Couple of general questions.

So I took my Outback in the pool yesterday to give it a try and measure things out before I venture out to the lake. I ran into a couple questions I can't find the answer to.

The seat: When I purposely flipped the kayak the seat came loose, and until I got back out of the pool, and re pushed the little tabs back into the kayak, it was just flopping around. Would a patch of velcro on the bottom of the kayak and seat keep it from moving around so much. The two posts on the bottom work when they are properly seated, but once they come out for any reason, you are just dragging the seat around.

Also, on the back of the hobie seat, there is a single shock cord coming out of the back. Where exactly should that connect to? I could attach it to the webbing behind the seat, but attaching shock cord to shock cord doesn't seem to be the right idea. Is it just to latch to anything you might place behind the seat in the tray?

There is a small pack on the back of the seat. I am going to venture a guess that the strap inside is to turn it into a fanny pack. Nice little feature.

We are having some work done on the house, and since I got the kayak out of the garage to try things out, it's going to be a few days before I can get it back in and put up properly. I have it sitting on the cart with a pillow under the bow to protect it. How long is it safe to leave like this without warping. I figure people go camping and will have to leave them on the shore for days on end, so as long as I don't make this permanent, it shouldn't hurt.

Speaking of carts, any easy way to get the cart in and out? Right now tipping the kayak on end, there's no handles easy to grab to hold up the kayak, so unless you flip it on it's side, it's a two man operation to get the cart in the scuppers. I am sure when it's fully rigged, tipping on the sides isn't going to be the most preferable option either. I think I am going to make up a cable to snap to the legs of the cart and go around the top of the kayak. I have a lip on my pool, and trying to raise the kayak out of the pool, the cart just dropped out.

It was fun floating around in the pool though, and I learned a lot.

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Isaac

Two small pieces of velcro under the front corners of the seal hold mine in place. It keeps the seat bottom from bunching up, especially when getting in or out of the boat.

The pegs on the bottom of the seat should hold it firmly in place. If yours do not fit snugly into the holes, try one wrap of electrical tape.

On my Island, the small shock cord wraps around the rear crossbar, preventing the seat back from flopping forward. Connecting the clip to the larger shock cord in the cargo well should not present any problems.

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baysailor

Thanks. I found that I had to really mash in the seat pegs. I am going to attach some velcro strips to the kayak, and to the seat to help keep it in place.

I was poking around on the Hobie website, and in the literature with the boat, and it looks like the seat back strap was run to one of the pad eyes on the side. I will do the same. I don't necessarily want to clip it to an ice chest or anything in the back storage as they might not be staying in the boat in the event of a capsize, thus pulling the seat out.

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Isaac

Isaac, there is some variability, but most seats will stay in place if you push hard then pound with your fist (or a hammer). Once in, I leave mine in place permanently, using the bungees to simply fold it forward for transport. That way, it';s faster to launch and harder to forget. Haven't lost one yet! (btw, the old seats were riveted in permanently).


For the seatback bungee, I clip it to the cargo bungee. As baysailor says, it just keeps the seatback from flopping forward. If you cut off that annoying little lock clip, the hook is real fast and easy to use.


You shouldn't store your boat on the cart -- it will dent the hull. Although it should pop out, I don't recommend it. Store your boat as recommenced by Hobie, but not on its bottom!

Everyone develops their best way to insert and remove the cart, but with loose gear, I find it easiest to wheel the boat right into the water and reach underneath to remove the cart. Or lift the stern and let it fall away. To insert, just reach under the boat and pop it in. With a little practice, it's pretty easy. The cart holes (scuppers) are fairly thin -- make sure you insert the cart in all the way before towing.

I don't use the cart with posts that go through the scupper holes. Read more than a few comments of scupper leaks because of to much stress over uneven terrain. I use a cart that the yak sits on top of and has straps to secure it.

As for storage dents, I have not had a problem storing mine on its side. I did cover the support with large thick pool noodles to spread out the pressure.

I use hull-a-ports to transport my yaks above the bed of my truck. The first time I transported them that way was on a 14 hour drive to my destination. At each gas stop I checked the cargo and the yaks. I thought the straps kept coming loose so tightened them enough to feel secture. All that was happening was that the sides of the yaks were becoming slightly dented and each time I tightend the straps it kept up the pressure on the side of the yaks. Thankfully the dents did pop out on their own after a few hours. Won't do that again.

Hey Isaac,
Concerning the attaching of the Hobie hull to the cart, I found that the simplest solution worked the best for me. Over the past couple of years, I have been using a set of Starbrite 5/16 x 16 inch bungees with stainless steel hooks from Boat USA. I attach one end to the crossbar on the wheels and crimp it shut with a pair of heavy-duty pliers. The 16 inch length proved to be perfect and there was no chance of leaving the bungee behind at the launch ramp, as had happened to me previously. Actually, using only a single bungee worked fine for attaching the cart to the yak while on its side. Then, after righting the yak, it’s a simple matter to attach the second bungee, if necessary.



Here is an earlier post with a few more pics.

http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewt ... te+bungees

Concerning the seat pegs, I have had the problem of them fitting so tight that I had to carry a screwdriver to pry them out. A few turns of a sanding disk with my Dremel, solved that problem so that I could use the fingertips to pull them out.

Note that Roadrunner has made the comment that “(btw, the old seats were riveted in permanently)â€

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[quote="Apalach"]Note that Roadrunner has made the comment that “(btw, the old seats were riveted in permanently)â€

Uh-oh RR--mybad. I defer to someone who is even more of an "old-timer" than I! The earliest OB that I have paddled was a 2002-2003 model. Sure hope that Hobie used SS rivets back in those early, pre-2002 days!
Best,
Dick

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Thanks guys. I took her out for the maiden voyager yesterday, and all went well. The seat did tend to float a bit, but I ended up clipping the seatback to the starboard pad eye for the cargo area. I figured out the since it was off to the side, when I would adjust, the seat would pull to the right and adjust as well. I have a tray that I placed in the cargo area. I am going to bolt an eye on there and that way I can hook the seat back straight.

Apalach, I love the bungie idea, and will be stealing that with your permission.

Other than that, I had an absolute blast yesterday. I need to find something for my feet as my boating shoes give me blisters after a while, and barefeet on the mirage drive gets a little sore after a while as well. I stayed on the lake from 9am-5pm.

I didn't leave the kayak on the trailer for long, so no deformation. I ended up just placing the kayak upside down on the back patio.

Thanks all and I had a blast.

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Isaac