THE HAKA BENCH SEAT - AN ALTERNATIVE TO TRAMPS

I ordered the top one on the list. 97 each.

http://store.gomed-tech.com/spine-board-c816.aspx

only had them out once so far, but sure like them.

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“Remember life is short- eat dessert first.”
The world is 70% water – So that means we should spend 70% more time sailing than mowing lawns!
Larry

Thanks Larry! I was looking at some of the Pro-Lite boards but they were around $200 each! These look like they will do the job plus they are a bit wider.

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Randy
"Honu-Pulelehua"
2012 TI Dune
"When the going gets tough, the tough drink tea." Jon Turk

I found THESE on ebay for $75 each. They look the same as the ones Larry bought, but the seller says they do not float.

I've been working on a prototype for my version of HAKA benches. This first prototype weighs about 16 pounds and is made of 1/4 inch birch plywood. I'm testing, and hope to machine out of black ABS plastic for the final. The photo shows it upside down.





[img][img]http://s22.postimg.org/53roq7p9p/image.jpg[/img][/img]

Lee, absolutely brilliant engineering, but what we really need is a rotomolded haka. Now who do we know who is familiar with that technology? Come on Hobie, you know you would sell stacks of them, and you could even simplify it by coming up with a single color option. Such a device would need a non-slip surface, so you could emboss some Hobie H designs into the top surface, with a molded groove under the front end to locate on the aka, plus some "scupper holes" out near each end which would be used on both AIs and TIs to attach to the akas.

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

Thanks! I'll bet CNCd ABS plastic ends up lighter and stronger than rotomolded. Also the plywood in that prototype cost 20 dollars. It snaps together in 5 minutes. There are tabs built into each component.


What's my point beyond patting myself on the back? I'm not sure rotomolded is the way to go. Big and heavy. And with a smart design assembly is not time consuming... I.e. Expensive

We have the ball... not sure how far we have to run though. May be awhile.

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

Everybody is making or having made their own hakas, Matt. Get in the market ASAP. Why have everyone doing their own, when you could do a great one w/ a Hobie logo? It just makes good sense! Go for it!

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

It seems to me that the spine board manufacturers might just jump into this market. It would just take a little tweaking. I love the fact that I found some that matched my AI sail. However, I must admit that I think that a well crafted wooden hakas look much nicer.

It is difficult for us to do things quickly as we need to design, tool and supply for our World Wide market. First... we do have the engineers attention. Second is a period of design and testing, tool approvals, supply lead times... it just takes awhile.

But we are on it!

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

Everybody has already done the testing. Tell your engineers to look at this thread--it is hard to imagine that they could come up with anything really unique. Tell them to grab a design here & a few tweaks (also found on this thread), make it out of plastic, keep a pair under 26#, and get on it.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

Hi,

Keith, "-it is hard to imagine that they could come up with anything really unique. Tell them to grab a design here & a few tweaks (also found on this thread), make it out of plastic..."

I certainly understand your point. The resourcefulness, ingenuity and creativity of the hobie "hacker" community is really impressive, but we are talking about Hobie. I don't think the issue is about "uniqueness," ( so I agree that in essence we are talking about a fairly simple product) however, don't underestimate the difference between an actual commercial product (with real tool and die costs, development and testing), and the prototypes we have been making.


My point is simply, as a professional designer, I understand when Matt says these things take time.

Lee, I certainly didn't intend to dismiss your innovative design. I guess I was thinking that your design would need a lot to turn into a production unit (if that is your intention), and if delivered in a flat-pack configuration would presumably require accurate use of adhesives, while needing some refinement of the method of attachment to the akas.

I don't think anybody would expect rotomoulded hakas to be lighter, but by judicious use of "scuppers" to bond top and bottom surfaces, a strong and low-maintenance product could result, which would probably meet the requiredmens of the gret majority of Island owners.

I guess spinal boards are already on the market, but suppliers (on eBay at least) seem to price shipping costs at the "delivered personally by limousine" category which far exceed the product cost.

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

The one key aspect of the haka that nobody has solved yet (including my design) is a quick and easy way to fix onto the boat.

The bungee solution is an easy one but takes some time to do and if, like me, you need it to be strong because of the cantelever, needs many wraps.

So if anyone has/is developing a solution that allows you to clip them on and off lets see it. This is where, i suspect, hobie may be adding value to the whole haka concept.

Cc

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May the odds be ever in your favor..

Padded hooks forward, tube clips aft. Simple to fit...just hook over and clip into place. Been well tested now with no problems.
6th post down on Page 51 of the haka thread:
viewtopic.php?f=69&t=37645&p=204043