Good news regarding the new 2017 Tandem islands

I've had a Hobie island since 2007 and one of the most annoying problems can be the leaky front bow hatch. The first thing I noticed while puttering around my new 2017 TI was the front hatch had a completely different feel to it. The seal felt tight and snug. Over the years I've tried many things with limited success to stop the water from sneaking into the hatch but this just might be the winning solution.

Sure enough, Matt acknowledged "We reworked all of the hatches and tooling for better fit." I'm not sure if this also applies to the Adventure Island.

Sorry if this was mentioned before but I didn't hear anything about hatches being reworked. I can't wait to test it in heavy seas.

Jim

Confirmed. my new AI is a lot drier than the old model.

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Sale: 12Ah/15Ah Lithium Battery
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index ... #msg959037

If this is true then Hobie owes the fix to everyone who filed a warranty claim with their dealer on the leaking front hatch. I did several times on my now one month out of warranty 2015 TI. I am still waiting for a fix.

Excellent, glad to hear it ! The Hobie island line just keeps getting better and better.

It is an improvement... not a "fix". There are lots of things mentioned in forums that will help make a better sealing hatch. Best is trimming the flange to a tighter tolerance. There is no Hobie kit or instructions about it though.

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

Thanks for the info Jim. Has the TI bow deck area been updated as well?
I was hoping for a reworked stronger bow deck similar to the AI2 (top pic). Note how the gunwale rails extend much further forward on the AI2. The TI could do with this improvement to reduce the bow flexing that contributes to hatch leaking.

As the '17 models are really a '16 design is this a possible improvement on the '18 models Matt?

No planned changes to the TI or AI bows, deck, hatches in 2018.

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

Just an observation.
My buddy has the 2015 AI, his front hatch sit taller than the bow a bit .5-1"
I have 2016 AI, mine flush with the bow.

_________________
Sale: 12Ah/15Ah Lithium Battery
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index ... #msg959037

You have a 2016 tech? Well I also have a 2016 AI and have had major front hatch leakage episodes in rough seas. But this new TI 2017 hatch feels nothing at all like the 2016 or earlier models.
The bow on the TI (other than the hatch) doesn't seem like it changed. So there may still be flexing.

I'll be out with 2 or 3 other TI's this weekend .... good for comparison.

Jim

Thanks for the reply Matt.
I'm interested to know whether the later TI's have a stronger bow deck than my '10 TI?
It's the one disappointment I had when changing from AI to TI. I could no longer exit by standing on the bow deck. In fact you can't even sit on a TI bow deck without risk of distortion/collapse.
I was hoping that with the reverse bow upgrade the TI would get the same deck upgrade the AI2 got but that didn't happen.
Please Hobie, consider this improvement in a future TI upgrade!