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Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....
http://www.hobie.com/au/en/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=13423
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Author:  clayking [ Sun Aug 02, 2009 4:17 pm ]
Post subject:  Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....

Before I bought two hobie Outbacks, I had several friends tell me not to do it. But with my shoulder problems I decided to go with the drive.

I'm beginning to think my friends were right. One hull replaced as the pedals scrap the side of the hull in the 7 hole. Replacement not much better. I'm learning to adjust to crappy engineering/design/production. Not the way I should be able to pedal, but how I HAVE TO PEDAL.

Now my wife's seat will not more stay in the holes. No use pounding in the pegs, the space is too large. Tape doesn't work, on the pegs or in the hole. The fixes are all fixes that individuals come up with, ie, sticky tape, what a joke. No real Hobie fix, they don't seem to have any, or there would not be so many complaints about this problem. Band-aid fixes. Wow, that's quality.

Guess I'm off to the dealer once again. Had these kayaks for less than 4 months and have had more problems than my 5 year old car..............oh, yea, the rudder keeps screwing up too.

hobie? Not impressed.........................ck

Author:  ElementAI [ Sun Aug 02, 2009 7:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....

Are You Serious!!! I have had mine, a Dealer Demo since NOV of "08 and zero problems like that. My seat pegs are in the holes so tight sometimes I think I will tear my seat getting them out. I just use my thumb to put them in there. Drive is flawless. You must have the worst luck in the world or something. Hope that is a good dealer as I am sure they will get it right.
My Friends are scraping every penny they can to get a Hobie after trying mine. Best money I have spent in a long long time. And I have complete confidence that if I did have a problem.... Hobie would make it right. I know I am not alone on this one.
Don't put off those who may be trolling these forums till they get their own fun machine.

Author:  ET Hobie guy [ Sun Aug 02, 2009 7:32 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....

I have owned the original Hobie Mirage classic for a number of years now. Never had a moments trouble and everything is still great. I think it is about 7 years old now......maybe older.

Author:  BNelsonR [ Sun Aug 02, 2009 8:09 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....

clayking,
You don't have you location in your profile so we don't know if there is anyone close that can help. Or who your dealer is.
I have 2 mirage drive Hobies and both are great kayaks. Yes, Hobie did replace my hull because of a crack in the drive well. They changed the design to prevent this from happening. That is all one can ask for.
I don't know what to say to help you. I have been reading this forum over 2 years. There is a lot of good information here. People that have problems do get help here & resolve the problem.
I read you past postings, trying to get a handle on it. Sounds like you have had the problem from the start. There must be a reason for it that can be resolved otherwise there would be many others with the same problem & that doesn't seem to be the case.
Maybe someone can remember seeing the problem & the solution in the past and pass it along to you.
Hang in there. With you shoulder problem the Mirage drive is the answer as it was for my wife.

Bruce

Author:  clayking [ Mon Aug 03, 2009 11:26 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....

Went to the dealer this morning. The owner wasn't there but the two youngsters who are there all the time, just gave me a new seat. It appears that the pegs can go flat or wear down (too new for that however). He tried my wife's in two other new kayaks and neither worked either. But then they never did stay in very well from the git-go..........so, new seat is good to go......for now.

With a new product, I don't expect makeshift fixes, like tape, or kitchen paper, or dowels.....the product should work as sold. When worn out from use, a replacement part to make it good as new. I understand that. So far, my dealer has been great, the trips to the dealer cost me every time however, this time had to buy st fins...........hmmmm, maybe that's the deal, each trip to the dealer I seem to buy something.........................ck

Author:  mmiller [ Mon Aug 03, 2009 12:01 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....

Quote:
With a new product, I don't expect makeshift fixes, like tape, or kitchen paper, or dowels.....the product should work as sold.


We would certainly agree. We also want it to work as designed. If that were always the case... there would be no need for warranty. We do strive for perfection, but manufacturing in mass is difficult to say the least. Just watch the news for the latest major recalls to Ford, Honda and others. We'll keep trying!

Author:  clayking [ Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:46 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....

mmiller wrote:
Quote:
With a new product, I don't expect makeshift fixes, like tape, or kitchen paper, or dowels.....the product should work as sold.


We would certainly agree. We also want it to work as designed. If that were always the case... there would be no need for warranty. We do strive for perfection, but manufacturing in mass is difficult to say the least. Just watch the news for the latest major recalls to Ford, Honda and others. We'll keep trying!


If you think about the cost comparison of a Hobie Kayak to a car, ie. a Honda CRV ($21,000) then Hobie's should have longer warranties and cost less, and with only a few working parts compared to the thousands in a car, should have a zero tolerance for problems, especially one of seat stability. Hobie's not an inexpensive product at 10% of the value of a new car and it should have near perfection for years to come.

I would think, I can come up with several solutions to this problem of the pegs not sticking as they should. I'm certainly not the first to experience this problem as there are numerous "jack-leg" solutions posted in attempts to solve this issue. A simple series of snap buttons would be an upgrade to sticking rubber pegs in a hole or a push and twist locking system.

This is not a mass production problem, it is a design & engineering flaw. Fix it with a better idea....................ck

Author:  mmiller [ Mon Aug 03, 2009 3:36 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....

clayking wrote:
Fix it with a better idea....................ck


Its a production tolerance and also seat design-change problem. Was not a problem for many years.

Just a bit of history on this. The original boats had seats that were attached with screws. Not adjustable fore and aft and were not removable. We went to the pegs as a feature change. They worked well for many years. The problem started with a different vendor for the seats. So, yes... a production problem on a good idea.

Rest assured we are working on a solution. I hope to have more information soon.

Author:  clayking [ Mon Aug 03, 2009 7:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....

Quote:
The problem started with a different vendor for the seats.


For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction...........................ck

Author:  mmiller [ Tue Aug 04, 2009 9:00 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....

clayking wrote:
For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction...........................ck


What we say is... "No good deed goes unpunished."

Author:  dsarchangel [ Thu Aug 06, 2009 6:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....

I have a Revolution. Are the seats adjustable/removeable? I tried to remove the seat hard when I picked it up, as seats in previously owned (non Hobie) kayaks needed to be removed for car topping, but the dealer said not to. Mine is an e808 production so I wonder why others would want or need to be removed. The only problem I have with the seat is a sore butt after a few hours (probably a butt problem more than a seat problem). I have never heard of any complaints from any of my Hobie owning kayaking friends that could be attributed poor design or production so far and hope you get your problems resolved soon.

Author:  mmiller [ Thu Aug 06, 2009 9:04 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....

Any Revolution would have the current seat pegs system. Unless glued in... should be removable and adjustable fore and aft.

Author:  clayking [ Thu Aug 06, 2009 12:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....

Quote:
I have never heard of any complaints from any of my Hobie owning kayaking friends that could be attributed poor design or production so far and hope you get your problems resolved soon.


The dealer gave me a new seat for replacement, it works fine. Wife said it was the first time since ownership that she did not cast and slide.............

Now, if I could just find a better fishing hole..........

Author:  Gurkman [ Thu Aug 06, 2009 12:18 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....

I guess some people are just never happy.

Author:  BNelsonR [ Thu Aug 06, 2009 2:21 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Beginning to think my friends were right about hobie....

Quote:
The only problem I have with the seat is a sore butt after a few hours (probably a butt problem more than a seat problem).


dsarchangel,
You might want to purchase a iConfort seat from Hobie. It sure solved my "butt problem".
I put it over the original seat but found I didn't like the added height. So I use the iConfort seat by itself.
Much better. There are other posts that said it was an improvement.

Bruce

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