA V1 knuckles failed, I took them into Hobie and they were replaced with v1.5 knuckles, never had another problem. My V1 front AKA cross bar failed and was replaced with a V1.5 cross bar (not double welded) under warranty, never had another problem. When my V1 hull tore around the front scupper hole pulling the boat out of the water, Hobie supplied me with a new hull. Those are the only problems I ever had.
Hope this helps you
Bob
To the best of my knowledge the AMA's have not changed from day 1.
I have owned 7 Hobie kayaks over the years, and was always worried un-necessarily that I would be screwed if my hull ever failed so I always tried to only own boats under warranty, and sell them and buy new once the warranty expired. In my opinion these things are so reliable now, I'm not as concerned about my warranty running out next July as I used to be, I feel these things are extremely well designed and made and don't expect any breakdowns or problems.