Reserved site 5 for the weekend. Figured Id finally join for an event and meet some of you folks afflicted by the kayak fishing disease! Looking forward to it.

Good to hear!! I had a similar crack, at the right side cup holder, on a ‘20 OB. Took a tag team effort between my dealer and I to get a replacement hull.

DarthBaiter,...that is one of my go-to nicknames for anything requiring a nickname. Cheers to you good sir.

Got hooked up with the new hull just last week and got her out on the water for a shakedown cruise before a raft of planned Kokanee hunts. Same color hull, same everything. Windtoys took care of me,...I highly recommend their services!

As far as the crack,...I have no idea what caused it. I do use my boat,...a lot. I'm not the smallest or fattest, but I am a big dude. All well within the ranges Hobie suggests for the Outback. I'm unable to stand due to a past knee injury (although the seat riser kit + stand assist rope might/will help - haven't installed on this boat yet).

I'm afraid all I can figure is that each boat is unique, and some will just fail over time. Hobie's storage standards have nothing to do with the best way to store the boat. Those standards exist to nullify warranties. No way did storing my yak on flexible PVC bunks cause this crack - and if that is somehow what happened, Hobie has bigger issues with their production line pumping out supremely overpriced weakened products prone to fail. The warranty exists as a catch all. Therefore, catchall em right back. When you request a warranty claim on the hull, the first of a few questions they ask you is 'how is the kayak stored', 'how is the kayak transported'.

Hobie knows exactly how its customers use their boats. The kayaks are so fucking heavy empty, when loaded down they are obscene. We deal with the weight by engineering our own methods of storage, transport, setup/takedown and so on. Hardly any of the modifications we make on our kayaks abide by the factory warranties, and in fact most of the mods we make that require drilling or other alterations to the hull void the whole thing. If you have landing gear installed on an Outback, even if the crack isn't at the attachment point, I'd dam near bet my life Hobie will void your warranty, because they will claim landing gear put too much stress on a fully loaded down Outback. And they're probably right, it wasn't designed for that. But y'no what pisses me off? $3600 for a super heavy boat, with no fucking solutions on how to transport that do not void their warranty. With all their experts, why don't they already have an engineered solution for landing gear styled wheels? I can bitch forever about Hobie,...but I still love my Outback way too much to quit it. It's the perfect trolling machine for me. I love it. The company? They can eat a bag of,...

Bottomline:
NO MATTER HOW YOU STORE YOUR HOBIE PRODUCT, WHEN FILING A WARRANTY, LIE.

I love my Outback, and so will you. Don't let this scare you away from one. Just be smarter than my dumbass. Thankfully social medias saved my bacon.

UPDATE:

After I started posting up on the Hobie Facebook pages, NCKA, and a few other yak forums, I received an answer. The hull is being replaced. Get loud and angry,...shouldn't have to, but apparently that is what's required from Hobie customer service in order for them to process a warranty claim in a timely manner. In my case it's been a little over 6-8 weeks to get an acceptable answer out of them. And that answer was pretty fucking funny, all things considered.

The response back to my dealer after they were notified of the failed weld not holding was:

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"Improper storage is not warranty…
Fix it correctly it won’t open – he can use a KC Welder on it himself… it looks like it wasn’t fixed right if it’s opening back up...
Also if he is still leaving it on it’s side long term – its distorting the plastic and will likely break again – can’t leave it on PVC...
Sorry he’s upset but this is the issue,...
 You can get him a new hull but it won’t be free – there will be a cost component"

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I get hella bent, and decide to fire up the "I need to talk to your manager" social media fingers, post up on all of the kayak pages that have a large audience, including the Hobie forums. I noted in the preceding posts that I got a submission message stating that the post would be reviewed by an admin prior to posting to the board. Welp,...here's an excerpt of that admin's response to my posting,...which will not be posted to the board, because evidently they don't want warranty issues on their boards,...hrm,...

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"Rob,
 
I spotted this post about your Outback and reviewed the claim with J. Airing this in the forums is not the place for this to be resolved.
 
This claim was not denied but rather the suggestion of welding the crack was the first attempt at remedy. Repairing is always the first option. Only if not repairable do we go to replacement.
 
From the warranty page:
 
<<Hobie, at its option, will repair or replace a product found to be defective under the terms and within the period of this Warranty.>>
 
In your case, B has now showed us that the repair he did has failed, so a replacement hull would be ordered for you upon claim review.
 
