H-Rails on a Hobie Inflatable Kayak

[@srunyon1]

I actually did this this week. It worked perfectly, I will say on the new 2020 boat there is not enough room to get the mount between the paddle holder and the air valve, they added a ring around the valve that makes it wider. No need to go for long rails they won't fit. I bought the pro rails as shown here but not needed. I bought all the stuff to do this before a trip to pickup my new boat. Thanks for the Tutorial!!

[@kevinkelly2710]

so what length rails did you use?

[@yakzen4120]

Great rigging idea with the Railblaza, thanks for posting!

[@AmericanKayakSupply]

Hobie Zen glad you liked it, thanks for the comment!

[@CookingandFishing]

Great video, now my setup/breakdown time will be double...but those h rails will come in SO handy...thanks! :)

[@AmericanKayakSupply]

Happy to help, bud! Just let me know if you have any questions when you're setting it all up. Thanks for watching!

[@WhitchurchFishing1]

Great video man thank you. im looking at getting the new i s 11 here in march and doing this

[@kevinwills224]

How has the glue and rails held up for you? Any issues a year later?

[@michaeledwardsfishing8817]

Hey where did u get that kayak stand if u don’t mind sharing the link I really appreciate it

[@Trondset]

Great video! Thanks

[@davidlovesgolf]

Super helpful video, thank you.

[@SirSolidSpine23]

Sorry, I'm new to this, what size bolt on h rail did you use?

[@phillipjacobson4457]

I have a star rival fish isup. It comes with scotty glued on mounts already on place. Can the center tube of the h rail be removed and cut to length if I purchase the longest set made?

[@tommyliu4683]

Awesome video! I'm thinking of using the same process and installing the H rail on my 14' skiff. Hobie offers so many great accessories. Do you know if the rails are available longer than the 50" that's on the pa14 upgrade kit?

[@RasmusLandstrom]

Hey, thank you so much for a GREAT video! I'm definitely gonna do the same thing on mine! Just wondering, did you ever consider mounting the ribports alongside the kayak instead of across, to decrease the rounding of the surface?

[@AmericanKayakSupply]

Rasmus Ländström thanks for watching! I’ve done this install with shorter h-rails the way you’re describing it, however in this case I had to install the ports from side to side as the RIBport that’s aft on the port side is wedged tightly between the valve and paddle clip.

[@srunyon1]

How long Re the rails you used? Are they the pro model cut down? Just wondering the actual length, thanks love the how to!

[@OpenworldgamesOrg]

Really impressive! Looks like just what I need. I assume the project will work as well on the i9s, correct? If so, do you know where to get the Railblaza adapter to attach the H-rail to the Starport? I found all the rest of the parts on the West Coast Sailing site, but the adapters were not listed there.

[@AmericanKayakSupply]

We just started stocking the adaptors and haven't listed them on our website just yet, but we do have them here at the shop. Shoot us an email at [e-mail] and we will get you all set up!

[@richardmaman2367]

Happy new year ! First : Why don't you use the VHB 3M Pad (included with the starport) instead of the hobie glue ? Second : In the video, the H rails size seems to be more around 39 than 21 inches. why ? what accessory number is it exactlly ? Third : do you have also a item number for the glue ? Fourth : do you think the attachment will resist to a trolling with a rod on a rod holder ? Also : do you have a solution not to loose the paddle existing fixation ? To finish : do you have a solution to also attach a sidekick ama kit to those inflatable kayaks (I am interested in Hobie i12s) ? Thanks a lot from France

[@AmericanKayakSupply]

