stringy wrote:
Those cracked cradles are not good. I wonder what has changed that makes them weaker than the carpeted version?
Mine sit on 2” RHS steel tubes that run the full cradle width. There is no flex in the mount, but there is flex in the trailer.
There are many possible formulations of plastics. They can be formulated to be very hard but brittle, or soft and flexible. Yours are probably benefiting from a better formulation and/or the solid steel tubes.
The current cradles look thick, hard, and nearly indestructible, but they simply can't take repeated flexing over time. If Hobie ever redesigns them for use on trailers, they'll need to make them more resilient. If you want to use them in their current form, make absolutely certain that they are mounted in such a way that they will never flex, such as on solid metal tubing. I'm not certain even then that it's possible to ensure no flexing on a boat trailer.
If you want to use these cradles in static or low flex conditions, they should be fine.