Contact B for information about receiving this replacement hull. It may be possible to use a hull he has in stock… and we would replace that.
 
Note: We do not recommend storage or trailering on stiff PVC due to distortions to the hull. The weight of the kayak and gear pushing down over time can cause the scuppers to push up into the cockpit floor. PVC unless it is flexible enough to conform to the hull’s rocker shape will point load on the scuppers. This can result in cracks as the plastic fatigues under the distortion load. Polyethylene can “cold-flow” under constant loads higher than expected. Like hanging the boat from the handles… this over time can tare the plastic and fail.
 
J had simply suggested that the PVC bunks could be the cause. He has seen a thing or two in his years in the warranty claims seat.
 
M"

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Interesting in how the first response indicated that there would be a cost component to replacing the hull, while the second response, after social media blasting, resulted in a weak sauced back pedal, stating that the warranty claim hadn't been denied, and that J has seen a thing or two. Thanks J, I've been at yak fishing for over 10 years with multiple boats, I've seen some things too. Namely, that this has been the worst customer service experience I've had in a long time, especially in the normally hella chill yak fishing industry.

I'm going back and removing the Hobie reps names, at the request of my local dealer, as he wound up taking some shit from Hobie for sharing "internal information". My dealer wouldn't have felt the need to do that if I wasn't breathing down his neck, patiently steaming, waiting for information from Hobie. A suggestion to Hobie, which I'll share with them after I receive my new hull, is to invest more time and effort into your customer service. We pay a lot for these boats, and most of us believe that part of that high dollar cost, that high Hobie value, is the benefit of customer service and warranty support. My claim was an easy one, and they totally fucked it up, pissed me off and got me on social media. I fucking HATE social media,...with a goddam passion. But hey, drop some real life names of real life Hobie employees who are responsible for making calls,...holy fucking shit, you get a phone call from your dealer AND an email from the dude combing the Hobie forum posts. I kinda figure that process might be made easier on everybody if they just honor their friggin warranty properly.

A final word on the pvc bunks. I have mine set so that they flex, bow in the middle, allow sag, so that there is no pressure on the boat. Given the history of the '19+ Outbacks, they should make sure they beef up their molding process and build stronger boats. Ya can't mass produce these things, have the majority of owners storing them a certain way (on pvc bunks atop carts and trailers), and then invalidate all warranty claims by suggesting the potential sagging or deformation of a plastic tub will lead that quickly to cracks and other hull integrity issues. I've not seen the same issues with other brands of kayaks, just Hobie. If Hobie wants to offer something with their upcoming annual price hike lineups, perhaps a better designed built boat, less susceptible to hull failure would be a better move than hawkin' a fucking red PA14 with Ike's name plastered on the dam thing (no offense to anyone who has one - they're cool lookin).

Ok, I'm done typing I think. I'm not good at this stuff, forum stuff. I always feel whiny and bitchy. Thanks for your patience and support, it helped make me feel better and boosted my willingness to act upon my annoyance.

Cheers, and hope to be back out soon, perhaps at a hookup somewhere with a brand "new" boat.

I'd suggest posting to the Hobie forum. Jacques Bernier replies often there (or at least he used to), so you might be able to talk more-or-less directly with him.

Anyways, I suspect this is related to the new ownership. They've already killed off the AI, and they've probably decided they can squeeze out more cash by being less forthcoming on warranty issues. If so, it'll be a bad long-term strategy, as Hobie's reputation will quickly go down the toilet.

I did post to the Hobie forum. I also have my doubts they’re going to approve a post critical of their business’ warranty.

I’m stuck with a broken yak, and if they don’t like talking to me, they’re gonna be hella bummed when my wife gets on the horn. She’s full on smalls claims, social blast, USAA credit protection,…she won’t stop.

Found this crack in mine after a Shelter Cove trip.
Only had her for 18 months.
I received a new outback in less than a month from filling a claim.
Wasn’t grilled  on anything. Kayak city just wanted to see my Receipt
And yes I registered it with hobie after I got home.
Had to travel from Reno to Sacramento to get it,was the only negative other than finding that crack after bailing about 2 gallons of water out at the Cove.
I kept my old prowler for crabbing, diving, and floating rivers.
The outback for trolling and most all ocean trips.
After breaking a cable at Little River I’ve been bringing old yellow along for a backup.
Before I purchased my outback I demoed other pedal drive kayaks, and find the hobie to be more enjoyable to fish with than the others.
Best of luck to everyone and let’s hope hobie strengthens there materials to prevent this from happening in newer models.