Happy new years to you as well! 1) The 3M pad isn't strong enough to hold up to the curvature of the boat while inflated - I used them on my initial attempt at this setup and they kept peeling off. The glue is really the only adhesive that allows the boat to still be inflated/deflated without the port coming back up. 2) The H-Rails I used were from the Pro Angler H-Rail Kit, cut down to the size I wanted with a hack saw. I've done the 21" H-Rails on the i11s as well, but this was my personal boat and I wanted more rail space! The part number for that kit is 84625312, or you can find it on our website here: www.westcoastsailing.net/default/84625312.html 3) The MPN for the glue is 79052018 and can be found on our website here: www.westcoastsailing.net/default/79052018.html 4) I certainly hope it does! I created this setup specifically for trolling for salmon. The rails will shift a bit when there's a jerk to the rod holders, but it's a minor shift, which can be alleviated by just making sure that those H-Rail adaptors are tightened down really well. 5) You could place the rail further out of the cockpit, but then it would just look really strange. Alternatively, you can just put two H-Rail G-holds on the h-rail and as that as a paddle holder. It's a more sturdy setup anyway. 6) For the sidekicks - that's a tricky question. My initial thought would be to just use two H-Rail mounting plates, but I don't know that the amas would actually make contact with the water at that point. However, if you use the mounting plates upside down it very well might work. That's about the only thing I can think of on that one. Cheers!

[@richardmaman2367]

@@AmericanKayakSupply Thanks a lot. Concerning the paddle : in the Hobie i12, the fixation is on the side. So it should be ok to keep the paddle there. But if i put the sidekicks it will be another wonder... Concerning the sidekicks : very good idea with the mounting plates, but - will it still enough space remaining (between the lower side of the mounting plate and the kayak's pvc surface) to put the bar ? it seems to be ok ... - what could be the result regarding the behaviour of the inflatable structure (as we "force" each side of the kayak together ) ? - the 21" bar would be to short for doing both this and serve for the fishfinder fixation. Does the Pro Angler Rail is easy to modify ?

[@AmericanKayakSupply]

@@richardmaman2367 you should have plenty of clearance - the Sidekick kit is reasonably low profile and you'll have a lot of clearance between the rail and the kayak. It sounds like you're just referring to how the kayak itself will respond to the Ama kit when your weight shifts in the boat - if that's what you're asking: the glue used in the video is the same stuff that everything else is glued to the kayak with (handles, padeyes for mounting the seat, etc), so as long as you seal it right the adhesive can easily handle the upward force. I can't think of any reason that you would have any issues with this rail setup not being able to handle the Amas. Cutting the rails down to size is super easy, you just pop the rail out of the end pieces and cut it down with a hack saw once you've got everything measured out exactly as you want it. The actual cutting part only takes a couple of minutes

[@richardmaman2367]

@@AmericanKayakSupply thanks a lot for all. Everything sounds well. Great video, ideas and comments. I will visit you next time I go in west coast. I don't have purchase any hobie right now but Im going to do it in the next days. I'm still hesitating between i12 (easy storage inside car's trunk or in an appartment but low durability) and compass/outback (strong confortable but more heavy and very difficult to store for me). I still wonder if I'm not going to be disappointed with an - expensive - inflatable... Nb : I want to add a sail anyway (for fishing but almost for sailing)

[@AmericanKayakSupply]

@@richardmaman2367 awesome! The Compass and the Outback are both great boats, but so is the i12! Definitely try to demo them first if you can to see what you're most comfortable in. You really can't go wrong with any of those three kayaks, it's just a matter of nailing down what features are most important to you. Good luck on the quest!

[@WhitchurchFishing1]

So does the heat or any kind of weather mess with the glue looking at doing this to the 2021 model

[@CrazyCranker]

@Serge Omelayenko I recommend this glue for all PVC glue on accessories: www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00BJWX3FM/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[@spotlightinspect5540]

Seth, I have my i11s at a local shop in Dallas, TX and they can’t seem to get these pads to stick. 3M pads failed first as you mentioned then they were immediately peeling off around the edges with the Hobie glue. I noticed you glued yours on the opposite direction than they have tried and it also looks like yours is curved slightly. Did you heat the pad up first to curve it? Their complaint is that it is stiff. Also, did you go with the longest rails and shorten them or did you use the midsized rails? I’m curious as to the perfect rail length in relation to where to kayak has to fold to be stored in the bag. Has the glue held up for you so far? Thanks in advance.

[@jrwycuff9]

I just got the stuff to do mine and immediately noticed what you mean with the ribports being flat and stiff. I'm going to try and heat them up and see if I can get a slight curve out of them. Also, they have a new h-rail kit for the outback that is 27" long and way cheaper than the kit for the pro angler unless you're wanting them longer.

[@srunyon1]

Did you get this to work?