Rip in Tramp

My tramp has developed a rip and it'll be several weeks before a new tramp is available in New Zealand. Saturday is forecasting 20 knot winds and I want to go out sailing because it's been several weeks since I've sailed and I'm getting the jitters. Only pronlem is the tramp developed a littel rip about 2 inches long on my last outing. I still went sailing for several hours on the last outing without the tear getting any longer.

Do the rips go real fast or can they hang on for a while/ What I'm really asking is should I wait until my new tramp arrives before sailing again, or should I go out and have fun and be prepared to sail home with a flappy tramp if it rips?

On a similar note, does anyone have any preference to the solid vinyl tramps or the mesh tramps by Hobie? I thought I'd get a blue one (same colour as existing) which is vinyl and supposed to be dryer, etc. But am open to other's advice before I splash out and spend all my year's maintenance budget in one hit!

Whoops - I guess this should be in the Open Sailing Forum but have no idea how to move it.

Let er rip, but when she goes, she goes! It will just take a heel to get her really ripped, but they normally start small and go big in a flash. There is no in between. Sorry Mate

My old tramp tore and that was the experience that I had. It was really small at first and then when my dad was sailing on it with me he put his heel through it and it just went the entire length.

Have you ever tried to sail a Hobie 14 with two people on it with no tramp to sit on? It isn't easy!!!

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Nacra 5.2 "Elsies"
Hobie 14T, "Blazin" I guess I am keeping her!

Get an upholstery shop to sew a patch on the underside. They will add a piece of vinyl or webbing. Then they will sew all around the tear to hold it together.

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

Isn't there some sort of temporary patch that can be glued or stitched into place? I had a small rip in my solid H14T tramp a few summers ago, and thought about doing a glue-n-patch ...but then found a tramp that could be shipped ASAP, and I never followed through.

I'd gotten some vinyl "pool liner" material (free, from a pool store's old sample swatch book) and I bought a small bottle of liner patch glue to apply it. I was going to make the patch much larger than the tear, and apply it to both sides. At least, that was the plan - but then the new tramp arrived, and I quit. But could something like this work for "kiwihobie"?

While the tear is still small, could someone suggest a patch material and glue that might work to postpone the inevitable - at least long enough for the replacement tramp to arrive? Other ideas?

I know, I know - it's postponing the inevitable. It's not meant to be a cure, but literally a short-term patch - but that's all he wants.

Looking for suggestions -

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joanie / Hobie enthusiast: 4 H-14Ts, 2 Waves, FloatCat 75, 4 Adventure Islands, and my DUNE Tandem Island!
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What can I say? I never met a Hobie I didn't like . . .

Matt -
You posted while I was typing, and your sewing solution sounds better. My glue-n-patch was meant only as a short-term solution, without having to unlace or remove the tramp.

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joanie / Hobie enthusiast: 4 H-14Ts, 2 Waves, FloatCat 75, 4 Adventure Islands, and my DUNE Tandem Island!
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. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . What can I say? I never met a Hobie I didn't like . . .

Thanks for the tips everyone. I was going to go with Matt's suggestion until I went out to untie the tramp and discovered two other places where a rip was strying to get started but not quite visible yet (i.e. nearly torn but not quite). The closer I looked on the tramp the thinner it looked. It is an old blue (canvas?) tramp and I can see the threads showing through so I guess I'll just have to order a new tramp.

Does anyone have any preference for the vinyl vs. mesh tramps?

Vinyl tramps don't get water splashing up through them from underneath, but also don't drain water from the top. They can catch quite a bit more wind than a mesh tramp if your nose comes up. The advantage is that it is cheaper, and my gut tells me it probably lasts longer - my blue vinyl tramp sat out in the sun for 15+ years and besides a hole from some kid poking a stick through it (we patched it with Sunbrella) it's doing great.

Mesh tramp gets water splashing up from underneath but doesn't gather the puddles on top that the vinyl does. It doesn't catch as much wind and can save you from a blow-over backwards. They are more expensive but you also get a color choice (vinyl is in white only, which is probably the best choice for UV resistance anyways).

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Tim
Unofficial Fleet 72 Communications Officer and Div 4 Webmaster
http://www.hobiefleet72.org
http://www.div4.hobieclass.com/