New scupper drains

You would have to use some caution when unloading I'd bet. Maybe a taper on fron and back would prevent hooking on the venturi.

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

So Matt the question is why isn't it recessed on the TI? (Thanks to Drewyaker for the following pic)


When I heard of this mod in the pre-release I thought what a great idea!
But the way it's been implemented, at least on the TI, I'm not sure that it is such a great improvement?
My TI sits on 3 Hobie trailer cradles and slides easily. This venturi looks like it will catch. Having to lift the TI each time to clear a cradle will be a real pain.
As the others have said, with the new raised seats is it really needed?

Hmmm ...let's see ... no handles, catching venturi ...upgrade looking less appealing.

PS- It would have been really useful with the old seats.

It is needed due to the lower floors. Floors had to be lower to keep the low position of the seat... off the floor. The square shape adds to the volume below water line. Without the drain, you could be carrying a LOT of water.

The Venturi only works when it is within the water flow, so have to be out a bit. It is recessed within the channel. They are tapered though, so do bump up and over cradles as we have been doing here during all testing. Engineers didn't consider that to be a problem at all. We are looking at modifying cradles to have space for it to slide past to make it slide smoother. They note that by floating the boats on and off the trailer, it is a non-issue. That is harder on trailers in salt water though.

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

Thanks for the explanation Matt.
Unfortunately it's not possible to float launch/retrieve my TI at most of my launch spots. I always load/unload from trailer using a cart.

Brad, the 1.5" pvc I am using runs into the drain as you can see in the picture. A taper on the pipe might make the boat jump over the end of the pvc. I have tapered the ends of the pipes I am using on the trailer just so there isn't a sharp edge for the boat to rub against and I also have a centering roller 12" before the bunks. I tried my cart cradle and it is rounded enough that it doesn't just stop against the drain but the boat still has to jump over it.


For me, using the bunks is a no brainer, especially if you intend to store the boat on the trailer as I will.
My Revo 13 slides beautifully across the pvc and there is a great deal of contact to support the boat.
The scupper grooves position the boat on the pvc and keep it centered.

Knowing the drains are removable I will just stick with the pvc bunks and come up with an alternate way to plug the drain if necessary.

- Chris

Actually I think it will be a non-issue for me (seeing what I see in the picture). When I get a 2015 TI in the spring my plan is to still use the existing PVC rails (bunks) on the trailer. I'll just let the drain sit on the pvc rail, I figure the PVC pipes are somewhat flexible and will bend out of the way in the area around the scupper drain ( I will probably take a heat gun to the PVC pipe in the area where the drain is located when loaded on the trailer). I don't think it will hurt a thing.

I also like the way the PVC rails help center the boat when loading and make it very easy to load the boat onto the trailer, I don't plan to change that. Hopefully that block is durable cus it's going to get rubbed a lot.

Bob

Questions, questions, questions. For many of us, it looks like it will be a wait and see. Hopefully, I'll get my AI before Mar 1.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

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