THE HAKA BENCH SEAT - AN ALTERNATIVE TO TRAMPS

They look very strong Stringy. Have you had a chance to weigh them? I'm curious what the weight is compared to the wood ones.


Chris, I kind of disagree with you there. If you're going to be camping on an AI, it seems much more logical to have your setup out on the akas because you will have a lot of gear with you and you will need a place to put it while camping. If you camp over the hull then you've effectively just lost all your storage space and it also rules out bringing a cooler with you. Hakas over akas provide a level platform and will support you just fine while camping. I find no buoyancy problems like some thought.

That's a fair point Jim, but there's no reason why the hakas have to project back over the rear luggage area, where most gear would be stowed. 7' long hakas would seem to be adequate to support a tent or bivvy (Stringy's are 8'). They could easily sit with the stern end resting just over the rear crossbar and the bow end projecting about 2' over the front crossbar, provided the mast was stepped. I take your point that you have found no buoyancy issues with both hakas out over the akas (I can't comment - it was Dogslife who said he had had problems). Given that he now has the capacity to do it either way, maybe Stringy will do a comparison and share his experiences.

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Jim,
The wider 375mm platform weighs just under 8kgs and the narrower 320mm just under 7kgs. They are both 2.3m (7' 6-1/2") long. That is with 9mm marine ply as a platform and no slots. The 6mm ply is 20% lighter so if that works they should weigh around 6.5kg and 5.5kg. I should be able to get that weight down with a bit of tweaking (cutting slots, tapering the ladder ends, cutting more holes in the ladder strings etc. Just have to see what's worth doing for the benefits.
I take your point about their position for camping but I find I empty the round hatches first of gear. We carry all our bivvy's, sleeping mats, sleeping bags etc in one large doubled drybag stored on a tramp.
The front hatch is still accessible. Ultimately I have a 4 platform system in mind for the TI and that would be centred over the hull.
BTW- That haka table looks great!

Not quite. I gave you a bum steer originally with 2.4m. Each section is 2.3m (7' 6+1/2")

Chris,
You can count on that!

Stringy, the other thing to consider is the way the akas rake upwards from the crossbars. If you are considering a 4 haka platform, it may still be worth straddling the gunwales with a piece of timber at either end, so that you will have a flat platform.

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Any way you wanna hang your Hakas is good. I'm luvin the variety.

And we have a couple new converts,.. Topher and his lovely bride.





Making history as the first Hobie sailor to hang ten on a Haka?

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Thanks Stringy. Looks like the weight with the aluminum frame is pretty similar to the other the designs. Yes, if you use a tramp, the gear problem is solved but being a haka purist, I no longer use tramps. Although the wife likes sitting on tramps and hasn't tried the hakas yet. I was out on my boat in excellent wind on Sunday and used hakas all day to fly. What an exhilarating ride.

All sorts of hakas in your group. I see racing Hakas (3 slat version) as well as some expedition hakas (4 slat). And of course the surfing hakas

Those pictures are beautiful NOHUHU ! When I win the lotto I'm having my private jet fly us and our AI to Hawaii for a sail.

NOHUHU,

Great pic's! We had an absolute blast out there. Thank You, for showing us the bay this was our best trip out yet. It affirms that this is an investment in a life time of great memories.

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2012 Red Hibiscus Tandem Island

Amen and Aloha. Had a great time!

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Yes Jim, the ply weighs as much as the ladder!
I'm still searching for a suitable aluminium mesh/expanded metal that might span the rungs OK.
Those timber haka do look much better than my more...er...industrial design haka!

Stringy, someone's got to take us into the 21st century,..

One thing about the wood models, they bend and flex. If you build them real light, they flex A LOT!

That spring makes the ride more comfortable - and sometimes helps to launch you, on a bumpy day.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Yeah, I'm thinking Nida-Core or something. I have a couple of old, broken surfboards. Those have foam inside. Maybe I can make foam planks and then glass them?

If people are so keen to use materials other than timber, 90 x 25mm rectangular profile aluminium tube is available. That's about the same dimensions as the timber decking boards I used for mine. It weighs from 0.492 to 0.792 kg per lineal metre. depending on the wall thickness. You could use 25 x 25mm tube for the crossbraces and any aluminium fabricator could weld it up for you. Just a thought.
http://www.hcaluminium.com.au/products/ ... ular-tube/

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We've discussed this. Why not?

Seriously, you could just strap a couple SUPs on there and have built-in ATV's/escape pods.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Gotta love this forum! There was Chrisj's clever effort with the aluminium extension ladder hakas, and then Abisail12 over in Europe comes up with al alternative, using double-wall polycarbonate panelling!

So I hightailed it to my local Bunnings hardware store (Oz's Lowes). Being a clydesdale (eg fat bastard) I also discovered a heavier duty 8 foot extension ladder with a 150kg load rating (compared to the 100kg rating of the one Chrisj used). This is priced at $A189


My initial enquiries show that a sheet of 700mm wide, 8mm deep and 1.8 metre long polycarbonate panel can be bought for under $A100


So it is theoretically possible to put together two strong aluminium hakas with clear polycarbonate bench material (although there are 4-5 different shades available) for under $A300, which I reckon is nicer (as well as cheaper) than tramps

Thanks guys keep inventing!

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker