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PostPosted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 8:45 pm 
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Hey Hobie,
I have been continuing to do research on the Adventure Islands. This past week I had pretty much come to the conclusion that I want to purchase the Tandem island so that I can take out all 5 of my family members at once. I see all the pictures on your website shows families 3 or more enjoying a day on the water. But upon further research the capacity plate on the Tandem Island states 2 people ! Thereby negating it use as a family water toy. I am perplexed how you can tout this as a family sailboat but has a capacity plate that only shows two ? Thoughts ? I live in the state of Kentucky and I contacted the DNR and they go by both the 2 person limit and 600 lbs. So even though I would be under the 600 lbs limit weight wise I would definitely not be under the max of 2 people on the tandem island. It is really unfortunate as I was ready to pull the trigger an add to my growing Hobie arsenal as I currently own and i11s and i12s Hobie you guys need to get this fixed ASAP as you are losing sales as more and more states go by those capacity plates. Please help was looking forward to buying a 2019 tandem all decked out for the family but as of now I can't do it in my state and the number of states seem to be growing quickly ! I so want to have a Hobie day with my family of 5 on a Tandem Island make it happen please !


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PostPosted: Tue Apr 30, 2019 9:03 pm 
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Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife
Section 5. General Boating Safety Requirements. (1) Taking into consideration the weather and existing operating conditions, a person shall not operate a vessel loaded beyond its safe carrying capacity with:

(a) Passengers; or
(b) Cargo.

In the case of the TI, that’s’ limited to 2 persons and 600 lb. by the official Coast Guard approved sticker. A routine safety inspection, simply because the enforcement officer is curious to see the TI up close, will turn a family boat into a $10K kayak for two the moment the officer compares the head count to the 2 person limit on the Hobie sticker. The officer won’t be swayed by Hobie’s words or advertising photos. He will go by official approved sticker and the heads he counts on his fingers.


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PostPosted: Wed May 01, 2019 5:23 am 
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This topic has been discussed as far back as 2015:

https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=55453

In all this time Hobie has never fixed the problem.

This has been Hobie's only response to the issue on Jul 27, 2015:
mmiller wrote:
We don't get into every topic... but I spotted this.

CE as noted, is European standards that do not apply anywhere else. Has to do with using the product in offshore and challenging conditions... In European waterways.

This does not apply to the US or other countries. There is simply a weight capacity we recommend.

On a catamaran or other products we have made over the years, there are no "seating positions". On a Catamaran you can sit on the trampoline as you can on the Islands, so with Trampolines for sure.... you can carry more persons. Up to the maximum recommended weight capacity.

We list crew size simply as a guide for most likely use.

We determined Island capacity... with amas.

2015 AI: Capacity: 400 lbs / 181.44 kg

TI: Capacity: 600 lbs / 272 kg


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PostPosted: Wed May 01, 2019 5:38 am 
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Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
pro10is wrote:
This topic has been discussed as far back as 2015:

https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=55453

In all this time Hobie has never fixed the problem.


It’s a problem that goes back much further than that. This from 2011
https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=33856


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PostPosted: Wed May 01, 2019 6:18 am 
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stringy wrote:
pro10is wrote:
This topic has been discussed as far back as 2015:

https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=55453

In all this time Hobie has never fixed the problem.


It’s a problem that goes back much further than that. This from 2011
https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=33856

Wow!


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PostPosted: Wed May 01, 2019 1:06 pm 
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Location: Orlando!
Hobie cannot from a marketing standpoint advertise the TI as a 2 person MAX watercraft so they have to game the system with images of more than 2 passengers on board.

Tough call. On one hand there’s the letter of the law. On the other, the boat is very capable of handling a few more passengers, but ultimately it’s the customer who’ll get stuck holding the bag.


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PostPosted: Wed May 01, 2019 1:48 pm 
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Location: Oceanside, California
Once again, the crew count vs weight capacity sticker is primarily a European region requirement. On our website crew count is a recommendation only. On catamarans there is only a trampoline and there is no "seat" count. We only recommend the capacity and normal crew count as a guide. There are two decals on the Island. One is the EC requirement (European). The other is just our recommendations as far as I know.

Note that the USCG states that "Sailboats, canoes, kayaks and inflatable boats are exempt from this standard... States do have statutes prohibiting the carriage of people and gear in excess of the stated capacity"

It would depend on the State you are in... and other countries do not adhere to US standards.

There is also NMMA certification. I do not think the label we put on a Kayak is part of that certification.

When you add trampolines to the Island it becomes more like a catamaran, so should allow additional passengers up to the recommended weight capacity in my mind.

I am asking our offices for clarification.

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


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PostPosted: Wed May 01, 2019 5:41 pm 
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mmiller wrote:
Once again, the crew count vs weight capacity sticker is primarily a European region requirement. On our website crew count is a recommendation only. On catamarans there is only a trampoline and there is no "seat" count. We only recommend the capacity and normal crew count as a guide. There are two decals on the Island. One is the EC requirement (European). The other is just our recommendations as far as I know.

