This happened on my maiden voyage. Yes, I hit a sandbar, but just barely. It was the maiden voyage. Believe me, I was taking it easy. The next day, the same thing happened to another fin while half-pedaling over an oyster reef. Hobie says they will not warranty.

I called the dealer I bought the yak from as well as a dealer where I happen to be on vacation. They both told me Hobie would not warranty.
I will follow up with Hobie.
I have hit sandbars and reef and stumps much, much harder than this and have never split a fin. And to have 2 split in 2 days is insane.
We have all hit objects. What is your initial reaction each time... Freeze, don't move, try to minimize the damage.
The first one that split, I did not even know I hit anything. I went to pedal and it felt funny.
The second, I was feathering the MD , I knew it was shallow but could not have been moving more than .25 mph.

yes it is user error, but there needs to be a degree of design/manufacturing tolerance to allow for reasonable user error.

If these fins start to constantly fail substantially earlier than previous designs, hobie will loose sales and credibility, so they cant just pass it off as user error

I have hit sandbars and reef and stumps much, much harder than this...

Reasonable user error? How about reasonable awareness of your situation and equipment capability?

Unless there are other cases of this type of fin damage, this would be nothing more than speculation. As far as Hobie losing credibility, they've been around for a long time, you don't do that by having no credibility.

If you use a kayak in an area with obstacles and water hazards, perhaps a Mirage drive kayak is not the best choice.

Exactly if a new design is less durable than an older design customers will hesitate to upgrade. Most customers will hit things sooner or later, fins do need replacing due to wear and tear, improved designs should not be less durable than old ones. That is basic product evolution



This is why matt has overriden dealer advice, because hobie do care if there is a problem. It is a new design and teething issues are very possible. Dealers just see user damage and have no say over any potential design issues. I had new design issues with my kayak, dealer said no, the when I approached Hobie direct it was a very prompt yes. The kayak design has now been changed. Hobie do make design changes based on field failures




Agreed but then its not as black and white as that in many areas, so the design needs to be as robust as possible without impairing function given the environments they are widely used in.

You would be complaining if your car tyres shredded every time you scrubbed the sidewalls on a kerb and Goodyear didn't see it as a flaw in design or manufacture.

Most customers will hit things sooner or later