Different issue with vantage seat creak. RESOLVED

Vantage seat on revo 16. The loud creaking I am experiencing is coming from the adjustable side bracket that the front mount bar inserts into, and also between the bottom seat sleeve that hooks over this bar.

Seat is on lowest setting and there is substantial movement at the joints. Is there a quick fix? Sprayed everything with silicone lube for no joy.

Would moving yak around on its side by holding handle and side rail possibly "open up" these joints a tad making this worse?

If I cant resolve this I might resort to permanently bonding this joint as seat is never going to be on anything other than lowest setting. Seat is also kept semi permanently on the yak, only removed occasionally for a good wash, so I may clamp the front seat sleeve down with SS hoseclips, which will also eliminate any risk of accidental seat loss.

Other seat creak issues may exist but they are being drowned out.

Maybe have your dealer take a look? Only squeak I have "heard" about is from the mesh materiel moving against the frame. You should be able to tighten up the side gear boxes to the hull.

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

resolved this issue. It was the collars at the end of the seat front height adjustment bar onto which the seat clips. They were creaking like a brides bed.

Squirting with lube was ineffective. So remove whole assembly and removed bar. Soaked Inox lube into ends and reassembled. Quiet as now.

Hope this is not a regular maintenance job as its fiddly getting it apart, back together and aligned again.

Waverider,

I had a squeak in the Vantage seat on my 2013 PA14 that was related to those Vantage height pedestals and the rear seat base. I tried lubricating those cradles and that worked for a while. My ideal solution was to slowly work those spongy foam pads that act as cushions on the rear seat base outward until they lined up with the seat pedestals. No squeaks and no lubrication required. The pads still provide the same function if the seat was in the lowered position. Not sure why Hobie doesn't just place those foam pads in line with the Vantage pedestals. It does not interfere with the operation of raising or lowering the seat. Just my thoughts.

_________________
Steve Stubbs
USAF (retired)

SeaDek Fishing Team
Unfair Lures Pro Staff
Ziptailz Ambassador

2015 Pro Angler 14 - Papaya
2018 Compass - Sea Grass

I think the PA vantage seat is a different design altogether and doesn't have the front mount arrangement that the other models have, so the problem I had doesn't apply to PAs.

Its not the seat itself, rather the bar it mounts onto.

My mistake. Should have read your post better...lol. Didn't see the "revo 16". Read right through it...lol! Have a great week! Glad you got it resolved.

_________________
Steve Stubbs
USAF (retired)

SeaDek Fishing Team
Unfair Lures Pro Staff
Ziptailz Ambassador

2015 Pro Angler 14 - Papaya
2018 Compass - Sea Grass

Matt or Steve,
Would you guys be willing to post a pic of what you are talking about? I have a crazy loud squeak coming from the edge of the seat where it meets the attach bar in my 2017 Mirage Outback and would really like to know how best to stop it. The pad method sounds best, but I'm not sure what you mean or how to do it. Squeaks with chair propped up or down. It's definitely on right. Loving my new eliptical-in-a-boat otherwise! The Outback has great stability for paddling and pedaling together! Thanks - ScubaMom

In my case I also found by having the front bar on a higher setting, rear still kept on low, and hence shifting my butt towards back of the seat took much of the pressure off the front rail and further reducing any creaking at the front. This does not raise your COG as might be at first thought. In fact increases ability to recline seat further back if required.

Take the seat off put your hand on that sleeve at one end of the rail, put some weight on it and twist to simulate weight of seat, and see if it creaks

I have to say, there's only 2 things I dislike about my late model Outback ...the noises I get from the seat. And the location of the rudder-down cinch. The low cinch location is awkward, but not used very often, so I can live with it. However, the seat...

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Absolute kayaking corrupts absolutely.

I have big creak also and removed the bar system on my limited edition.

Seems to be this piece who have a curve:





I tried to fix it up with a heat gun, but coulnd't get it back in a good shape...

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François - French Hobie fishing team - Outback 2019 papaya
ex: Revo 13 2007 - PA 14 2008 - PA 12 2009 - Outback 2011/2013/2015 - Compass 2017

Same issue on Outback 2019.

I tried a lot of things, only one that works is to insert a thin wedge.
It follow the up/down of the seat...

_________________
François - French Hobie fishing team - Outback 2019 papaya
ex: Revo 13 2007 - PA 14 2008 - PA 12 2009 - Outback 2011/2013/2015 - Compass 2017

WaveRider,

Do you think you could do a photo breakdown of how to remedy this? I have the same creak, and it just plain ruins the kayak experience of quietly and swiftly gliding across the lake for me. What is inox lube?