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H18 trailering and hull "deformation?"
http://www.hobie.com/au/en/forums/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=55708		 Page 1 of 1
Author:  SabresfortheCup [ Mon Aug 17, 2015 4:48 pm ]
Post subject:  H18 trailering and hull "deformation?"
I'm curious how others (those of you who race, especially) trailer their H18's. I think I have a decent overall setup, but there are a few things that could perhaps be improved.

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Does anyone tie their boat forward, or use something other than hull straps?

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I strap my boat down to the trailer, both to keep it from sliding back and to keep it from bouncing around, but the slight amount of sliding that does take place is scratching up my newly polished hulls where it rubs against the strap. Best I can figure is to just get a piece of foam, or a couple microfiber cloths between the straps and the hull. I'm also curious if anyone else worries about damaging the hull lip from strapping the boat down?

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My rollers also seem to leave black marks on my hulls at best, or at worst, an actual flat spot on the aft stbd side. However, before this year the rollers/bunkers were not quite centered or parallel to the center of the trailer or each other, so that may have been the cause of it.


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Finally, has anyone seen a hull look like this before? It's usually not visible like that (it's a trick of the lighting angle - and they aren't shadows, but there are definite high spots and low spots. You can feel it, the hull is "wavy" on the side. Seems somewhat exclusive to the stbd bow, outboard side. I have found a few "dimples" elsewhere on my hulls too. I'm not sure if it's an indication that the hull is starting to delaminate, or just a side effect of aging. If it was just visual, I'd say it was from trying to buff out the oxidation. It doesn't feel soft as far as I can tell, just kinda wavy.
Author:  NeubaurRL [ Mon Aug 17, 2015 6:13 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: H18 trailering and hull "deformation?"
I put old tube socks on the side rollers with a cable tie at the bottom to keep it on....no more black spots on the side of the hull and I use 4 tie down straps going around each crossbar down to an eyebolt on the trailer.
Author:  MBounds [ Tue Aug 18, 2015 5:12 am ]
Post subject:  Re: H18 trailering and hull "deformation?"
Strapping the boat down like that is one of the worst things you can do to your boat. Yes, it's easy, simple and quick, but it puts a lot of force on the hulls that they weren't designed to take, especially if you ratchet them down really tight.

A four-point system attached to the crossbars works best. Hobie sells a kit (P/N 1794 for the 18) that includes four straps and mounting hardware which includes stainless steel clips that you pop-rivet to the inner deck lip.
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I didn't like the clips (caught my PFD on one once and had a had time getting on the boat), so I went with loops of line around the crossbeams.
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Here's the full system in use on my 14:
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The tricky things about this system are 1) The strap should not touch the hull at all, so the transverse angle needs to be fairly wide, and 2) the front / rear strap angles should oppose each other - either both angled in or angled out so that the boat can't slide forward or back.

When I carry my 17 on the 14 trailer (it's lighter > less wind resistance > burns less gas on a long trip), the straps can't oppose each other due to the trailer geometry. Then I tie a "preventer" line from the center of the front crossbar to the rear trailer crossbeam to keep the boat from sliding forward.

It all works very well and I have yet to have any hull damage from straps or rollers in many tens of thousands of miles of trailering.
Author:  SabresfortheCup [ Tue Aug 18, 2015 7:11 am ]
Post subject:  Re: H18 trailering and hull "deformation?"
Thanks Matt!

I had heard that the straps are ill-advised, but I hadn't really seen a good alternative. I didn't realize that Hobie's kit did not use straps over the hulls. That looks like a much better way of securing the boat!
Author:  srm [ Tue Aug 18, 2015 5:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: H18 trailering and hull "deformation?"
+1 on the 4 corners setup.

I use four lengths of rope. Each rope gets wrapped around the crossbar two times at each corner between the hull and the tramp (be sure not to wrap around the dolphin striker rod on the front crossbar). Then the line is tied to a bracket (4 total) on the trailer frame using a trucker's hitch. The brackets are located so that the lines in the front pull slightly backwards and the lines in back pull slightly forward. Since switching to this system, the boat does not budge on the trailer.

sm
Author:  wscotterwin [ Wed Aug 19, 2015 11:33 am ]
Post subject:  Re: H18 trailering and hull "deformation?"
SabresfortheCup wrote:
Finally, has anyone seen a hull look like this before?


Yes. The "Cellulite" as I call it, is sometimes the beginning of delam. It will be more brittle in that area for sure. In my opinion (and others will disagree with me), the blue boats are the worst for this (Based on how many I have taken to the dump). I believe they soak up more heat which causes the damage.

Doesn't mean it isn't seaworthy. Sail it.....
Author:  SabresfortheCup [ Wed Aug 19, 2015 7:33 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: H18 trailering and hull "deformation?"
Thanks wscotterwin, that's kinda what I was afraid of. I'll still sail it plenty, but I guess I'll have to keep an eye on that area for potential soft spots.
Author:  aaronp [ Wed Oct 21, 2015 2:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: H18 trailering and hull "deformation?"
No problem with black marks here because I slip 24" lengths of pvc pipe on the side rollers to extend them upwards for launch/recovery, they work well on really steep ramps with murky water when it is hard to see the rear of the trailer.
Author:  0rion85 [ Sat Mar 26, 2016 12:42 am ]
Post subject:  Re: H18 trailering and hull "deformation?"
No racer , just got my Hobie
I use two long ratchet straps crossing in center of tramp hooked to eye bolts on trailer. After I dropped the mast And broke step rivets, boat wasn't strapped "down." I added two 2x4s to the sides of my storage box, to act as boat stops. I also cross drilled the striker and pinned in below the crossbar, removeing all tension load from the rivets.
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