Hobie, warranty issue

   As many of you might have read my Hobie Outback sprung a leak after hauling it 1500 miles south to southern baja!  To make a long story short, the wheel cart punctured the hull in the tube that it goes into.  I am sure that as I backed it in the water one wheel must have caught a rock and puhsed top of the cart  into and through the hull!  I had no idea that the hulls were this thin in that location.   I had ordered a new set of wheels three weeks before I left for baja, $179 plus tax cash but they never arrived and I still have not recieved them from out local Hobie dealer (ordered 11/24/09)!  Apparently they have corrected the problem and now the cart is longer so it goes all the way through the hole and not part the way up so now it will not be able to puncture any new hulls.  It also has a wider axel so is less likely to roll over.    In the mean time I had to swim my near sunk kayak back to shore (not fun) and had to spend my long vacation sharing Lisa's Revolution instead of being with her on the water!  I have no idea what Hobie is going to do as I just dropped it off at the local dealer, and he is too busy with the show in San Mateo to address it right now.   Luckily the weather sucks right now and if I want to go fishing I will just take my boat and fish for Sturgeon instead of kayaking.   I will keep you up to date on what I find out, I spent almost $5000 on Hobie products last year!
J and L

Considering how many Hobie 'reps' we have on this site I am sure they will get you fixed up...but it still sucks that it messed up you vacation.

Hopefully they will stand behind their products and do the right thing!

Yet another yak killed by a through-hull cart............serious bummer Zinful.

Zin... sorry to hear about your vacation downer.

Where did you buy your Outback and where did you return it for warranty?

Did you order another scupper hole cart or a regular strap-on wheels?

FYI.... scupper hole carts are for very light duty only.  I just don't trust them for any terrain other than paved parking lots and boat ramps.  I have seen just about every make of kayak (including Ocean Kayak, Cobra, Malibu, Wilderness, Hobie, etc.) destroyed by scupper hole carts.  Strap-on carts are the only way to go.

Sorry to hear the boat took a crap on you.  Talk about the last place you wanted to experience a mechanical failure!

The limiting factor will be how diligent/persuasive your vendor is vis a vis Hobie.  IME, hobie puts it on the vendor to assess whether the boat is a legit warranty boat.  If the vendor says yes, then communicates that to Hobie, Hobie usually gets you a new boat.  Its very difficult to get any direct relief from Hobie.  But if the vendor has your back, you'll soon be banging stripers and partying like its 1999.

Yet another yak killed by a through-hull cart............serious bummer Zinful.

Amen to that - stay away from those type of carts 

   I won't name the local dealer as he has been a friend for 25 years and I do believe he will do what he can for me.   Most frustrating is that I was concerned about that cart and did everything I could do getthe new upgrade to no avail.   Also, I had the impression that these hulls were pretty rugged when indeed they are fairly fragile. If I sold these I would recommend being as easy on them as possible.  I am certain that Hobie is no different than any other kayak manufacturer when it comes to hull integrity.  However,  I will never assume it is able to take anything more than the most gentle approach!   From Hobies point of view they certainly should have figured out that the cart should go all the way through the hull so that the end of the cart would be prevented from putting pressure on a very fragile area of the kayak! 

Zin, my OB sank on me last summer.  I was 1/2 a mile out in the ocean when I discovered the leak.  The leak was at the same place where you described your problem.  My dealer did the right thing and in six weeks I had a brand new OB.
I'm also thinking of stowing a spare drive unit in the hatch, as mine is stacking up a lot of wear on it.  I know all the parts are replaceable but it would be good insurance--paddling that beast on the ocean makes for a long day and sore back.  Anyone have a used drive for sale? 

Also, I had the impression that these hulls were pretty rugged when indeed they are fairly fragile....  I am certain that Hobie is no different than any other kayak manufacturer when it comes to hull integrity.  However,  I will never assume it is able to take anything more than the most gentle approach!   From Hobies point of view they certainly should have figured out that the cart should go all the way through the hull so that the end of the cart would be prevented from putting pressure on a very fragile area of the kayak!

The hull of a yak is very rugged/durable.  Due to the way plastic yaks are made, scuppers are always the weakest part of the yak.  Somewhere on the site somebody has explained it very thoroughly, much better than I could.

Hope everything works out for you.

Michael

  Update on my outback warranty.  John at Windtoys is doing his best to explain to Hobie that I did nothing wrong and in fact I did my best to point out that the wheels they sold me with my outback were not set up right and that I even had paid for the upgraded wheels but that Hobie had failed to get them to him in time (back ordered).  I have now been without my yak since December 20th or so.   He is hoping they will send a blank hull and that his mechanic Andy will be able to take all of the equipment, including the rudder and install them on the new hull.  I have offered to pay for Andy's time as it is not fair to them that they are stuck with this problem.  He has also recommended to Hobie that they come up with some sort of tube to extend the wheel cart to the proper length for those customers that still have the same combo of kayak and wheel cart, as it will just be a matter of time before they have this happen to somebody else.  He is also planning on showing them how thin the plastic was in the spot there the hull was breached.  I should know soon what will their decision will be! 

JOHN IS A GREAT GUY, ISN'T HE?

SORRY FOR YOUR TROUBLES, ESP ON A FANTASY TRIP IN BAJA.  HOPE ALL GOES WEL FROM EHRE ON.

(PS, I SHARE SAME OPINION OF SCUPPER HOLE CARTS....NOT GOOD)

ALLEN

  Still no work from Hobie, no word from Wind Toys, apparently throwing 4 or 5K at a product isn't enough to get a companies attention these days!

I recall a previous thread about a shop that had less then good customer service. Is this the same company? Not tying to fan the flames but in this economy where you can shop on line and almost always get it cheaper customer service is really the only thing a brick and mortar store has to offer.

nah, windtoys is good generally, its those guys in sac (unnamed) that tend to be the problem.