Aka Collapse

After all the bad weather, I finally got out for another sail yesterday. The weather was still pretty ordinary, with around 4 foot of swell, 15 knot winds and rain squalls - but it was better than it has been

I spent some time about 1km off Mooloolaba trolling, looking for some Tuna/Mackeral and after about 30 minutes I finally saw some birds hovering suspiciously about 500m upwind. I slowly beat up into the wind and swell, making slow progress. I managed to start making on the school and had a few fairly close passes, but no hookups. My next tack was looking to bring me right through the middle, but alas, it was not to be. About 20 metres from the school, the plastic bolt on the windward aka sheered off and the Ama collapsed into the side of the hull. Luckily it was the windward side, otherwise I would have been going for a swim

After furling the sail, I managed to remove the spare pin (just, it was actually quite stubborn) and re-connect everything. By this time, I had drifted quite a way so I gave up on chasing the Tuna. I spend another hour or doing some great sailing, but no fish were to be taken.

Anyway, moral to the story is make sure you always have 2 sets of pliers or spanners to remove the spare Ama bolts, and have your trigger finger ready to release the sail

Must say, I am quite surprised that sailing in moderate conditions caused the bolts to break. I know they are designed to be the weak point if you hit a solid object, but really did not expect the bashing of the waves bring things undone.

riddo - is yours a 2011 model or ????

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Mickey
2016 AI Hibiscus
purchased NEW Nov 2021 - My 5th
Adventure Island Sailing since 2008

I remove the extra shear pin bolts and keep them in my ever-present little tool kit, so it's much less work to change them. Also, if it's an earlier model AI, you have a good chance of losing the brace arm when a shear bolt breaks (unless you leash it) http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=11745&highlight=

Glad everything turned out alright!

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

My TI is a 2010 model, one of the first to arrive in Oz. The brace is fixed to the Aka via a black plastic cord but I think I will run my own cord through it for extra strength.

I agree Bob re removing the bolts and keep in a handy spot. Much easier than trying to remove from the Aka in the heat of the moment.

The 2011 Adventure Islands and Tandem Islands have a split ring holding the spare shear bolt in place. It is much easier to remove and reinstall these on the water with no tools necessary.

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Brendan Castile

More likely they were stressed from other outings... and finally failed.

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

So long as you can recover the broken brace.

KBob's leashing solution is still a great idea. I prefer to keep my bolts in the center hatch.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Riddo:
I always attach a nylon safety line onto the eyelets in the center of each AMA, then over the front of the AKA cross brace (the strongest point on any sailboat is near the mast). It doesn't have to be tight, what it does in the event of the sheer pin breaking (mine has broken twice, not while sailing, but by helpers during docking and landing) keeps the AMA out until you can get control of the boat and make repairs, otherwise if the AMA folds back while under sail you will for sure turtle. It only takes a couple seconds to put on each time you setup, and can be put on with clips so you don't have to tie knots each time. Oh by the way they also keep the AMA's from rattling around, and prevents the AMA's from falling off if a bungie fails while underway.

Here is a pic of the safety line on my TI
Bob

The leash is now standard on the 2011

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Mickey
2016 AI Hibiscus
purchased NEW Nov 2021 - My 5th
Adventure Island Sailing since 2008

These 2011 models seem to have quite a few improvements built in. Ordered my new one today to take advantage of them. I have a quality red 2009 AI on the market if anyone is interested in this area of the world...Pirate

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Master of the galleon 'Pirates Lot'

Hi Bob,

I like your idea of the rope to help keeping the Amas in position until you get a replacement bolt in place.

I managed another Aka collapse last weekend while coming across the bar into the Maroochy river. I ended up riding a small wave in and the TI turned back into the breaking white water. I skipped along sideways for a little while until the shear bolt gave way, the aka collapsed and over she went. I ended up with my leg pinned between the collapsed ama and the kayak for a little while which was concerning.

Anyway, I managed to get out of the bind and after about 5 minutes got the TI back upright (they are not very easy to Right, especially with the sail still deployed). At this point I quickly inserted a cable tie where the bolt goes - it was quicker for me to do this than scramble with a new bolt in the surf zone.

All good experience and I will probably spend more time in the danger zone, just to get more practice at re-Righting.

Surprisingly, I did not end up with any water in the hull so it was nice to know my hatches are sealing well.

Cheers
Paul

When this happened to me the ama did not fold in as I had the tramps deployed and taught. The tramps kept the ama out while I was changing the shear bolt. Love the tramps.

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2010 Hibiscus Adventure Island

Riddo:
Congrats, I think you may be un-officially the first to turtle a TI, I know of no one else ever going over, I have come close a few times in high winds and big waves (30-35mph winds and 4 ft waves, "not out there on purpose") but never went over.
Bob

Ditto.

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Kayak Fishing Specialist: SLH
https://slhobie.com.au