tpdavis473 wrote:
KayakingBob wrote:
About Hobie Islands and tramps: When the Hobie Tramps came out, the first week after arrival in Hawaii, two different AI's flipped in normal gusty winds here.
OK, here's the problem with reporting hearsay and why it's not allowed in court...we don't know the circumstances, in HI, it is much more likely that surf caused the flips than wind under the tramps. Did the tramps scoop up the water and drain too slow? We don't know...maybe the dumb owners were on the leeward tramp....we just don't know. Is it coincidence that the flips occurred when the tramps first came out...we just don't know. I DO know that when I asked Ian Farrier about changing the porosity of my tramps on my F242, he just laughed at me.
We can argue about the cause, but, if there are capsizes after the tramps came out, that did not occur before tramps, that is making a simple factual statement, and it has consequences.
There are 2 things that are going to happen when you have tramps that do not happen w/o tramps. (1) The
windward tramp catches wind on the underside lifting the windward side. Those of you who have never used tramps just have to go out a few times with tramps on windy days--you will notice the difference. (2) Once the boat with tramps starts to heel significantly, e.g., in a gust of wind, the
leeward ama and tramp are driven under water. There is the danger that the submerged tramp will "trip" the boat resulting in a sideways capsize.
On behalf of tramps, Stringy has made the argument that they make the boat safer,
provided you hike out on the tramps. I have no disagreement with that statement. Since I often sail solo, I do not like to hike out for fear of falling out and losing my boat.
Keith