My new Eclipse observations

Recently taking delivery of my new Eclipse, I wanted to share some engineering observations and notes:

Firstly, this is a real fun platform! And deceivingly more of a workout that it appears!
Been able to cruise at 4 miles an hour, peaks of 6 to 7mph. (I use MAP MY WALK app for metrics)


Tecnical notes:

The handle bars have some small play in the socket, noticably when peddling and the board torques left and right. Thought of "shimming" the injection molded end to fit tighter into the socket. I can't be sure what the interfacing material is in the board. Appears to be a white foam like material that has a black paint over it. Some small scratches expose these white spots. So, some small concern when a long lever (the approx. 4 foot long handlebars) is constanly cycled in the socket. Hope this has a hidden reinforcement structure.

These "scratched" spots also appear in the Mirage drive cavity that has a soft material feel. Small concern for the durability of the mounting of the drive latch coiled over center springs that have one end inserted into this black material. Seems the sharp corners on the underside corners of the drive cavity are getting chipped, as careful as I have been with this board. It rarely touches the sand, I carry it from the water to the astro turf in the back of my truck.

Referring to SailScott and rickGator's comments about scratches, the coating on this board does seem to be easily abbraded. Must be super careful while handling, and Do Not bump it into anything! Too bad Hobie has not released the Eclipse board bag yet...

Also, the Mirage drive cables that terminate the chain are very loose for the front fin. I am putting little force on this in the photo.



Unable to adjust the chain tension because the threaded end is already at the limit of adjustment.



If Hobie can respond to how to adjust it would be helpful. Thought of removing a link from the chain but this would throw off the center position of the fin, two links would have to be removed and re-riveted.

To summarize, I am really enjoying the Eclipse, must treat it as a fragile object, unlike the kayaks. I would like to adjust the big play out of the Mirage drive cable. Going to "shim" the handle bar socket to make the connection tighter to prevent cycling fatigue.

Enjoy!

_________________
Wil Thoms
Newport Beach

Hobie 16 with Tequila Sunrise sails (in the past)
Hobie Revo 11 for peddle, paddle, fishing and sailing
Hobie Eclipse 10.5 Solar Yellow
SurfTech 12' Touring SUP

Wil:

quote: "Also, the Mirage drive cables that terminate the chain are very loose for the front fin. I am putting little force on this in the photo."

On the mirage drive of my Tandem Island I had a similar issue (ran out of travel on the chain/cable adjusters). What I did was just put washers under the nuts, to give me a little more adjustment. However unfortunately my root problem was the cable was in the process of giving out (only in my case), and snapped a few days later. In your circumstance it's likely your cables are just fine (mine were 4 yrs old). but the solution can be the same, just add a few washers to increase the adjustment.
Just a suggestion
FE

Hi fusioneng,

I initially thought of the same thing with the washers, but the cable is already butted up against the plastic cam with no further travel. I thought of drilling the thru hole open to allow the cable to pull thru, but the better solution is a cable that has the right length and can be properly adjausted without modifying the plastic cam.

Thanks for your input!

_________________
Wil Thoms
Newport Beach

Hobie 16 with Tequila Sunrise sails (in the past)
Hobie Revo 11 for peddle, paddle, fishing and sailing
Hobie Eclipse 10.5 Solar Yellow
SurfTech 12' Touring SUP

The chains are tensioned to get the fins tucked up against the hull. One is maxed out and the opposite is near max loose as I understand.

The socket is tapered, so maybe the handle bar is not fully seated?

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Matt,

I can hear a "click" when I insert the handlebar into the socket and it bottoms out. I then rotate the latch until it snaps at the 90 degree position.

It feels tight in the static position, but when I peddle, it moves fractionally left and right. I used electrical tape as a temp shim and it eliminated the play temporarily. The adhesive on the tape allowed the tape to migrate easily so this was not a permanent fix. I will verify seating position with clay dots at the bottom to confirm that the handlebar is inserted all the way to the bottom.

I have tried different methods of "loading" the bars while peddling by pulling back or pushing forward to see if this varies the play, and it works to some degree. Is there a structure around the socket to support the handlebar?

Thank you for your response!

