Hobie Islands - Insights for New Owners

I think it might be good karma to kick off a thread for new Island Owners to view the trial/error purchases and experiences of those who have worn in their AI/TI. I'll start it off.

- When I purchased the TI I ordered these tackle trays that go in the 2 hatches http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b19/apalach/RevoTackle1449.jpg. After a few trips I found that they just get in the way and collect salt water. Any hooks or lures you have in there just end up rusting out. I guess you could drill small drainage holes in the bottom. But I find that I just stuff my tackle in the side pockets already built in to the Hobie.

- Tramps. When I purchased the TI I ordered tramps along with it. This seemed like a no brainer especially since some of the time I would be with my kids. I later came across this post on Hakas and built my own out of cypress http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=37645&start=75 I personally like Hakas much better and so do my kids. I don't even know where my tramps are now.

- I bought this livewell that fits snuggly in the back of the TI https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVBEfJqLdBo It's a pretty cool design, but I have mixed feelings about it. It doesn't function well at all with the line you have going from the sail to the stern. Also when Im fishing most of the action is around the forward seat and the Hakas. I like using that back area for random stuff water, sunscreen, tackle etc. On the TI I dont like going back there to get live bait. Even though I own this livewell I actually prefer to go out with a $10 trolling bait bucket and use it if I decide to throw the castnet for live bait.

- On my TI a push pole gets used all the time. I love this one http://www.austinkayak.com/products/9099/YakAttack-ParkNPole-Stakeout-Pole-8-ft.html

- Railblaza stuff works great on the Islands.

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"Not everyone who wanders is lost." - Tolkien

I got a couple of those tackle buckets with my used Revo 13 but I don't fish (yet ), and they were too small for things I would like to keep safe, nearby and dry ( at least not submerged ) like keys, camera, phone, etc. They didn't seem strong enough to support much weight just hanging in the hatch and the lids are difficult to remove and replace. So I bought a dime store plastic bucket that fits the hatch diameter and cut the rim off so it is tall enough to rest on the hull and stay centered within the hatch opening. I glued some edge covering on the top rim where I had cut the rim of the bucket off and added a paracord handle with a carabiner on it to clip things to and make it easier to pull the bucket out. Not having a lid, water tends to accumulate in the bucket when I open the hatch and I think my hatch O-ring may need to be replaced. So I decided that keeping things mostly dry was better than dealing with a lid inside the hatch and punched several 1/2" holes in the bucket bottom and added a piece of thin plastic grid to the inside of the bucket for things to sit on. I have used this a few times and like that it keeps things close by and easy to get to without needing both hands to remove and replace a lid.
Not satisfied with the above I purchased one of the Hobie deep buckets. I thought it needed more support on the bottom so I cut a piece of high density foam to fit between the bucket and hull and glued it to the bottom of the bucket with contact cement. Now the bottom feels solid and the rim rests in the hatch, an improvement over my bucket. I'm about to drill holes in the bucket, abandon the lid and maybe add a paracord handle. I think keeping things mostly dry works better for me because my phone is in a waterproof case anyway. The foam on the bottom of the bucket gives it space to drain unless I get 3" of water in the hull.

Wow, all this about a silly bucket !

I'm curious how others corral things in the hull. I never know where my first aid kit,bilge pump, anchor, throw bag etc. might be after sliding around in the hull. I've been thinking that divers mesh bags might be helpful or maybe some kind of soft porous internal bulkhead to keep stuff near the hatches ?

Chris

Awesome thread! As a soon to be new owner, I appreciate all the information I can gather. Love to see how in depth this page will go. Thanks in advance

I used to keep stuff in the hull, unattached and like you I never knew where it would end up. Then one outing I found out, when my spectra line snapped after the emergency paddle I had stored in the hull slide up against the line in heavy seas and left me unable to turn right. After my beach landing, more like crashing.....I decided to attach the emergency items to the lip edge of the hatch, much the same way Hobie attaches the extra rudder pin in the rear hatch. A few small holes, SS hasps and my bilge pump, emergency tools, safety kit, telescoping paddles are attached to clips and bungees no longer able to smash into important internal lines and I know which hatch to look for which items.

I too bought the buckets and have since stopped using them entirely. The lids just don't go back on the way I like when rocking and rolling.

I like PFD with pockets for the stuff I use all the time.

I don't use the tramps very often, the haka does seem like a better alternative, if they have some cushions

I have a TI and the paddles supplied by Hobie are not as useful as a long handle, large square blade paddle.


I used this to crash/steer into the beach, to help land the boat to the ramp, as a push pole and to act as a long arm to reach strapping under the trailer at the end of the day. I wish Hobie would provide this kind of paddle instead.

I just got the Hobie Seat cushion to add to the seat. This gets me out of the water a bit more, not entirely.

I love this darn boat, best fun.

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https://www.flickr.com/photos/a8cmg/
https://www.youtube.com/user/mastery415/videos

Those gear buckets are not suited for stored lures, especially on Islands (wet ride) They are, however, very useful for storing lures that you have used and then snipped off. Those lures are already wet, you need a place to put them, and back with the dry tackle is the wrong place. As long as you remove the lures at the end of a trip, no harm will come to them.

