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 Post subject: Do your AKA clip upgrade
PostPosted: Sun Jul 15, 2018 8:46 am 
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Site Rank - Admiral

Joined: Thu Aug 21, 2014 6:43 am
Posts: 202
Location: Chalfont Pa
Painful lesson. Kept the kit in the garage, last week in Barnegat Bay I paid for it. Winds in the teens, about a one foot chop. Going to weather under a reef and the back AKA pulled out. Over in a second, it happens so fast you barely have time to pucker!

Well the mast was stuck in the mud, and I was screwed. No righting lines, but just hanging on the hull the boat rotated into the wind and slowly the mast came up and the wind helped me right the boat. Popped the AKA back in, by that time I was too pooped to climb back in. Now I am 63 but bike 20+ miles at a clip so I am in decent shape. But just could not get a leg into the boat. After a few tried I used the reef line to make a stirrup so one leg could hoist me back into the boat.

Have not had a scary thing happen to me for a long time, and most of the fear that day was from not being prepared. Many on this forum have multiple precautions engineered into their boat and now I understand why. I am not putting the safety lines on yet, but did make a stirrup out of polypro rope and a short piece of PVC tube. It fits in the mesh pocket and has a loop in one end. I can attach it almost anywhere and have a handle to help right or climb in.

And yes, I also did the clip upgrade the next day. So do yours if you haven't already and try righting the boat on your own sometime. Do it in a safe situation so you know what to do.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 16, 2018 9:25 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:14 pm
Posts: 3323
Location: South Florida
quatroguy, I must admit, I've not even tried to get the "aka clip upgrade". Yeah, I do not want my akas coming unfastened and slipping out. For several years, I've used Kayaking Bob's "keeper lines" to be sure the akas can't slip out. Many of us who have sailed these boats for 10 years or more, have made many safety modifications. You can see most of mine here: https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=7276&start=750

I recommend them all.

Keith

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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

"Less is more" Anon


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