AI Bulkhead

This is a picture of my Adventure Island foam bulkhead. You will notice that the rudder cable turning blocks are missing. I moved them further back to make the bulkhead 100% water tight. I used Goop Plumbing Glue to seal any gaps.

AI Mast Repair

After the Watertribe North Carolina Challenge I noticed that the Mast base plate was coming loose and the mast furling drum had moved up the mast 1/4". This created a mast latch problem. Under load the mast would release and slide up several inches out of the mast receiver.

The mast base plate is held in by four small screws. Hobie uses Loctite on the screws. There is a documented problem with these screws coming loose. If they start backing out they hit the bese of the mast. The plate also starts moving around making things worse. My solution was to use epoxy. The plate is locked in place even if the screws come loose. Also water can not sit around the base creating corrosion issues.

I could not easily move the furning drum and glue it to the mast. I tried to flow as much resin into the small gap. To increase the strength and keep the drum from sliding up I wrapped layers of graphite and fiberglass cloth above and below the drum. Then I spread fairing compound over the top. This was sanded and faired to allow the mast to slide into the receiver smoothly. Here is the final product.

Hobie Adventure Island Forward Hatch

I have installed a watertight bulkhead just aft of the mast. Each time that I go out I get several inches of water in the bow section. I have asked on the Hobie Forum about possible sources. The mast fitting or the two mast screw plugs can be a problem if the hull is damaged.

To test for leaks I removed a screw from the sheet block and screwed in a air line. If the air pressure gets too great the hatch bungee cords will releave the pressure. I used soap water to check for leaks at all the fittings and screws. None were observed.

I did notice that the hatch did not relieve the air evenly. The Forward Stbd and Aft Port leaked more than the rest. Pushing down on the Stbd side was harder to reduce the leakage.

I believe that the gasket does not sit evenly on the coaming. The gasket channel that slips onto the hatch might also leak. I first seal all the gasket channels and reduce the size of the gap between the hatch and the hull. Then ... ??? We will see...

Tired Of Sitting in Water

My new Hobie Adventure Island tends to scoop up water through the lifting handles when  healed over. The water collects in the seat well. Also the drain plugs leak. The plug threads are incomplete and the "O"  ring might not seat well.

 I am 6' 2" and the seat back sits low on my back. To solve the drain and support problems I decided to raise the seat. Since there are no plug holes I had to drill through the back of the seat well.

To add some support to the lower back rest I added a polyethelene pad. This might be a little overkill.

  To raise the bottom two 1.5" foam pads under the seat.

Installing Kayaking Bob Spray Skirt on Hobie TI

To keep the spray down I installed a mesh spray skirt on each side of the bow. I purchased it from Kayaking Bob. The spray skirt comes without any installation accessories. The web site has different recommendation on how this can be installed. I decided to use what I had in my garage instead of going out and purchasing additional material.

List of Materials:
     Parachute Cord
     4 Plastic Eyes
     4 Plastic Hooks
     2 Fiberglass rods from a reflective road marker
     Heatshrink Tubing

I threaded the sprayskirt with the parachute cord leaving ~ 4" loop at each corner. ~ 2" Heatshrink was slid over one end and then both ends were tied with a square knot. The Heatshrink was slid over the knot and shrunk to keep the knot from coming apart. The knot was slid into the AFT short section of the skirt to hide the knot.

Two plastic eyes were screwed on to the bow. The bow loop of the skit was passed through the eye (inside-out) and the entire skirt was passed through the loop. The position of the skirt was adjusted and parachute cord was sewn to the skirt to maintain the distance. 

 The AFT corner is attached with a combination of hook and loop. Make sure the center loop position is slightly forward of the ama crossarm. The tension keeps the loop from coming out.

 The center corner is pulled out using a piece of parachute cord. Make a small loop in the end. Loop it through the center. Run the line out to the bungee peg, back to the start loop and make a sliding knot on the return string. This will allow the tension to be adjusted as the lines streches. The double wrap acts like a Spanish Tacle reducing the load on the sliding knot.

 The inside edge tends to pull away from the hull. To keep it close a fiberglass rod is inserted into the inside edge of the skirt. I did not want to use use the hatch bungee as recommended on some sites to pull in the skirt. A short Bungee and a plastic hook is used. I have a welded hook but another reverse plastic hook could be used. The two hooks pull against each other.

To stowe the spray skirt disconnect the center loop. Roll skirt into it self and tuck under the hatch bungee.

I will be going on to the bay this weekend to test the rig.