Semi-Commercial Haka

Seems like something that could maybe be user assembled? What about using a tubular section for the side rails and a cross member or two to tie it all together and then have a multi piece (plastic?) deck that snaps on. Stagger the rail/deck joints so they don't overlap. Maybe more user assembly than Hobie would typically like though?

I would Guess 1/8 aluminum would work. Even if it has a bit of bounce/bend in it, not really the end of the world. Conceivably would reduce your weight by 1/3 which is not insignificant.

Yeah, this is an early prototype, and since it was cut and bent yesterday, and I leave tomorrow morning for the Outer Banks for "testing", I figured I'd go ahead and build one that I KNEW would hold me, instead of "probably", since I wouldn't have time to make another one.

The plan, assuming this design works overall, is to change whatever small things I need to change (slot locations, mounting, etc), and have one cut next week out of 1/8", and assuming that holds me, have another one cut, and then have them both powdercoated and sea-decked by the end of september.

Then I guess I'll take orders from anyone who wants one. It's looking like $175 apiece is gonna be the going rate, a little more than I had hoped, but I'm happy to work with anyone who orders one to reduce prices (no powdercoat, sea dek, etc). And since I'll be making each one individually on the laser, I can put whatever hole pattern they want in the top, so there may be some weight savings to be had for people who don't need them to hold 250lbs, or want them wider, etc. I have .090, .125, .1875, and .250 thicknesses to play with.

I'm really just making these for myself, so I won't be disappointed if I don't sell any.

Got it on the boat today, sorry I didn't take a good photo of the quick fists, it was raining and I was in a hurry. But it works! 6 quick fists hold it down pretty well! I can move the boat around on land using it. I didn't stand on it or anything, but I will tomorrow.

because it was bent wrong, I needed like an inch of thickness between the top of the quick fists and the bottom of the plate... I found some random plastic bits in the maintenance guy's stash, some sort of HDPE bar stock, and was cutting pieces out of it when I thought... I'm stupid, I'll just cut and weld a bar on as a spacer. DUH! Mig welded since our tig guys have actual work to do. Lots of grinding and it looks passable.



Mounted up well though!





The only detail I took of the quick fists, there are three on each side.



It goes on and off in about a minute, those quick fists are pretty dang cool!

Bonus on the spacer, the top is smooth, without any bolts sticking up to tear my butt/swimsuit/dry bags! Nice when my stupidity actually works in my favor!

Well, spent a couple nights out on the sound near Cape Lookout, and even with storms, me hiking out, and everything, the Haka survived with flying colors! I only got one decent photo with the haka in it, but here it is!

After the first test, I'm definitely going with 1/8" material instead of 3/16". The 3/16" was SOLID, so I think the 1/8th will be better. They also REALLY need something like seadek, the bare aluminum is incredibly slippery, which made hiking out a little dicey. I don't think I'm going to worry about paint, the bare aluminum is pretty durable. It's just not as pretty as I'd like, especially with my amateur sanding.

Going to make that 1/8" one in the next couple weeks, so I'll keep this updated!

A detail of the "Quick fists": They're each held on by a single 10-24 bolt with a nylock nut. I'd prefer 1/4" bolts, but that's the size they're built for. 3 on each side, their website rates them for 25lbs each, though I expect they're good for more than that since realistically all the force is downwards. But better safe than sorry I suppose.

Not wanting to diminish your effort here, but I was just at the OBX and encountered a local with a Tandem Island who was using a water rescue back board for a platform. Big benefit is that it has built-in buoyancy which could come in handy when detached from the boat. He had some other DIY platform on the other side but was very positive about his experiment with the back board.

I'm sure your aluminum platform is more rigid but maybe you could add the buoyancy somehow; I bet that would make it a way more attractive accessory.

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@antonlargiader You're not wrong. The advantage the aluminum has for me is that prototyping stuff like this is free, while those spine boards are $200 each, and then I have to add mounting hardware.

Also, I can design in mounting, where to do that with a spine board would compromise the watertightness. Adding flotation would be trivial, should someone want to: supposedly a 4" diameter pool noodle provides 30lbs of flotation. Would be pretty easy to put 3 or 4 of them underneath the haka and hold them in with zipties or something. I am not personally worried about flotation: I wear a life jacket, and don't see these things coming off unintentionally at all.


Personally, I won't be bothered if I don't sell any of them. I'm designing for me and my use cases, and if other people seem to agree, then I'm happy to make more, since they're pretty much effortless for me to make, just a half hour or so of sanding with a flapper disk after the plant guys bend it, which takes about 30 seconds.


I should have a pair of 1/8" hakas sometime in the next couple weeks to test. Our fab guys are behind so I don't want to gum up the works with personal projects.

Depending on the all in final price, I'd definitely be interested. I was about to pull the trigger on a spine board on Amazon for around $120, but people mentioned they aren't stiff enough to stand on which put a damper on it for me.

I'm eagerly following!!

Your haka have turned out really well TCF.
At 12” wide you could use tinnie seat cushions for comfort.
That’s what I used on my haka which were the same width. The tinnie cushions fit well and just clipped on using press studs.
I did have to swap out the open cell foam for closed cell though to stop water logging. An Island is a much wetter ride than a tinnie!

Hey stringy, how did you modify your vantage seats to get them that high?

Cheers,
Nick

Hi Nick,
Details here: https://www.hobie.com/au/en/forums/view ... 69&t=59790

Many thanks stringy!!!

Very cool! I might be interested in this, and I'm looking forward to info on the new-and-improved 1/8" version...

Got 4 1/8" Hakas on the way to Cali, hopefully they work well! The 1/8" was definitely springier than the 3/16" but strong enough for me to stand on.