Hobie Forums :: View topic - Leave AI at mooring or not

Hobie Forums http://www.hobie.com/forums/

Leave AI at mooring or not http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=48747	Page 1 of 1

Author:	Mossyrock [ Fri Aug 02, 2013 7:54 pm ]
Post subject:	Leave AI at mooring or not
Just bought the first AI and looking foreward to many hours of fun here at Lake Mayfield near Mossyrock, WA. Looking thru the manual I saw a remark that leaving an AI at a ooring could invalidate the warranty or something like that. We have a dock and want to keep our AI in the water for up tpo six months, Can anyone tell me why the kayak needs or must comemout of the water each time it is used? Thanks

Author:	dougc405 [ Sat Aug 03, 2013 1:40 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Leave AI at mooring or not
Ours is moored most of the time. It is in a protected saltwater lagoon. I have to drag it out of the water once a week to keep barnacles and such from growing on it. You won't have that problem in fresh water. I think the warranty issue is mostly the possibility of damage from getting banged around at a dock.This has been discussed before on this forum. Sent from my SGH-M919 using Tapatalk 4 Beta

Author:	Mossyrock [ Sat Aug 03, 2013 3:52 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Leave AI at mooring or not
Doug - thanks. I thought is might be "discoloration" or something like that. I will try to research the site a bit to see what others have said on this topic. Appreciate the feedback.

Author:	DogsLife [ Sat Aug 03, 2013 5:30 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Leave AI at mooring or not
Being in close vicinity of salt water corrosion is always a concern. But with plastic boats the sun is your biggest enemy. Six months in the water, I hope you use a boat cover. UV breaks down plastic, not only by fading but also flexibility of the material...

Author:	leelanauX [ Sun Aug 04, 2013 4:56 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Leave AI at mooring or not
Hi. I ran into the same issue with my TI. We have a home on a lake in northern Michigan. In my humble opinion there is a simple, elegant and great solution to your problem. On the large inland lakes here in Michigan, almost no one leaves their boats in the water. Boat hoists are used for absolutely everything. Our 18 foot Searay has a hoist with a cover. So when I got a TI, I got really tired of pulling it up and out of the water after every trip. My buddy gave me his tiny boat hoist that is sized for a sunfish sailboat. To me it was a game changer. I now keep my TI off our dock on small boat hoist, under a Hobie cover. The boat is protected from the water, and the sun and rigged and ready in about 7 minutes. You are also not supposed to keep the sail up and on the boat. I pull mine off, bag it and hang it under the Searay boat hoist canopy. If you look on Craig's list you could find a beater jet ski, or sunfish boat hoist for anywhere from free to $250. It's a great solution!

Author:	Mossyrock [ Sun Aug 04, 2013 8:57 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Leave AI at mooring or not
Thanks fellas - all good info. Here in WA the docks on our small lakes are nice and generally well made but few have a structure that would support any sort of boat hoist. People just ramp their boats out of the water and store them come winter or ramp in/out on weekends. I am no expert having lived here just two years. I didn't think of the sun on plastic thing...here, the sun is such a welcome change. But,I think that a cover might be in order to keep us out of eventual trouble. Thanks again.

Author:	leelanauX [ Sun Aug 04, 2013 9:26 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Leave AI at mooring or not
Woops... I may have miscommunicated. The dock doesn't support the boat hoist. The boat hoist is a freestanding aluminium structure with a wheel to raise and lower the boat. It sits in the water next to the dock.mits not connected to the dock in anyway. I'll try to post a picture. Ya really should look into this solution. If you live on a lake it really is amazing to cover it and have it next to the dock protected from water and sun, with one simple crank you are on the water! Look at this $350 and yer nearly done... This is the kinda thing I'm talking about: http://nmi.craigslist.org/boa/3954258230.html

Author:	leelanauX [ Sun Aug 04, 2013 9:30 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Leave AI at mooring or not
One last thing. I literally live about 200 yards off the 45th parallel (exactly half between the equator and the North Pole). So the sun here is never STRONG... It's bright as heck, but at an acute angle. My point is still that you have a PVC boat. UV is probably the single worst thing for it structurally. If I had to pick one thing to protect it from, it would be the sun. IMHO.

Author:	Hobie Crafte [ Mon Aug 05, 2013 1:05 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Leave AI at mooring or not
I am a lot on the water. Is there a risk that the mast or the mast base gets damaged if the mast is shaked by the waves for several hours many days? Should I take it down? I realize that the sun also can hurt the sail, but the sun isn't that strong in Sweden and summers are not that long. It feels too much work to put the sail in the cover from Hobie.

Author:	TIDALWAVE [ Mon Aug 05, 2013 4:23 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Leave AI at mooring or not
Concerning your 45N latitude. Remember that is the average sun angle. The Earth is tilted by 23 1/2 degrees...so at summer solstice the sun is at 68 1/2 degrees at Noon. I also live right on 45 degrees and midsummer sun is intense enough to give me a good sunburn especially if I am on or next to the water. Think of your poor Hobie being exposed at least 8 hrs/day for more than three months. I use my Hobie cover whenever I leave it out and not sailing. Even the Hobie 'sunscreen' spray doesn't totally protect the hulls.

Author:	Crazy4DaRiver [ Fri Aug 09, 2013 1:16 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Leave AI at mooring or not
In sunbake or weather they will discolor...big deal. Even a garbage tarp can help prevent that.

Author:	Crazy4DaRiver [ Fri Aug 09, 2013 1:20 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: Leave AI at mooring or not
I would de-rig as much as possible. Besides not being designed for long term exposure...people take things. Once they realize what the components cost to replace or what they can sell them for.....gone

Author:	sailhoky [ Sat Aug 10, 2013 9:51 am ]
Post subject:	Re: Leave AI at mooring or not
Is there a Hobie cover for the AI? I want one! Also, I saw an easy solution for pulling jetski out of the water up to land that might work for an AI/TI. It was a couple of parallel PVC pipes, like railroad rails. One end lay in the shallow water at water's edge, the other on the shore. Just pull the boat up the rails and tie her off so she doesn't slide back into the lake. I might try it myself.

Page 1 of 1	All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group http://www.phpbb.com/