New TI Owner - Couple of Quick Questions

Hi There!

Just got a new TI and it is amazing... Couple quick questions though...

It looks like the middle scuppers are reinforced but not the rear...
Is is safe to use a cart in the rear scuppers (I have a Hobie Trax 2-30 Kayak Cart with the cradle for the TI)?
Our trailer sits higher than the Hobie trailer and putting the cart in the rear scuppers to load and unload would make things a bit easier but I am afraid of damaging the the TI.

Does anyone use the Hobie cover while they are trailering the TI? Seems to billow out in the wind a lot even if I have straps through all of the loops. Is this pretty much normal?

This boat is heavy... We did not get the Hobie trailer and went with one that sits a bit higher off the ground... We have to lift the boat about 3 to 4 feet off the ground... (We do have the Hobie TI cradles mounted to the trailer)... My wife struggles to lift it even an inch with the amas on... I am thinking that we will have to resort to taking them off each time but I really had hoped to load the TI in one piece... Does anyone have an ingenious solution already?

Thanks for all of your help!

-Joe

I have used my cart in the rear scupper holes with no problems. I have not done it that many times though since I have a trailer for it now so I dont know how it would hold up with repeated use. I had no idea they were any less reinforced in the rear compared to the front. It is a real pain to get them in the middle though isn't it.

It sure its... The only way I can get the cart in the middle scuppers is to roll it way over its side... Past 90 degrees because the trax 2-30 tires are wider than the kayak.... and because of that, rolling it back over makes me nervous because you really have to lift the kayak way into the air to get those tires back under it without putting a lot of stress on the cart and scuppers...(I haven't even tried this with the amas on... that must be really rough... Is it even possible?) If I could put the cart in the rear I could lift up the back of the TI high enough and then have my wife stick in the cart.... also the angle for loading it on our trailer would be better...

On my TI the middle scuppers appear to have a black plastic tube glued into the scupper holes.... I assume this is for reinforcement??

Another thing I did was run the TI into the water with the Traxx 2-30 cart... and quickly found it was impossible to remove with the tires on... In the moment I forgot that each wheel simply pops off with a twist of the hub... I am assuming this is the intended way to remove the cart when entering the water... pop each tire off and grab the cart frame before you lose it.

I am not sure how easy it will be to put the wheels back on in the water for the exit... must be what Hobie intended though... Anyone have experience with that?

Thanks again!

Couple of possibilities:
-add a third cradle at the rear end of your trailer, which makes it much easier to load/unload and fit the scupper cart
-use the cart keeper pin so the frame remains in when removing/adding the wheels while in the water
-get another scupper cart (HD) to use in the rear scuppers while using the Trax in the forward scuppers
-get a C-tug cart. I am using the C-tug cart all the time unless in sand
viewtopic.php?f=73&t=46391
-get a dolly cart
Our 2010 TI has no reinforced scuppers and for the first 2years we used a scupper cart without the TI cart cradle and had no problems. As you have the TI cart cradle, you shouldn't have any problems. Using the cart in the rear scuppers increases the weight at the bow handle significantly.

Thanks Stringy! A second cart might really do the trick for us... great idea!

I thought of another question about use of the trampolines.... When rolled up and the ama folded in it felt like I might bend the support rod if I was not careful. Is this a valid concern or am I just being an overly cautious new boat owner?

Hi,

Don't worry about breaking that rod when rolled up. In my opnion it ain't gunna happen. I roll it up all the time.

Although I own the tramps, and use them all the time. It's my opnion that they are below the quality design standards of a Hobie product. They are manufactured well, but they are designed very poorly.

But as documented extensively on this site. The tramps sag horribly anytime they are actually used, I've tried many of the suggested fixes on the site and they simply aren't worth the effort. Everybody is building benches cause the tramps are... Excuse the expression "crap."

I lift the TI onto the roof of the car with Amas attached but may be the only one who does.
What allows me to do it is a frame which is attaches to the rudder mount.
This keeps the TI level.
And a roller at the beginning of the roof mount.
So I am only lifting the nose, not the complete weight.
I then slide the TI forward until balance point and only then lift the rear.

I punched a hole in my scupper tubes as they were not re-inforced.
My fault for lowering the TI with the cart half in.
So I now have the tubes blocked off.
The re-inforced tubes are a great idea.
I wonder if Hobie can supply the tube to glue in the rear for you.

Cheers, Brian in South Australia.