_________________
Wil Thoms
Newport Beach

Hobie 16 with Tequila Sunrise sails (in the past)
Hobie Revo 11 for peddle, paddle, fishing and sailing
Hobie Eclipse 10.5 Solar Yellow
SurfTech 12' Touring SUP

For sure a plastic receiver supported by fiberglass.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

I have also found some side-to-side play in the handlebars when I am moving fast. I am sure it is seated correctly.
Also, my left drive post shifts to the right under the pedal on upward foot movement.
Should aft edge of fins be separated or fixed together? Mine are separated - not sure if they were like this at beginning, or if they have separated from use.
Yes, the Eclipse has a very tender outer surface and I have gotten a few scratches and abrasions, even at the rudder - when I kick up the rudder the back edge has scraped off some of the hull blue color just outside the rudder circle. Perhaps in future design a channel can be indented to prevent the rudder from touching the hull in kick up position?
Overall I LOVE Zip (yes, I've named my Eclipse!) after 7 weeks of using a minimum of 5 days/week I have dropped significant tonnage and am feeling terrific.
I hope all of you enjoy your Eclipse, too.

_________________
Granny Pirate
Hobie Mirage Eclipse
10.5 Lunar named ZIP

Hi GAGranny,

I think there is no importance to the separated trailing edges, under peddle power, the fins are moving sideways and the edges will collapse together.

As far as the drive posts shifting, I have noticed a lot more shifting of the gray cams the arms are attached to from side to side, compared to my Revolution Mirage drive. Think it is the 90 degree arm angle, or just more shaft tolerance in the tolerances in the newer drives.

I thinkI will fab and intall a strip to protect the board bottom from the folded fin.

Agree this is great fun!

Enjoy

_________________
Wil Thoms
Newport Beach

Hobie 16 with Tequila Sunrise sails (in the past)
Hobie Revo 11 for peddle, paddle, fishing and sailing
Hobie Eclipse 10.5 Solar Yellow
SurfTech 12' Touring SUP

Today I noticed the "pins" that hold the black plastic base on the vertical part of the handlebar had loosened a bit. I just squeezed them back together and there wasn't as much play on the handlebar... So I don't think the problem is one of seating handlebar correctly on the hull, but with the attachment of the base and handlebar.
Just my little opinion. Also, I noticed there was some dry yellow material (foam? insulation? stuff) coming out between this black plastic base and the vertical part of the handlebar. Maybe that contributes to the "play?"

_________________
Granny Pirate
Hobie Mirage Eclipse
10.5 Lunar named ZIP

I took my handlebars back to dealer. Rivets holding plastic base onto vertical part of handlebars became loose. I had to leave it for repairs. Hobie supposed to send replacement rivets.
How about sending me a replacement handlebar so I won't miss the weekend? Dealer in Dawsonville, GA would not loan me handlebars from his last remaining Eclipse. Bummer.
If the rivet fix doesn't work, can I get a new handlebar?
Or maybe just a whole new black plastic base for it?
Thanks for any info.

_________________
Granny Pirate
Hobie Mirage Eclipse
10.5 Lunar named ZIP

This is a simple fix, hopefully the dealer can do it quickly for you.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

It's been a week and I'm still waiting! Could I have gotten rivets from a hardware store? Is this a repair I could have done myself?

_________________
Granny Pirate
Hobie Mirage Eclipse
10.5 Lunar named ZIP

Hi GaGranny,

Yes, you could have brought the handle bar assembly to your hardware store, and after determining if they are alum or stainless rivets (I'll guess alum, maybe 3/16"...) and which size after "carefully" drilling out the loose rivet, could have gotten a cheap rivet gun and a box of rivets for about $30. Of course you may never need the rivet gun again but when time matters, you can do it yourself!!!

Youtube link: https://youtu.be/WPwNsQMnx88

Enjoy!

_________________
Wil Thoms
Newport Beach

Hobie 16 with Tequila Sunrise sails (in the past)
Hobie Revo 11 for peddle, paddle, fishing and sailing
Hobie Eclipse 10.5 Solar Yellow
SurfTech 12' Touring SUP

Stainless rivets, but I think there may be epoxy involved as well.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Thanks for the info Matt.

_________________
Wil Thoms
Newport Beach

Hobie 16 with Tequila Sunrise sails (in the past)
Hobie Revo 11 for peddle, paddle, fishing and sailing
Hobie Eclipse 10.5 Solar Yellow
SurfTech 12' Touring SUP