-4est

As I understand from my dealer and the many other stories I've read, Hobie readily replaces hulls/gear for known and common problems, such as that seat post crack. Evidently, that crack has been a fairly common issue, so Hobie responds quickly. The crack I have is not common, and therefore apparently warrants further review. The word from Hobie, from my dealer, was that Hobie did not understand the potential origins of my crack (insert butt joke, gently please), and therefore did not want to replace the hull in fear of the issue simply happening again. Hobie recommended a weld instead. Welp,...all welded up, and here we are. Ball back in Hobie's court,...but holy shit they slow play their customer response time.

I do wonder what the official word will be from Hobie after the weld failed. The dealer did the weld,...are they going to deny claim now and place it on the dealer? I would hope not. But I do wonder what the hell is runaround on the turnaround for a warranty claim.

To recap,...I store my boat on PVC, on the same wood cart a whole shitton of folks have built based on YouTube and stuff. It works well, no hull deformation, just like on all the other kayaks I've ever owned. My bunks do not have a center support, which allows it to "sag" a little bit, taking pressure off the hull. I remove all my gear from the boat, especially the heavy batteries. The only weight on the bunks are the boat, and the seat.

Transportation,...I carry my OB in the bed of my Tacoma, which has a 6' bed. The bed is more than enough to support the boat without a bed extender. But I got a boonedox, for added support and ease of mind. I strap it down with 2 NRS yak straps, one that I route through the OB's handles, and to my truck, and one on the boonedox. I cinch em down pretty snug, but not insano tight, just so it doesn't wiggle around. When in transport, I do have my battery loaded and some gear stowed on top of the hull - net, paddle, drive, loader, booties, bix motor, and my Nalgene bottle of water. On the stern I have my Hobie wheels attached by the built in bungees.

Only thing I can think of that would produce a crack (original crack was 1.5-2" open gap) right beneath the right side cup holder is when I put the wheels in the scuppers. I'll land gently parallel to the ramp (I mostly launch by ramps), exit the boat, pull the bow up onto the ramp and then walk around to the stern. I'll lift it, pivot the stern up onto the ramp, putting the weight on the bow. I'll then quick release my blackpack with rods, and place it up on the ramp, and then pick the boat up with the built in handle, and place the wheels through the scupper, plop the rod box back in, and scurry up the ramp to my truck. Same way I've seen hella people do it. I've tried the bungee methods, and while they work, they are more time consuming than I like. I've organized my boat to make landings easiest for me by doing the pain in the ass side lift. Mine as well get some landing gear,...at this point,...which I think I'll do if they give me a new hull.

I have a hard time understanding how anything I've done would cause my boat to crack the way it has,...except for just fishing it a shitton.

I love my Outback, and wish they'd simply honor their warranty. I've got mine configured to the point where replacing it with another brand seriously bums me out. I mostly troll and do some bass fishing. I don't believe there is another boat out there that is better suited for trolling than the OB, with the possible exception of an Old Town with the motor in there,...but I'd just get a boat boat at that point.

Thanks for the well wishes and such. I'll post later on if there's any resolution. Apologies if I'm all scattered and butt hurt in this thread.

Tight lines!

Welp, fuck me. Cracked in the same exact place. The weld that was put in place did not hold. I mean,...who really wants to fish in spring? Usually sucks right? ALL of my spring plans this year have been dashed. Fuck me.

I've already contacted my shop and said I need a new hull now. No more welds. No more back and forth over bunks or transport methods. 3 year warranty. Give me a new motherfucking hull. I still really dig the shop, but I'm quite soured on Hobie.

I will say this,...I'm done with Hobie. IF I get another yak, it will not be a Hobie. Between the drive and the hull, I just don't feel that these boats were made for people who's primary interest is fishing, not fiddling' with their boats with the latest snappy marine mats or crazy amounts of attachable aftermarket gear. I had thought these boats were built with toughness in mind ($$$$ y'no???), given the beating the boat will take with just average use. I didn't think I'd need a backup boat to spread the fishing stress between, but that's what it seems like at the moment.

I'm mad. I'm off the water until this gets resolved, and that really sucks for my mental health. Sorry for the rant.

I'll update this thread later on if anything happens.

Good to hear your back on the water.    Who did your weld on the hobie ??

Alex

Kick ass Billy up at Windtoys in Santa Rosa. I highly recommend that shop.

Love Hobies product. Not so much their warranty.