dosjers wrote:
For example, I got knocked down in a very busy channel when by aka popped out and the ama collapsed against the hull of my TI because the little plastic part that was supposed to hold it in place was slightly out of tolerance. Hobie gave all the TI owners new parts to fix the problem but, OH yeah, they all need to have one side sanded down about 1/16th of an inch because the part couldn't be installed because the screws wouldn't line up.
This thread was started because someone who weighed less than 150 pounds broke the plastic buckles on a tramp that was supposed to hold 200 pounds. If that would have happened 2 miles off shore in 3 foot seas and the person got hurt it could have been a dissaster instead of funny story about someone whose wife got her butt wet.
I'm with AugAug for the most part. Hobie is very responsive like no one else. These are pretty much cutting edge designs and it is apparent Hobie engineering is on the ball for safety and durability. The plastic AKA part was an immediate fix and I can tell you that before my Navy career I was a Tool and Die /Machinist and we would get design specs with no access to the final product for application and testing. As such in a rush for safety issues we would get the item out and due to refined specs it would come back after first run production,(which you probably recieved). But safety trumped everything. I would bet those parts are now in third or fourth run and fit well.
As for the Buckles,,,I'm not real happy, but I will give Hobie the time to get it right. In the mean time I will do my own fix as an temp. I couldn't be happier that Hobie actually lets it customers come into the fold as an extensive R&D group, which by way of responding to our collective findings and ideas, is what we are.
Thats a good corporate mindset,,,all of us are smarter than any one of us.