THE HAKA BENCH SEAT - AN ALTERNATIVE TO TRAMPS

It is a real bummer that the cost of shipping to Oz effectively doubles the price, so local suppliers factor that into their sale price...

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

Tony.
The ones I am looking at are $335AU for 2 delivered from USA.
If you want to have a good laugh, have a look at spine boards from the USA on Ebay. Some are reasonable and others are outrageous. Look at the postage on this one.

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2021 Dune Hobie Lynx

Yeah, for that price you should expect to shake hands with the person who brings them out to Australia as their own checked luggage!

(Thnks: hey, that's not a bad occupation! )

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

From memory I think anything sent from the US over 1metre long, sends the price through the roof. I almost ordered a fishing rod once where the shipping was over double the price of the rod.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Sounds like shipping most anything to/from Hawaii. We call it "The Sunshine Tax"

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

so i just took a note to self-- When i'm going out to HI ask if there's anything folks need...same for ANZ of course

I can't get the picture of you walking up to an airline counter with a backboard under each arm with the ticket between your teeth out of my head!

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

The last time I came to the big island I brought some weighted hooks and I think some salmon gear for a guy I fished with. Think his name was Dan....

I think we may know the same Dan, fishes from a Hobie AI, grows some coffee...

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

That is not too bad!

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

I used some spa flex to make mounting points for my spineboard hakas. Spa flex is pvc material that is used for hot tubs and can be glued like regular pvc pipe but is also flexible to follow contours in tight spaces. It also has somewhat of a tacky surface.
I used 1 1/2" on the front akas and 1 1/4" on the rear because I thought the additional clearance would be needed for the cleats under the rear aka. I think 1 1/4" could be used in both locations and need little or no cutout for the cleats. I cut a notch for the rear cross brace clip. I also captured a strap under the spa flex and this will be the primary securing for the spineboards. I used what I had but would prefer straps with plastic buckles rather than the zinc coated cams.

To fabricate this stuff I used a chop saw to cut it to length and a jig saw to split it. It helps to use a heat gun to straighten it out before trying to work with it because it retains the shape of the spool it came off of and can be really stiff. Once you get a straight piece to work with you can lay it on a table then scribe a line down it's length by setting a sharpie on a 1/2" block of wood. Then use a jig saw to cut along the line. I had a short jigsaw blade and didn't have to cut it to keep from hitting the opposite wall of the pipe.

The 1 1/4" snaps onto an aka like the gates of hell slamming shut, mind your fingers. It helps to pull one end open to get it started then press the remaining length on from there. Once it's on the aka it can be moved but it takes some effort. I put ty wraps around it because of the straps but if you just use it for protecting the akas I don't think it's going anywhere without them.



Chris

All-Aluminum Quarterdeck Hybrid

For the past year, I have been using spineboard hakas on my TI. Based on my type of sailing, I found them coming up a little short in a number of areas;

1) The bottom of my spineboards are not flat. That and their natural slipperiness made them time-consuming to secure.
2) I prefer to launch from docks with the amas folded in. This was difficult, at best, with spineboards.
3) I found I am a real chicken and don’t like the haka positioned far out from the main hull. With no tramps, I picture myself falling off the boat into Lake Michigan as the TI sails serenely away.
4) I am a strictly a day sailor and never used the front half of the haka for storage, etc. My preferred seating position on the haka is roughly straddling the rear arm.

Luckily, I had some nice anodized rails available at no cost. Borrowing heavily from ideas on this forum, I designed a quarterdeck hybrid haka . It has a 12” x 30” seating area with handles and a non-skid surface. The center rail is reinforced with a four foot section of 1/8” gauge U-channel. Even with the free rails, aluminum bits and SS hardware add up fast and I invested $80 out-of-pocket for the pair. Each haka quickly attached to the front arm with releasable zip ties (125 lb test) and ball-end bungees in the rear. Even with this minimalist design, each haka weighs 12 pounds, so it’s tough to beat the strength to weight of wood.

Gary

2014 Tandem Island
1984 Hobie Hawk RC Glider

Gary, congratulations in inventing a new variation of hakas! I thought we had seen all possible designs, but this one is a first! Looks comfy as well.

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

I like the slots. It looks like you could drop a mirage drive in there as with some of the other DIY hakas.
Chris

Can't see those photos Gary.

Bucky, nice work. Like the color. Give us some views on the water. K?

They look long enuff to extend back beyond the rear Aka for the rear sailor.

You guys experiencing any discomfort with the large holes and surface textures?