i14t minimum bagged weight

Hi all,
Next week I'm taking delivery of a new i14t and have to fly with it almost immediately. Naturally, I've read all the posts on packing/wrapping issues - these forums are full of extremely helpful folk.

Unfortunately, all airlines in this part of the world have a rigid 32kg (70.5lb) single-bag limit, like the one mentioned here:
viewtopic.php?f=47&t=33590&p=133700&hilit=weight#p133700

Worse, the fitted hull weight currently shown on Hobie's Australian site is a too-high 34.25kg (75.5lbs) - see http://www.hobiecat.com.au/kayaks/mirage/i14t/ - and even worse, it seems to imply this is all quasi-permanent stuff, like handles, rudder etc.

So - to those who have flown with an i14t - or who have a fairly recent model and some scales - in your experience, are there at least two kg of easily-removable odds and sods that are included in the fitted hull weight? I don't want to be removing anything that's too hard to put back, but I may need to get it down!

It doesn't help that Hobie's Australian site differs from the US one (which quotes a just-manageable 70.5 lbs / 31.98 kg, though that's without the bag). Don't ask me which one to believe, but obviously I need to play it safe!

Thanks in advance for any advice.

Hello PeterWeb,

I recently weighed my i14T in it's bag without any extras (no seats in the bag) and it weighed 75 lbs. The rudder is fairly easy to remove but the weight saved will not be anywhere near the 2 kg you need to save. I wish I knew what to suggest but I am at a loss to tell you how to meet your limit.

_________________
Donna
Hobie i14T,
Innova Sunny,
Feathercraft Big Kahuna

Many thanks for that response. It does seem to be a real quandry that this inflatable doesn't meet common (and sadly quite rigid) airline weight limits in this part of the world and some others.

I may just have to throw myself on the mercy of the airline and have a good plan B in case they won't play ball. Will report back after the fact.

What does the bag weigh? Is there any way you could find something lighter than the Hobie bag that would contain the boat? But even if it would help with the weight, I can still see a couple of drawbacks:
1. You'd lose the bag wheels, and would probably need a luggage cart. But at least that could be checked as a separate item.
2. Lighter bag = thinner fabric. Would it give the boat enough protection from demon baggage handlers?

Sorry - can't think of any other options. (Other than to give up on the i14 and get a couple of singles. But I realise that's a plan for further in the future.)

Mary

Aye, thanks, I've been having the same thoughts. I haven't got the boat yet so don't know the bag's stand-alone weight. But if the 34+kg fitted hull weight listed on the Oz site is correct, the bag weight is irrelevant, being on top of that.

I'm still puzzled why the Australian and US websites list different fitted hull weights!

Just a clerical error. We are sorting it out to be sure we show the correct info.

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

Ended up shipping it (sea-freight, as air-freight was too expensive and checked baggage simply wasn't an option). Thus, a couple of weeks to wait before it is in hand, but looking forward to it.