Return to Hobie.com
Hobie Forums
It is currently Fri Mar 29, 2024 5:16 am

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 43 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next
Author Message
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:01 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 5:17 pm
Posts: 203
Location: Ettalong Beach, Central Coast, Australia
stringy wrote:
Hawkeye - I agree with you about adapting any trailer. Weight isn't really an issue with kayaks. The little trailer I have is only rated to 220kg but it will carry 2 AI's OK!
The important part is how easy the drawbar is to lengthen.

Geoff- There is an Aunger available on ebay at Mardi which isn't that far from you I think? It doesn't seem to have guards but may be worth a look.
http://cgi.ebay.com.au/Aunger-Pro-Trail ... dZViewItem


Hi Stringy,

Your equivalent post on the Aussie forum got wiped on Sat, and I was glad enough, as I was hoping to keep it quiet about that trailer. I ended up buying it for $285 but of course it needs rego and mudguards. I "sniped" it off ebay, only posting my bid 15 secs from end time. I just got it home, so a discussion about lengthening the drawbar is spot on. But I need to go some 3.5 metres!

Geoff.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 2:04 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 5:17 pm
Posts: 203
Location: Ettalong Beach, Central Coast, Australia
hawkeye wrote:
btw: any of you Aussies or your kin perhaps holiday in a little Southeast Asian paradise called Vietnam forty years or so ago? I envision a multinational fleet of AI's sailing Camron Bay to Paradise Island or up the Mekong...--a reunion of sorts. :)


Sorry I don't know any Vets.

Geoff.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 3:32 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:25 pm
Posts: 2863
Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
G'day Geoff,
Oops - I didn't think my post would generate too much interest. I tried to PM you but it wasn't available.

Image
(Apologies for the contrasty pic but it's the only one I have at the moment. Will take some more and post later.)

I made my drawbar 3m long and used 75mm x 50mm galvabond steel RHS with a 2mm wall thickness. I was thinking of going to a 4m drawbar but decided that would be too unwieldy for my driveway. The AI overhangs by about 1.2m which hasn't been a problem.
It's very easy to change the drawbar. One bolt at the axle and one at the tilting mechanism. I replaced the tilting quick release pin with a standard bolt as I didn't want the tilting function. This made the trailer stiffer. I used the standard drawbar as a template for the bolt holes which worked well. I discussed all this with my local trailer rego inspection mechanic before I began and he wasn't concerned at all about lengthening the drawbar. The final inspection went without a hitch although I did have to weld the chain to the drawbar which apparently is a NSW requirement.
The kayak sits on two Rhino commercial rack bars 1600mm long bolted to the trailer sides.
The front support was a post bracket I got at Bunnings and modified to suit. As I also use the trailer for my Tandem I have custom foam blocks at the front that support the different deck shapes.
Hope your conversion goes OK! 8)


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Mon Sep 22, 2008 3:35 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 5:17 pm
Posts: 203
Location: Ettalong Beach, Central Coast, Australia
Hi stringy,

Its awesome to have photos. That's much appreciated. Thank you. I see you are carrying the AI upside down, and I suppose with the amas off? I wanted it the other way up, so I can launch faster. I had never pulled the amas in to the sides of the AI till this week, and was really surprised they don't end up anything like parallel. I may have to take a photo, because I don't recall seeing another AI with the ama ends stickling out quite like that.

Good to know I can get a bracket at Bunnings, I was wondering if they would have anything for the front.

Geoff.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 2:32 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:25 pm
Posts: 2863
Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
G'Day Geoff,
Yes, I transport the AI unassembled on the trailer. I use the AI in Adventure only mode a lot more than as the fully rigged AI, and I don't store it assembled.
Here are some more trailer pics:
Image

Image

Image

Image
This is a verandah post bracket straightened out a little and welded to the U-bolt plate.
Image


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 3:58 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 5:17 pm
Posts: 203
Location: Ettalong Beach, Central Coast, Australia
Gee that is fabulous. Thanks for all the pics, they are much appreciated. I have my draw bar design with the fabricator. If all works as planned, I will be able to park the trailer on its "backside" and the draw bar will fold at about ceiling height, giving a total length of 3.5 metres. I am looking for roof racks on ebay, but note that some are not really long enough. It looks like 1.4 or 1.5 would be best.

Any reason why you appear to have fixed the bars on over the cover? Can you still remove the cover?

Geoff.


Last edited by Geoff on Tue Sep 23, 2008 4:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 5:00 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:25 pm
Posts: 2863
Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
Ah yes the cover- well spotted. That is a work in progress. I am still working out how I want the cover to open. It will be fixed at the front as it is now but will either open from the middle or the back. I don't want to cut it yet until I think about it a bit more so at the moment I access inside the trailer from the tailgate.
My original bars were 1.4 but I went to 1.6 with the idea of... (I am now turning the laptop screen just out of my wife's view :wink: )....carrying a second AI . If I do get another AI I am hoping I can transport them on the trailer with the hulls on the racks and the ama's suspended under the rack bars above the guards. The great thing about the Rhino bars is that you can fit accessories below the bars as well.
I would be very interested to see how your folding drawbar turns out.
Keep us posted.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Tue Sep 23, 2008 6:44 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 5:17 pm
Posts: 203
Location: Ettalong Beach, Central Coast, Australia
Just priced the Hobie AI cradle. Sadly its AUS$356. I can't justify that, so I will have to make something myself. I see its US$220 which is not cheap, but the price here in Aus is way out of control.

This trailer has just come on the market:
Image

and folded:
Image

But the price is somewhat out there, as seems to be the way these days, AUS$1450 for it without shipping.

Geoff.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 10:12 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Thu Nov 08, 2007 4:06 pm
Posts: 42
Location: Los Angeles
Geoff,
I don't know what it is that's so funny about that second picture but I can't stop laughing. Maybe it just looks like my wife tried to back up the trailer.

_________________
Isaac


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Sep 24, 2008 6:57 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 5:17 pm
Posts: 203
Location: Ettalong Beach, Central Coast, Australia
idavis wrote:
Geoff,
I don't know what it is that's so funny about that second picture but I can't stop laughing. Maybe it just looks like my wife tried to back up the trailer.


Actually it folds small enough to fit in the back of any car whose rear seat folds forwards. Pretty neat. What annoys me, is that when the time comes to sell my Hobie 14 galvanised trailer, I will be lucky to get $200 for it, yet the replacement cost is really over $1000.

Geoff.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Oct 12, 2008 3:56 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 5:17 pm
Posts: 203
Location: Ettalong Beach, Central Coast, Australia
I am nearly ready to get my new AI trailer on the road, and its due for rego inspection tomorrow. Then it just needs the roof racks I bought on eBay.

But for now, I thought I would show my current arrangement, using a Hobie 14 trailer:

Image

By the way. I found some great kayak mounts at this site: Roof Rack Trader Only $65 plus $10 postage. Site is a bit basic, but Neville is just fine!

Image

One advantage of these mounts is that they include adaptors for all bars, and so if you are using them on the roof (Not an AI?) when you change cars you are not forced to buy the same brand of rack.

Geoff


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Sun Oct 19, 2008 9:00 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 5:17 pm
Posts: 203
Location: Ettalong Beach, Central Coast, Australia
Have finished converting an Aunger 4x3 trailer to carry the AI:

Image
AI on trailer. (Front support not completed)
Image
Folding joint to allow trailer to be parked vertically.
Image
Rear view showing aka disconnected from ama.

I am not 100% satisfied with this setup. Because the bottom of the amas and the main hull are not in the same plane, I have had to disconnect the aka. It is easy to place the AI upside down, and I would do that for long distances, but my plan was to make it easy and quick to mount or dismount the kayak. I have yet to try this out, and I will see how it goes in the field. I have also had to partially withdraw the front mounting pins for the akas, to avoid stressing the joint. But I at least have a trailer I can use for general purposes, and one that will fold into a small area in winter, when the AI is attached to the ceiling of my garage.

Geoff.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Oct 21, 2008 9:31 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Fri Sep 19, 2008 4:07 pm
Posts: 405
Location: CLEARWATER, MN
I am putting together a small trailer for my ordered AI (it hasn't arrived yet)...

I noticed that the Hobie 'fibreglas' trailer saddles I bought have an 'orientation' to the rear saddle. The amas will be pointing slightly inward when tucked up against the main hull...

Thanks to 'mmiller' for the Hobie Trailer foto in this topic...it appears that
the rear saddle is oriented so that the amas point inward toward the center facing toward the rear.

Which way do the amas point? Inward towards the rear (as the photo shows) or inward towards the front of the trailer? I may have to rotate the saddle 180 degrees depending on the correct answer.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 1:18 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Thu May 25, 2006 5:17 pm
Posts: 203
Location: Ettalong Beach, Central Coast, Australia
The amas are closest at the back, by a considerable degree. Here is a photo of my AI:

Image
View from front
Image
And from the rear, which seems less pronounced.

I did not use the Hobie cradles, because they are WAY too expensive, and have found that a typical kayak support clings a bit tight to the hull, making it quite hard to orient the AI on the trailer, and certainly impossible to just slide the AI onto my trailer. Also, even though my trailer is not particularly high, its much harder to manage than the Hobie 14 cat trailer I was using previously, which is very close to the ground.

Geoff.


Top
 Profile  
 
 Post subject:
PostPosted: Wed Oct 22, 2008 2:06 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:25 pm
Posts: 2863
Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
G'Day Geoff,
Great work on that trailer! 8) I like the way the drawbar splits. I may have to do that to mine. More pics showing a bit more detail of the connectors would be appreciated.
Did you keep the tilting function? It may make loading the rigged AI easier.


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 43 posts ]  Go to page Previous  1, 2, 3  Next

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Jump to:  
© Hobie Cat Company. All rights reserved.
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group