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TI trampoline broke - with pics
http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=29205		 Page 1 of 3
Author:  whosyerbob [ Mon Aug 09, 2010 3:07 am ]
Post subject:  TI trampoline broke - with pics
Two of the plastic outside buckles on the starboard trampoline broke yesterday. We were sailing in about 10 knots of wind down by Point Lookout, MD; in conditions that were pretty mundane for us - a few whitecaps and some chop.

Cindy (around 135 lbs) was hiked out on the starboard tramp, sitting in the right rearmost corner which is practically on top of the buckles. I was looking up at the sail tell tails when I heard a bang, the TI shook and slewed a little toward the right; I checked to see if Cindy was okay and discovered she was hanging halfway in the water - the buckles directly under her where she was sitting had failed. She was laughing, wasn't hurt and was able to easily pull herself up while I kept the TI steady. We have a policy of one hand always for the boat while sitting on the tramps and it paid off.

We could see from just glancing that the two outmost buckles had broken, so she stayed on the starboard tramp as far forward and close to the hull as possible for several miles, then retired to the front seat in order to eat lunch.

When we returned to the boat ramp for pull out, we took the photos below.

In addition to the ones that were actually broken, under close examination it looks like the three most outward buckles on both the starboard *and* port tramps were stressed, as the ones that didn't break have what looks like a light line at the base of the prongs.

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Author:  TxYackMan [ Mon Aug 09, 2010 5:20 am ]
Post subject:  Re: TI trampoline broke - with pics
That is a bummer. I had wondered about such things. Are you going to replace them? What is warranty on the tramps?
Author:  TxYackMan [ Mon Aug 09, 2010 5:46 am ]
Post subject:  Re: TI trampoline broke - with pics
Think any of these are a replacement? http://www.usalanyards.com/plastic-buckles.aspx
Author:  whosyerbob [ Mon Aug 09, 2010 9:42 am ]
Post subject:  Re: TI trampoline broke - with pics
Dunno about the warranty on the tramp, but I already have a query into our dealer about it. If not covered, we'll replace them with something PDQ. Cindy was wondering if metal buckles of the same sort of design are available, while I'm wondering if some of the curved plastic buckles would be better. Either way, we intend to replace *ALL* of the buckles on the tramps and add some reinforcing material along the edge that meets the ama.
Author:  augaug [ Mon Aug 09, 2010 12:16 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: TI trampoline broke - with pics
Is there a lesson for the rest of us to learn from this? Any theories as to why they broke? I'm working under the assumption that Hobie has stress tested these to hold more then your wife's weight, so was the issue that she was sitting too close to the buckle and therefore not spreading the weight over more buckles?

I guess what I'm getting at is that I'm not about to replace all of the buckles on my trampolines, but if there is anything that we can learn from your experience I'd love to know your thoughts so that myself and others can minimize the risks for our own boats.
Author:  captain-max [ Mon Aug 09, 2010 3:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: TI trampoline broke - with pics
Mitch, look forward to seeing how you deal with this. My tramps are still on order, but I'm not sure my wife Sandy would be laughing if she fell through it! :?
Author:  whosyerbob [ Mon Aug 09, 2010 3:49 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: TI trampoline broke - with pics
So far we're holding tight before doing anything from our end. I know our dealer was quite startled by the photos I sent him earlier this morning and escalated it up the Hobie chain pronto, but I haven't heard anything back yet as an official response.

We are both concerned by the buckle failure, as we've seen lots of photos posted here on the forum with similar loads or higher on the TI tramps - and if it can happen to us, it can happen to others. Fortunately, it happened in a good place for us and had a happy ending, but it could have easily gone the way under different circumstances. This also reinforces our cardinal rules with the TI: we make certain that we wear PFDs every time we go out and we always keep a hand free for the boat when we move around on it.
Author:  Woodtracker [ Mon Aug 09, 2010 6:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: TI trampoline broke - with pics
Happened to me me also , I owned the boat since April and been sailing almost every day , so far I broke two. Its a good thing that they are inexpensive to replace but I might consider to see if I could find something stronger maybe aluminum. It will be interesting to see solution that others on this forum can come up with.

Dan
Author:  TxYackMan [ Mon Aug 09, 2010 8:08 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: TI trampoline broke - with pics
Failure could be very bad. If we are out on a small lake for the day - no biggie. But if we go on a trip - with lots of gear - then it would be bad. Looking forward to hear solutions to this issue.
Author:  NOHUHU [ Tue Aug 10, 2010 12:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: TI trampoline broke - with pics
Woodtracker wrote:
Happened to me me also , I owned the boat since April and been sailing almost every day , so far I broke two. Its a good thing that they are inexpensive to replace but I might consider to see if I could find something stronger maybe aluminum. It will be interesting to see solution that others on this forum can come up with.

Dan

I keep the tramps pretty tight and no issues so far with lots of passengers and myself on them. I do tend to sit on or lean back on that area too.

If they do give out, does replacing the buckles require any cutting/sewing of the webbing or attachment points?

If so, can someone describe or illustrate how they had this done?
Author:  Woodtracker [ Wed Aug 11, 2010 2:15 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: TI trampoline broke - with pics
NOHUHU
I keep the tramps pretty tight and no issues so far with lots of passengers and myself on them. I do tend to sit on or lean back on that area too.

If they do give out, does replacing the buckles require any cutting/sewing of the webbing or attachment points?

If so, can someone describe or illustrate how they had this done?[/quote]






You have to cut the thread to replace the broken clip I use a box knife then after you put the new clip on you can sew it back or if your like me not
much of a seamstress, I put a piece of black duck tape just so the new clip wont slip out, and as I found out yes they sink, they dont float if one comes loose .

Dan
Author:  TxYackMan [ Sun Aug 15, 2010 7:11 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: TI trampoline broke - with pics
Any word from dealer?
Author:  whosyerbob [ Mon Aug 16, 2010 5:59 am ]
Post subject:  Re: TI trampoline broke - with pics
Nada.

Since I didn't hear anything by the end of last week, I went down to the local West Marine and picked up some replacement 1-inch plastic "Slide Release Buckle with Dual Ladderloc" http://tinyurl.com/27lslpz. I just had to swap out the prong part of the buckles as the block part was fine on all of them. The new prongs were a perfect fit and double the width of the old ones in the section that failed.

We did a total of 17+ miles and a high speed of 5.8 mph this weekend in varied wind and wave conditions without any problems, so I believe the fix is place for now.
Author:  TxYackMan [ Mon Aug 16, 2010 6:09 am ]
Post subject:  Re: TI trampoline broke - with pics
Thanks Mitch. Were they easy to replace ? Thinking of buying 3 or 4 and keeping them on the boat.
Author:  TxYackMan [ Mon Aug 16, 2010 6:13 am ]
Post subject:  Re: TI trampoline broke - with pics
I see - do not need to sew these on. I think it would be worth me having some of these on the boat.
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