THE HAKA BENCH SEAT - AN ALTERNATIVE TO TRAMPS

Check this out Slippery-butt-Bob

http://www.seadek.com/t-about.aspx

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"Take life seriously................it's eternal in one of 2 places - you choose!"

I see a lot of guys making HAKA's from wood, ladders, and back boards, and the kitchen sink. But I haven't seen any home made HAKA's using foam core (kind of like surfboards). I've made a few airplane wings in my time using foam core/carbon and they are incredibly strong. I would think if someone got some foam and sculptured it out to the desired shape then covered with glass, with a few carbon strips ( for strength) it would be relatively inexpensive and easy to make. Just a thought, wondering if anyone has tried it. If I were to make some that's probably what I would do.
Just curious
Bob

Well, Bob, show us the way!

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

Regarding foam/fiberglass hakas - light and strong, yes. Cheap, not so much (at least here). Wood is much cheaper and requires less skill (unless you know what you're doing with composites, it's not an easy first project).

Here in Hawaii it'd be much cheaper just to buy a couple of used surfboards and strap 'em down. As a bonus you could sail out to outer reefs, anchor and take your hakas for a surf.

-RH

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2013 Tandem Island "Victory Lane"
Oahu, Hawaii
www.rotorheadsblog.blogspot.com

Rotorhead,
After checking out the prices of these spineboards, I totally agree.
"Composites"?? As far as a first project, It looks like you just strap them on.
Wood is definitely the material of choice for aesthetics and economy.......
Surfboards? Maybe!
R29 Mendocino CA

Here are a few pic's of the backboard haka in use:

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

Here is an option using wood. 1x12s and 2x2s about 35.00 each.

I like the look of those maintenance free haka spineboards Bob.
Do you get much deflection if you sit right in the middle and do they feel strong enough and not likely to fold?
How much do they weigh?

A little more flex than my wood haka, but not bad with 200 pounds (me plus some gear) centered between the aka.

I haven't weigh them, but suppose to be 16.1 pounds each, about the same as my wood haka. Feels like it.

Color looks nice, but not a match to Hobie yellow.

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

Wow. Look who's hiking out!

Nice tiller extension too. Looks good Bob.

I learned from the best!

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

There you go Hobie, color match them and get them on the market

Ok you guys have convinced me that I have to have HAKA's. However my approach is going to be to build something that I can also use (besides just using them as HAKA's). Mine will be double duty, where once we get to our destination we can unstrap the boards and go around using the HAKA's as SUP boards.
Our TI is pretty much rigged and setup as a destination boat. Basically we use the TI' massive sails and twin outboards as our mothership to take us, our equipment, and additional kayaks out to potential snorkeling and dive places. Works great for the island hopping we like to do down in the keys, and the TI is hardened for offshore use so we can get out to the coral reefs (which are usually way out there).
Can't really afford to go out and buy two new SUP boards ( I think they are between $600 and a thousand bucks each (ouch).
I thought about surf boards but I think around here we would get much more use from SUP boards which are very popular around here.
I was thinking each board would be around 10 ft long and around 30 inches wide ( might be too big....).
My question to the group is: has anyone hauled their SUP boards around on a TI , I have seen guys hauling their surfboards, but don't recall ever seeing anyone hauling a sup board around.
They might be too big for a TI and act as kites flipping the boat potentially (my biggest concern).
Of course I will build them strong enough to support people sitting on them.
Currently we have an inflatable dingy ( a 4 person Sevlor inflatable boat that we tow behind the TI to haul equipment and coolers). We throw our two inflatable kayaks into the dingy or stuff them in the hull if nobody is riding on them.
Any ideas or suggestions, I've never been on a SUP so I would need to learn a lot before proceeding.
I have no issues with buying the foam and sculpting my own, then finish out with gelcoat/glass (I'm pretty handy with that kind of stuff). I am kind of estimating the boards to be around 25lbs ea.
My budget will be about $300 ( just materials, not including paddles, leashes, etc)

Forget it. Yes or no. (Too crazy)

Bob

Since Hobie already makes SUP boards, something like SUP/ surfboard racks that mount on the TI might be a good entry for Hobie to enter into the HAKA arena. Just thinking out ahead ( I tend to think outside the box). Making th TI even more versatile and attractive to young families ( or people like me who refuse to grow up)

Fusion Bob, If you make them a little bit longer than 10' you could figure a way to angle mount them like the duel haka on the TI3 for both front and rear seat use. Being able to sit out on them and slide to reach from the rear well all the way to the front hatch and easily switch seating is amazingly versatile! Being able to re enter the boat from the water at an ama at water level is much easier for those with weaker arms after swimming. And getting on the boat when standing in shallow water by just sitting down on a haka and swiveling your feet to the hull is much more graceful than getting intimate with the steering knob assy!

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

KayakBob:
I was already thinking about using a nylon strapdown (using 1" nylon strapping) as the method to hold the boards down to the aka bars with some kind of shaped nest for them to sit on, then strapped down tight). This way I could mount them cantilever style and be able to hike out in the rear area (near the back seat). Of course the boards will need to be strong enough to support sitting in the cantilever (way back position un-supported, might be a design challenge though)
I'll have to measure up some concepts. I'm thinking it would be a fun project, always wanted to try SUP anyway, cool way to combine hobbies.
Bob