I wanted to share my recent experience with Hobie and California Canoe and Kayak. My 2019 Outback, that was well out of the warranty by 1-2 years, developed a crack at the base of the cup holder. I contacted Harley at CCK to ask about the possibility of fixing it and was advised that it would be possible and he would contact Hobie to see if they would cover it, even though it was out of warranty. To my surprise Hobie said they would replace the entire hull!!! I picked it up on Wednesday and I'm super excited to get it rigged up and on the water. Thank you Hobie and CCK!!

I keep my spare batteries in a Ziploc bag in a pocket on my PFD. Friday I got wet and a little water got into the bag. Not a lot, just enough to get the batteries moist but not submerged. I had 3 GoPro brand batteries and 3 mibote brand batteries. All 3 GoPro batteries started leaking and smelled like acetic acid. Interestingly, all 3 mibote batteries were fine. I rinsed them in fresh water and blew them dry with air. I can't say for sure that all batteries had the same exposure but 3 of each makes me think there is something different between brands. Any battery experts know what might be different?

I have been using a Humminbird Helix 5 CHIRP DI GPS G2 for a few years and really like it. I recently had to send it in for service (too many dunks) so I hooked up a Raymarine Dragonfly 5 that came with my last kayak purchase. Glad I held onto it as a backup. After I got my Humminbird back I hooked them both up at the same time to see how they compare on the water. As an aside, Humminbird service was great. They sent me what looks like a brand new unit for a flat repair fee of $92. Last weekend I got out on the water with both units hooked up. After a few odd looks from PBers eyeing dual ff on a kayak, I turned them both on. The sonar images were virtually identical, both DI and CHIRP. I went from 6-30 ft over eelgrass, rocks and sand. Interestingly, the Humminbird was mounted on the Hobie guardian plate and the Raymarine was mounted in the hull using duct sealing putty. Previously, when I switched from thru hull to the plate mount with the Humminbird I didn't notice any difference, but that was not side by side. So, sonar wise they were equivalent.

As far as ease of use the Humminbird was much easier for what I wanted to do. Specifically:

The Humminbird display was brighter and easier to see in the sun.

To mark a waypoint on the Humminbird I just hit one button. On the Raymarine it is necessary to hit a button and make some additional selections.

The Raymarine does not display labels on the waypoints and Humminbird does. This is important for me when I'm tracking pots etc. I couldn't believe this wasn't an option so I confirmed online.

The Raymarine allows you to use more characters to label your waypoints, but since they aren't displayed on the map this is of limited use.

The Raymarine has a lag when you move the cursor on the map which makes it frustrating to select a waypoint to start navigation. The Hummibird has no delay.

The SD card slot cover on the Raymarine is shaped such that you can't really seal it with tape. That may increase the likelihood of water damage.

Overall, I was very happy to switch back to my Humminbird.

Hope this helps anyone shopping for a new ff.

 

Water got into the card reader slot on my ff and now it is corroded. Remarkably it still works. I'm thinking about putting some dielectric grease in there to stop further corrosion, but I'm not sure if that is a good idea. Has anyone tried that?

I did see the Inkeeper suggest putting grease in the slot in this thread but I'm wondering if anyone has actually done it.
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=89094.msg1019332#msg1019332

I might try putting some grease in a microSD card holder that I put into my computer as a test to see if works in general.

FYI I had the slot covered with electrical tape but some water still got in there. I should have opened it to check periodically.

I was out on my 2019 Outback yesterday and the pedal broke off where it attached to the crank arm. This is a major bummer because it is only a 2019 and it has shaken my confidence in the reliability of the drive. Looking at it I can see it sheared off right where it attaches to the crank arm on the side opposite the pedal (see pics). I suppose I will have to replace the whole crank arm-pedal assembly since it is of pressed in there. I have 2 questions for the group:

1) Does anyone have suggestions on a temporary fix to get this on the water next weekend? I anticipate it will take awhile to get a replacement. It looks like the part that broke only has to hold the pedal shaft in the crank arm so I was thinking of tapping a hole into the pedal shaft and inserting a screw that would hold it in place. Obviously, I would not go far on this fix.

2) Anyone else have this problem? Is this a known weakness or did I just get a bad pedal-crank arm?

Thanks, John

I'm wondering if anyone has experience parking a kayak trailer at SWS. Since my trailer is small I can put it in a parking space next to the car, but I'm wondering if I'll get hassled since parking is an issue there and access is gate controlled.

The swell is too big in the ocean for me, so I'm planning to go crabbing at Tomales tomorrow. Launching from either Nick's cove or Lawsons. Thinking to arrive about 8. I haven't launched a kayak at Lawsons before, but based on reports it seems like you can go crabbing close to the launch which is an advantage if the wind picks up. Anyone want to join me?

John