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PostPosted: Thu May 08, 2014 3:13 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jul 16, 2012 9:27 pm
Posts: 731
Image
Hopefully that picture displays properly.

So I broke down and got the Spring Creek stabilizers. I bought the "Mango" color after reading on this forum that it was closer to Hobie's Papaya color than Spring Creek's yellow. Its NOT an exact match, but its not bad. The Universal receiver and the other hardware is quite sturdy! The amas are stout as well and feel like the same material as the kayak hull.
Other than the color, I noticed two things right away:
1. Whereas the Hobie Sidekicks can swing fore-to-aft, the SpringCreeks can rotate port-to-starboard given that they are mounted on round aluminum pipe. Not sure how I feel about this, but when clamped down they require some force to rotate. It will probably be ok on the water.
2. The brackets for the universal receiver (the housing bar in the center) require through hull drilling and recommend nut, bolt, and washers to held everything in place. HOWEVER, I cannot reach the underside of the deck (neither from mid nor aft hatches) where I am mounting the brackets to use the supplied nut. Spring creek supplies some sort of expanding rubber plug to use in this case with supplied screws, but now you need to drill 1/2" holes instead of 1/4". I will proceed cautiously.

15mph winds predicted for Sunday, might be ok for a brief test of the new setup.


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PostPosted: Sun May 11, 2014 12:57 pm 
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Well I finally got out to sail today. Conditions were similar to last time, 12-15knots ESE. Did not once feel like I was going to flip!
The Spring Creek Stabilizers were a complete success!

My review of the Spring Creek Stabilizers:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRaF5sk_zHk

Even when the amas dip below the water's surface, they are doing their job quite well and it didn't feel like a significant amount of drag either. As I noted in the video though, you gotta clamp those arms down tight to prevent the floats from rotating under force (waves/turns).

Working on a highlight video (of the actual sailing) with music later.
Cheers!

Edit: Youtube blocked my newer video because of the music copyrights :-(


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PostPosted: Tue May 13, 2014 6:14 am 
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Video highlights uploaded with a different song:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5mUWJeADFrI

Some countries may block the audio on the song, damn youtube and their copyrights...


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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2014 9:15 am 
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Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2008 1:53 pm
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Location: S.E. Florida
looked really good out there jancracer. I look forward to more sailing this summer.

The mast repair held up ok?

Revo

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PostPosted: Wed May 21, 2014 10:59 am 
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yessir! Its fairly straight now and the 3ft wooden dowel I placed inside the lower section of the mast is more for my peace of mind than reinforcement :lol:

I remember when you were sailing at the meetup, you did a few short distance maneuvers and turns, either to practice or to spend time while waiting on me to get my gear together. So I followed suit and made my trip more about practicing gybing and tacking rather than straight line speed. Then I went around the Morningside Islands 8)

The furler also worked better once I put a knot in the retainer bungie and looped it around the mast like you showed me. The only remaining issue is that the drum for the furler is too high if I leave it above the hatch, and I still don't get trouble-free furling. I will work on this. I need the furler to work fast and smooth if I am to take this offshore to troll for mackerel.


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PostPosted: Thu May 22, 2014 2:38 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 10:34 am
Posts: 134
Location: Portland, Texas
Great video! I'm also glad to see that you could afford a new hat. :D

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PostPosted: Thu May 22, 2014 8:47 pm 
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LoL! :lol:


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