Following the issue Shane had with his mirage drive and as I have just had to give the PA12 a bloody good clean to get two days of WPB mud and weed off it, thought I would check my PA12 as it celebrates its 1st birthday. Overall it's been a ripper yak and I'm rapt with it.

Hull, no issues

Rear hatch - complete swine of a thing to open and close. The seal appears to be too tight and yet it still leaks. I only open it periodically or if I run out of tackle and have to resort to the emergency supplies so I can live with this

Rudder and steering - no issues.

Seat - oh oh. Big wear hole either side of the back where the frames contact each other when the seat is folded shut. No sign of wear on the opposite frame on seat base, only on the back. The mirage drive is a concern and shows the same wear in the same place as Shanes. Bear in mind my unit is only 1 year old and does not do as many ks as Shanes yet the screw has already worn thru the anodising and into the metal. I don't adjust this but the flex in the arms combined with the screw being under constant spring pressure is making it wear into the arm. Design fault.

I'll put a thin fibre washer under the screw to slow this progress without affecting the location of the pin too much.
I'll contact Action Kayak and Sail as my selling dealer and get their thoughts on fixing these. Let you all know what they say.

Any one else had any issues with their PA12's

Cheers
Murray

I'm pretty sure the seat tearing is a known design fault and can be fixed under warranty by hobie. Josh could clarify as I'm not 100% sure, mine has done the same thing

[quote="Kingo"]I'm pretty sure the seat tearing is a known design fault and can be fixed under warranty by hobie.

My seat did the same on the webbing but at the front (seat not the back), about 4 months ago, and hobie sent a new bottom and dealer fitted it and then got a call from the dealer to say that they had also sent a back as well. great seat but i reckon a few weak points are in there.

Dibbles wrote:

Kingo wrote:I'm pretty sure the seat tearing is a known design fault and can be fixed under warranty by hobie.

My seat did the same on the webbing but at the front (seat not the back), about 4 months ago, and hobie sent a new bottom and dealer fitted it and then got a call from the dealer to say that they had also sent a back as well. great seat but i reckon a few weak points are in there.

same here, bottom seat replaced under warranty with no problems
i guess I'll have to keep an eye out on the back rest now

Seat under warranty also no issue with the replacement.

Thanks Guys
New owner at Action Kayak and Sail has pics of the seat and of the drive pedal stem and will advise me. I now have a high expectation
It's a pain that they let this go and don't contact us with a repair or advice on avoiding it.

Redmullet wrote:

Dibbles wrote:

Kingo wrote:I'm pretty sure the seat tearing is a known design fault and can be fixed under warranty by hobie.

My seat did the same on the webbing but at the front (seat not the back), about 4 months ago, and hobie sent a new bottom and dealer fitted it and then got a call from the dealer to say that they had also sent a back as well. great seat but i reckon a few weak points are in there.

same here, bottom seat replaced under warranty with no problems
i guess I'll have to keep an eye out on the back rest now

Just noticed my 2nd replacement seat trim is now starting to tear yet again
It seems this time the webbing is failing in the bottom right part of the seat.
Yes the seat and entire yak gets rinsed in fresh water and all including trailer gets stored in the shed away from the elements.
My advice, keep an eye on your vantage seat trim especially if it's coming close to the end of warranty.
Not sure if Hobie are rectifying this issue or just replacing the trim until no longer covered by warranty.
The guys at my local hobie dealer have always been very helpful with any issues I've had.

Redmullet

Thank goodness I'm still using the old PA
The seat is great with me kneeling on it etc still no dramas, doesn't cost over $700 when someone borrows it quickly and doesn't need to be removed
Perhaps Hobie's having the new seat material made in China and is sub standard if this issue keeps happening to so many ???