Hobie Cat Forums

This may sound like a silly question......
Is the plastic on the Adventure Island a softer compound than plastics used in other brands? It just seems like my Hobie gets gouges/scratches much easier than my other kayaks. Just an observation I felt was worth addressing here.

I am quite surprised at how many scratches I get despite really being careful when handling and launching the AI.

This is an interesting topic. I wish some knowledgeable people would chime in. I have only owned one rotomolded boat (Hobie AI), so have nothing to compare. My AI does seem to scratch easily. It may be normal for all rotomolded boats, but.. ???

Extra soft plastic might explain why the AI tends to develop deep ridges (bumps) on the underside of the hull when store or transported upright for short periods of time.

Keith

i saw some rental Kayaks in the Bahamas, and they looked like they were rode hard and put away wet. I remember thinking that no way an AI could withstand that kind of abuse. These Kayaks that I saw looked like the plastic was way more durable.

Is there any coating that can be placed on the bottom of these boats that can extend their life? I use my AI ~16 hrs/week; I do not drag it across the ground, I heft the load on my shoulder the entire way, one piece at a time. I'm just worried my boat's going to wear out sooner than I want it to (or can afford.)

-Joe

As far as I know, Hobie uses the same plastic formulation on all its kayaks. Remember, the Island is simply a modified Adventure. It weighs quite a bit more though, so abrasions will obviously make more of an impression.

Most of the scratches seem to occur right on the keel line. I use a strip of clear packing tape there and let the tape take the brunt of the impact -- easy to change every couple of months.

Hobie's polyethylene is pretty tough though, despite easily being scratched. I saw one that was bitten repeatedly by a shark last year -- the teeth marks just glanced off rather than penetrated -- amazing! I also dropped my Adventure off the back of the roof rack last year while driving off (rather embarrassing). I was sure the boat would be broken -- just got some abrasion at the back of the skeg! I suspect a harder shell would be more brittle and easily fractured.

You can smooth cut marks with a razor blade if desired.

Putting tape on the keel sounds like a good idea.

It does seem clear that the AI is tough, but not abrasion-resistant.

Keith

It is good to hear that the hull is tough despite seeming to take alot of scratches.

Is there any way to occasionally "fill" the scratches, or is this better left alone. I am not sure I want to be shaving them down, as I would be more concerned about eventual loss of hull integrity way more than the appearance of the scratches.

You can use a heat gun to melt the surface just be careful not to melt a hole
gwiz

Thanks to all for you input.

Gwiz, if you can heat/melt the plastic, is there bulk plastic available to reinforce the keel? Do people do this?

Keith

from Roadrunner

Here's a story and pics where a hard hull kayak, Dagger Meridian, was penetrated by a single Mako Shark hit. They are one of the fastest swimmers in the ocean and perhaps the same hit would have punctured a Hobie hull as well.
http://www.fska.org/tooth.htm

Somewhere else I read more detail on the story and I believe it was a part kevlar part fiberglass hull. The current website lists it as a kevlar kayak....and as I recall he was taking on some water and needed to tape over the holes to paddle back to the main land. Somebody correct me if they know more accurate info about this incident. I also seem to remember that that area is a mating ground for sharks and they are very active there that time of year.

You can get plastic sticks I believe from a dealer as far as reinforcing the keel I suppose you could but in order for the plastic to wield it would have to melt the keel which might not be wise.

I considered reinforcing the rudder pin chase because it looks light to me considering the stress on it.
gwiz