Also on gear buckets... I don't use the lid. The hatch lid is lid enough for me, because as you've found out, water gets into the gear buckets anyway

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

I like this thread, maybe we should call it Re-boot, Repeat for newbies ?
I have found that a lot of useful pictures are no longer available from folks like SunESailor. It would be very nice if Hobie would look into hosting pictures so that valuable information is not lost. I have no idea whether this is practical or not. Just a wish.

Broken Spectra Lines:
I had to replace the spectra line on my steering and Twist-n-Stow rudder (Revo 13). The Hobie instructions say to remove the tubing that the lines run in. Instead, I found that I could easily push a thin piece of wire through the tubing and tape the spectra to it on the other end. I used 26 gauge buss wire for electronics which is just a thin solid wire. It worked very well and I was able to use single continuous lengths of spectra rather than tying little jumper loops inside the boat to make the connections. I'm assuming the AI/TI also have the internal tubing since I don't have mine yet.

Destination Shelter:
I was looking for something I could take along on the boat that I could use to get out of the sun when stopping to rest or have lunch. I found this thing called a "sport-brella" (sport-brella.com), purchased the small one which is 4 Ft long folded and used it for the first time yesterday. It's essentially an umbrella with a couple of side flaps, zip up mesh windows, extendable pole. You just set it on the ground and sit in it's shade. It comes with some small tent stakes but I think I will replace them with some squares of heavy fabric with a grommet in the corner and just pile rocks or sand on them and carabiner to the umbrella. Despite some negative reviews of it being too flimsy I like the ease of use and versatility of this thing and it wasn't difficult to just bungee it to my boat for transport. The framework is mild steel and though they are recommended for beach use it might require some extra care for constant salt water use.

Chris

Well about the gear buckets, I use the deep one, I have found out the opposite.
If I use the gear bucket lid and close the gear bucket thoroughly, there will be no water in the gear bucket.
(But the Hobie twist & lock hatch leaks water, or at every time you open it one or two spoons of water passes into the hull.)

But my main advice is to check the front hatch (Adventure and Tandem Islands).
We are several with experience of heavily leaking front hatches.
Not all are leaking but a lot and some more than acceptable.

best regards
thomas

Chris's comment about the Sportbrella reminded me. I bought this a while back - http://www.austinkayak.com/products/9113/WindPaddle-Kayak-Bimini-Shade.html?gclid=CjwKEAjwhqShBRDS95LciqqaonISJADj1rga47Lzr0YtvtBpXFhLwqGGHfZpOPXdVzZfKz0T-4DyVxoCWZzw_wcB

Newbie mistake. Definitely not meant for an Island. I've found anyway that the Hobie being a wet ride and with the sail being up you are out of the sun part of the time anyway. Easy to stay cool. I think if I start bottom fishing from the TI then I will revisit the shade issue but now I mainly troll so there's a constant breeze. Even mid day, July, South Louisiana, the sun doesn't bother me. I have a sportbrella also and love it on the beach.

Chris

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"Not everyone who wanders is lost." - Tolkien

We have a sport brella that we use for soccer games. It works pretty good as a quick rain shelter too.

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2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

• Trampolines
• Hobie cover
• Davis Spar Fly
• Kayakbob's Sprayskirts
• Spine Board Hakas

Came across this on youtube the other day. Might be a good shade idea.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tBpLkX7Ti5g

http://tente.quechua.com/en/tent/r-5,a- ... nds-0.html

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2015 Hobie TI Dune

Watching people folding up those pop-up shelters can be so entertaining
We have a shower tent which is similar in that it goes up in seconds then
entertains the whole caravan park when we try and fold it up.

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Cheers, Brian in South Australia
Tandem Island -

X2. Thanks to all the AI/TI owners willing to help the newbies out.

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2015 Hobie TI Dune

Anytime Im about to beach the Hobie or approach shallow water (<2 feet) I remember Mr. C.

M - Mirage Drive
R - Rudder
C - Centerboard

Those 3 things have to be up or you are likely to damage or snap something. It's especially helpful to remember Mr. C after you have been out all day in the sun and your brain is fried. One time I had been out all day and brought my TI up to the beach. I then started dragging it ashore. It was near impossible. I checked the Centerborad and it was up, rudder up, nothing catching it on the bottom. This time I put more muscle into it. Bad idea of course. I left the rear Mirage drive in. For some reason I was just dehydrated and out of it and only checked the rudder in the back. The Hobie was fine but I bent the Mirage Drive.

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"Not everyone who wanders is lost." - Tolkien

For the newbie remember in high wind 15 knots + it's easy to want to get as much speed as possible so there is a tendency of letting the sail unfurled (I have been guilty of this) usually there is too much pressure on the rudder and guess what! Here goes another rudder pin breakage. So now I learn to furl the sail and adjust it in relation to the wind speed and not having to fight with water helm anymore. And can still enjoy a fun ride in heavy wind.
Dan

Just curious, as high winds are rare around here, but Is it weather helm (pointing up into the wind) or lee helm (bearing off away from the wind) that your talking about, and is this for the TI or AI? I wouldn't be surprised if they behave quite differently

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Simon