Note that the USCG states that "Sailboats, canoes, kayaks and inflatable boats are exempt from this standard... States do have statutes prohibiting the carriage of people and gear in excess of the stated capacity"

It would depend on the State you are in... and other countries do not adhere to US standards.

There is also NMMA certification. I do not think the label we put on a Kayak is part of that certification.

When you add trampolines to the Island it becomes more like a catamaran, so should allow additional passengers up to the recommended weight capacity in my mind.

I am asking our offices for clarification.


Hello miller

As soon as Hobie puts a capacity sticker that is only European required it becomes state boating law in Kentucky and many other states. The fact that the Coast Guard does not require capacity stickers on "sailboats, canoes, kayak and inflatable boats" becomes a moot point once it is placed on the watercraft. As you stated, many states have statutes that supersede the Coast Guard requirements. If it's not required, then why do it? If it's simply a Hobie "suggestion" then why include it on a sticker that states "Maximum Capacity of 2 persons". If the kayak becomes a catamaran when the tramps are added, then there needs to be a change to the capacity sticker to make that stipulation. As the manufacturer, you are responsible for all these things. As the consumer, we have to be as informed as possible AND make our fellow consumers aware as well.

Please continue to follow up with your office. I look forward to your reply.


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PostPosted: Thu May 02, 2019 6:21 am 
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HobieMirager wrote:
Hello miller

As soon as Hobie puts a capacity sticker that is only European required it becomes state boating law in Kentucky and many other states. The fact that the Coast Guard does not require capacity stickers on "sailboats, canoes, kayak and inflatable boats" becomes a moot point once it is placed on the watercraft. As you stated, many states have statutes that supersede the Coast Guard requirements. If it's not required, then why do it? If it's simply a Hobie "suggestion" then why include it on a sticker that states "Maximum Capacity of 2 persons". If the kayak becomes a catamaran when the tramps are added, then there needs to be a change to the capacity sticker to make that stipulation. As the manufacturer, you are responsible for all these things. As the consumer, we have to be as informed as possible AND make our fellow consumers aware as well.

Please continue to follow up with your office. I look forward to your reply.

Excellently stated and I couldn't agree more. If Hobie could resolve this longstanding problem they would be doing their customers a huge service. I had to cover up my sticker to end being repeatedly told to return to shore by marine law enforcement with more than two people onboard. I was on the verge of selling my TI because of this. I still worry that they will discover that I have obscured the sticker and may have to face the consequences.

Unless this is resolved by Hobie, I urge anyone considering buying a TI for use with more than two people to check with their local marine authorities before buying.


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PostPosted: Fri May 03, 2019 11:36 am 
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Location: Las cruces, NM
I don't have my Ti in front of me, but cant the sticker/lable be removed? If not a US requirement, can't we take it off?

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2013 Hobie Tandem Island w/spinnaker


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PostPosted: Fri May 03, 2019 12:14 pm 
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serpa4 wrote:
I don't have my Ti in front of me, but cant the sticker/lable be removed? If not a US requirement, can't we take it off?

It is a Coast Guard approved sticker. When I say sticker I have heard it is molded into the Hull not sure as I don’t own one. Had hoped to until I found out I couldn’t take my family of 5 out for the day on the water without fear of being told to go back to the dock by the Kentucky water patrol.


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PostPosted: Fri May 03, 2019 7:16 pm 
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Location: Colorado
Also.. you might be looking at the wrong boat if your looking for something to take a family of 5 sailing on in my opinion. Might be Ok in perfect light wind/ warm conditions.. but you are still talking about an 18 foot sailing kayak that weighs around 250 pounds.

If its just every once in a while with the family.. put something over the sticker. I would not remove the sticker in case you ever sale the boat for liability reasons.

The TI is really best as a single or double boat. Five people if a T storm came up.. Hmm...


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PostPosted: Sat May 04, 2019 1:01 am 
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walt wrote:
Also.. you might be looking at the wrong boat if your looking for something to take a family of 5 sailing on in my opinion. Might be Ok in perfect light wind/ warm conditions.. but you are still talking about an 18 foot sailing kayak that weighs around 250 pounds.

If its just every once in a while with the family.. put something over the sticker. I would not remove the sticker in case you ever sale the boat for liability reasons.

The TI is really best as a single or double boat. Five people if a T storm came up.. Hmm...


Just 2 adults and 3 young kids. Just like Hobie advertises on the web page. Plus not open water but on a calm lake.


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PostPosted: Sat May 04, 2019 8:41 am 
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Unless something has changed since 2017, what you are talking about is simply a sticker. It took me less than 10 seconds to peel it off yesterday...

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PostPosted: Sun May 05, 2019 12:16 pm 
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Brianm wrote:
Unless something has changed since 2017, what you are talking about is simply a sticker. It took me less than 10 seconds to peel it off yesterday...

Depending upon State and local laws, it may be illegal to remove or cover such stickers. I covered mine out of necessity and now I have to worry about getting caught.

The whole point of these posts is that it would not be an issue if the sticker was correct or more accurate.


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