Hey folks. I just got my hands on a 2014 Hobie Wave cat and I've been scouring the internet for info on a couple of things. Curious to know if there are any Hobie Wave owners on here who might clarify some of them for me...
1. Rigging tension. General concensus seems to be to not have the stays crazy tight on the beach, because the leeward one will slacken off anyway under sailing loads. Best to just have them tight enough that the mast can't jump off the ball in heavy chop etc. I've been using the halyard to haul them down so they're just tight enough with no slack on the beach...I assume this will do fine?
2. I've got a weird 'clunking' sound coming from the rear left hull, where the crossbar goes through. Sorta sounds like it's flexing a little under load and moving slightly in and out. Is this normal? Should I be concerned? Maybe tighten the tramp up a bit to make sure it's really snug?
3. The seat pads are worn really thin and the inspection hatches are visible/leaking...when it sits in the rain, the hulls end up with rainwater in them. If I'm gonna pull the seat pads up and re-seal the hatches, should I bother trying to find something thicker/softer to replace the pads with, or does nobody bother with this?
4. Are the factory backrests worth the extraordinary price? After being out on it for a few hours, I suspect it would be nice to have something to lean back on...is there any reason you wouldn't bother to put them on...assuming you could justify the price?
5. The previous owner looks to have left it on the trailer with the ratchet straps hauled down pretty tight. It's deformed the bottoms of the hulls where it sits on the rollers...so much so that when you push the boat onto the trailer, it stops noticeably when it gets to those spots. If I leave it on the trailer with the straps loose, will the hulls regain their original shape, or are they likely deformed for good? I doubt it makes any difference to how it sails, but I'm just curious to know if the hulls will recover over time.

Cheers,
Brenton

Might get more responses here?
www.hobie.com/forums/viewforum.php?f=24

Sorry I see you have posted on that Hobie forum but got no answers which is less than average.

Assume you have this doc;

media.hobie.com/digital_assets/wavemanual.pdf?_ga=2.36187296.1620692242.1556579949-1490814401.1550531118

Your answer to 1 seems about right.
For 3 Clark Rubber might have some rubber or polyurethane sheet which could suit. I have used 7mm yoga matt offcuts for a kayak seat pad which worked well - kayak stored in shed.
For 4 those back rests look totally out of place on that size cat.
For 5 I fear the permanent deformation is there for good with that polyethylene hull material.

Have a Hobie adventure island - trimaran - of the same vintage/material .
Might be worth inverting the hulls to expose to the sun,although may be wrong time of year,as material may have a memory and revert to shape ? Works with kayaks,but may be of a different composition .
Rattle/looseness definitely needs fixing - is there access to the beam internally - + tighten tramp . The rig can be loose,but not the hulls .

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r13 said..
Sorry I see you have posted on that Hobie forum but got no answers which is less than average.

Assume you have this doc;

media.hobie.com/digital_assets/wavemanual.pdf?_ga=2.36187296.1620692242.1556579949-1490814401.1550531118

Your answer to 1 seems about right.
For 3 Clark Rubber might have some rubber or polyurethane sheet which could suit. I have used 7mm yoga matt offcuts for a kayak seat pad which worked well - kayak stored in shed.
For 4 those back rests look totally out of place on that size cat.
For 5 I fear the permanent deformation is there for good with that polyethylene hull material.

Yeah...although to be fair, I assume most of this stuff has been asked/answered many times over the years, but I don't have time to go spelunking through the entire history of the forum to find out for sure. Especially for something like the odd 'clunking' sound.

Anyway, thanks for the info/suggestions. I never even thought of yoga mats...great idea!

Cheers,
Brenton

Select to expand quote

PLanter4 said..
Have a Hobie adventure island - trimaran - of the same vintage/material .
Might be worth inverting the hulls to expose to the sun,although may be wrong time of year,as material may have a memory and revert to shape ? Works with kayaks,but may be of a different composition .
Rattle/looseness definitely needs fixing - is there access to the beam internally - + tighten tramp . The rig can be loose,but not the hulls .

There are access ports in the hulls, but I don't think there's anything mechanical that fixes these into the hulls...from what I can gather, it's just the tramp tension that keeps the whole thing together. I'll tighten the tramp and see what happens.

Cheers,
Brenton