Greetings,

I just purchased a 1984 16' Hobie Cat and I need to replace the tramp. I am strongly considering purchasing the grey color tramp directly from Hobie and they offer "shock cord" (bungee cord) as the perimeter tie down. Do people think this cord lasts as long as rope or is a good idea compared to rope? Also, seems they offer pig rings to tie off the ends of the shock cord.

My gut tells me to use rope....but this is all new to me.

Thank you for any insight you might have.

-Kevin (FL)

In the past we used to use shock cord when I did a lot of racing and it was important to keep the tramp super tight. We did it to protect the grommets as the shock cord would stretch out eventually instead of continouous pressure on the grommets, which would cause more serious issues with the tramp. We would replace the shock cord often but still a lot less expensive than having a tramp repaired because of grommets pulling out.

Not sure where you were looking, but the Hobie parts diagram calls for ~62 feet of 1/4" line (not shock cord). (This larger length is for newer tramps that are double grommeted down the center which reduces stress on each grommet.) I actually use 3/16"....don't remember exactly what line, but it is a quality low/prestretch.....Kevlar core maybe?. (Buy extra.....it's good for trap lines, etc. as well). I've been sailing/racing the H16 for 20+ years.....seen a bunch of 'em including the rock stars'. Only seen a handful with sad, sagging shock cord laced tramps. Shock cord will stretch….I haven't had to retighten my line lacing in many years.

Edit.........Try browsing Hobie's H16 Support pages and forums. Lots of great info, including a support document (and lots of threads) regarding tramp installation/tightening.



Edited by rattlenhum on Aug 24, 2019 - 09:29 AM.

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Jerome Vaughan
Hobie 16
Clinton, Mississippi
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Rope (line), not shock cord. You can’t get the tramp tight enough with shock cord. On a H16, the tramp tension helps keep the whole boat/frame rigid. Use a quality low-stretch line. Lace the tramp and tighten the whole thing moderately first. Then go back and pull it super tight. This will prevent overloading any individual grommets and pulling them out. You can also use a strap wrapped around the tramp sidebars and tensioned with the mainsheet to preload the frame and make it easier to tighten the tramp.

sm

Hi folks,
Thank you for your time & thoughts on this. It helps a lot. Cheers