PA12 Cradles Not Looking Good

Brand new PA12 360. I mounted these cradles exactly 67" apart (center to center) per the user manual/cradle instructions. Neither cradle seems to conform too well to the kayak regardless of position. Even when the kayak was upside down, it was hard to find a good spot for either (regardless of spacing). Is it just me, or is something wonky going on? For $275 I would have expected them to fit like a glove.

I'm not really sure what I should do now. I also noticed the better conforming spots seem like they're at an angle -- so mounting the cradles level doesn't seem to make as much sense...

Now I'm brainstorming and thinking about ditching the cradles all together and molding some heated PVC to conform to the kayak perfectly, add a 1/2" strip of neoprene rubber, and see how that works...

Any thoughts/suggestions? How worried should I be about deforming? Should I keep it stored upside down on the rails until I figure this out?

Looks like the boat needs to move forward on the cradles.

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

If I do that, it exacerbates the issue with both cradles (even bigger gaps/less contact). The pics below are about as close of a fit as they get in any particular position...

It looks, from the side image, that the cradles are not level? Tipped? In any case, cradles are a close fit not a net fit in many cases and as long as the load is spread from a single contact point, they work. The hulls molds do distort over time and different colors shrink differently.

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

Just spent 5 hours installing my cradles on a new trailer for the PA12 and agree that the fit isn't amazing. I didn't constrain myself to the 67" requirement, just looked for the areas of best fit fore and aft. For the rear it sits well on the middle hull, with the outer hulls above the rests. The kayak rides on the rear support just at the beginning (forward) of the skeg mount. For the front, not a bad fit on the 3 hulls around the forward half of the Mirage drive hole. Wings extend wider than the hull.

On reflection, I wouldn't have bought them if I hadn't done so the morning before buying the new trailer. Having run on PVC pipes for the last 2 years on the old trailer, or even running on skids (in the same location as the pipes) and a bow roller on the new trailer, I would save the significant amount of money.