Thank you Hobie for the best commute ever!

Been having a blast commuting across sf Bay Berkeley - Tiburon 8.5 miles one way. Have really learned a lot and enjoyed making adjustments, after each trip.

I read somewhere a while ago about smoothing the burrs out of the hull by carefully heating it with a torch. Anyone know how to do this or where that thread is?

Thank you.

Zenyak, from where do you launch in Berkeley?


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Zenyak, can you post some pictures? Sounds like a very cool (pun intended) commute!

It can be done using a fan tip. I"ve seen it done successfully by a highly skilled Hobie employee and unsuccessfully by another highly skilled employee. It's very tricky to melt the burrs without softening the underlying material to the point of distortion or collapse. When PE starts to go, it's like a chain reaction -- doesn't stop immediately when you pull the heat off. Watching your boat suddenly develop these huge craters is definitely a heart stopper! I don't recommend it.

Using a little heat to repair some small areas (ex: welding, back filling) is a different matter.

Best way to get rid of the burrs is to shave them off with a single edge razor blade.

Best way to get rid of the burrs is to shave them off with a single edge razor blade. [/quote]

Thank you
Road runner that is exactly what I did.

Has anyone ever tried to wax the bottom? don't surfers wax their boards? I'll look into it.

I launch from the sailing club close to the Marina. Sorry don't have any pics.

Gosh it is the best commute in the world. Last time two cables broke on the last mile there. On the way back paddled past Angel Island then sailed, surfed all the way home. Was nice just to focus on the sailing no drive to think about, and I didn't go over like I did the last two times! Real was surfing, I would get on these waves and just fly!

Oh, see that surf board wax it to increase stick for not slipping off the board. That is not what I want! Some one must have done something to increase slickness.

I remember how the sand would stick to my board if left in the sun too long, too. Wax would definitely not be good. I wonder if there is a polish or something that would work. I bit like the way Armorall makes the dash and steering wheel slippery when you use it (which is why I don't). It'd have to be water resistant/repellant as well I guess. Would it make that much difference?

Sounds like a great commute. If I went 8.5 miles west I would be somewhere across the Indian Ocean heading for nowhere. Aren't the currents strong across where you go? We see a lot about the bay on telly with Alcatraz and the currents the escapees would have to have fought. I am sure they would have made it if they'd had a Hobie.