Cheaper to buy Hobie kayak parts or 3d print them? - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

sdjiricek · 04-05-2023, 05:02 PM

I Have 2 crapped out/ stripped Hobie Outback Mirage kayak hulls that I'm trying to revive. Payed $100 a piece for them. Looking at the prices for parts I began to wonder if it would be cheaper to have them 3d printed. Things like drain plugs, rudder parts, Mirage drive parts, cleats, bungee anchors. Any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated on prices, best types of filament, printer files or just web links, and local shops that do small batch printing...etc. CHEERS.

PapaDave · 04-07-2023, 07:24 AM

I'd be curious about that myself, let us know. Are there data files that you can get for them?

JohnMckroidJr · 04-09-2023, 05:32 PM

I have had a few parts made via 3d printing for kayak and whatnot. The quality of the material is not as nice as the Hobie plastic.

Hobie charges a premium for parts, but unless you are buying bulk, 3D-printed parts can also be expensive.

Let us know if you find any good deals or what your final decision is. Good luck!

sdjiricek · 04-11-2023, 10:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by JohnMckroidJr

I have had a few parts made via 3d printing for kayak and whatnot. The quality of the material is not as nice as the Hobie plastic.

Hobie charges a premium for parts, but unless you are buying bulk, 3D-printed parts can also be expensive.

Let us know if you find any good deals or what your final decision is. Good luck!

I have already found files for Scotty ball mounts and attachments, GoPro mounts, cleats etc. not Hobie specific though. Hobie parts might need to be scanned. Doing research and the interwebs and bookmarking what I find. I'll share once I get a good list going. I also found out you can print at your local IDEA shop at several branches of the San Diego public Library but only in PLA filament, which doesn't seem to have very good UV resistant properties.

monstahfish · 04-14-2023, 08:31 AM

My first question is which parts do you need? Have all the padeyes been removed or is it just hatches? Do you have the bow hatch? You'll need to get all the parts to scan them in the first place and I wouldn't let a buddy take my kayak apart to do that especially the front hatch. That things a bitch to put together properly and you'd have to reseal everything. Assemblies like hatches will have to be completely broken down to be scanned individually. On top of that, scanning will not get all the minute details to make quality threads in the case of the padeyes, pin slots on hatches which will bind if not accurately done. Do you have CAD software and skills to do this? Also if you're going to scan parts, some scanning systems result in either point cloud or surface models and they're very difficult to turn into solids you can modify. You're looking at hours and hours of work with expensive equipment. You'll have to probably use MJF pa12 glass filled to get the required strength. If you can do all that, the printers cost about $600 a day to run then you'll need to factor in their profit. I'd say having designed a lot of those parts, you might be better off trying to get a bulk deal on parts from a local dealer. Maybe they even have some used ones from boats that have been stripped down or someone has a thrashed hull with all the parts you need and you can work out a deal. Good luck.

jruiz · 04-19-2023, 08:30 AM

Many times kayaks are stripped down like this because it was a kayak that had an irreparable hull issue that the manufacture warrantied. It would be a shame to go through all this to find out there's a crack on the hull.

04-05-2023, 05:02 PM	#1
sdjiricek Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Ramona, Ca. Posts: 44	Cheaper to buy Hobie kayak parts or 3d print them? I Have 2 crapped out/ stripped Hobie Outback Mirage kayak hulls that I'm trying to revive. Payed $100 a piece for them. Looking at the prices for parts I began to wonder if it would be cheaper to have them 3d printed. Things like drain plugs, rudder parts, Mirage drive parts, cleats, bungee anchors. Any advice or experiences would be greatly appreciated on prices, best types of filament, printer files or just web links, and local shops that do small batch printing...etc. CHEERS. Last edited by sdjiricek; 04-05-2023 at 05:34 PM.

04-07-2023, 07:24 AM	#2
PapaDave Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Menifee, CA Posts: 1,455	I'd be curious about that myself, let us know. Are there data files that you can get for them? __________________ So long and thanks for all the fish...

04-09-2023, 05:32 PM	#3
JohnMckroidJr Senior Member Join Date: May 2014 Location: Fort Lauderdale Posts: 1,863	I have had a few parts made via 3d printing for kayak and whatnot. The quality of the material is not as nice as the Hobie plastic. Hobie charges a premium for parts, but unless you are buying bulk, 3D-printed parts can also be expensive. Let us know if you find any good deals or what your final decision is. Good luck!

04-14-2023, 08:31 AM	#5
monstahfish Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2014 Posts: 406	My first question is which parts do you need? Have all the padeyes been removed or is it just hatches? Do you have the bow hatch? You'll need to get all the parts to scan them in the first place and I wouldn't let a buddy take my kayak apart to do that especially the front hatch. That things a bitch to put together properly and you'd have to reseal everything. Assemblies like hatches will have to be completely broken down to be scanned individually. On top of that, scanning will not get all the minute details to make quality threads in the case of the padeyes, pin slots on hatches which will bind if not accurately done. Do you have CAD software and skills to do this? Also if you're going to scan parts, some scanning systems result in either point cloud or surface models and they're very difficult to turn into solids you can modify. You're looking at hours and hours of work with expensive equipment. You'll have to probably use MJF pa12 glass filled to get the required strength. If you can do all that, the printers cost about $600 a day to run then you'll need to factor in their profit. I'd say having designed a lot of those parts, you might be better off trying to get a bulk deal on parts from a local dealer. Maybe they even have some used ones from boats that have been stripped down or someone has a thrashed hull with all the parts you need and you can work out a deal. Good luck.

04-19-2023, 08:30 AM	#6
jruiz Large Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: La Verne, CA Posts: 1,002	Many times kayaks are stripped down like this because it was a kayak that had an irreparable hull issue that the manufacture warrantied. It would be a shame to go through all this to find out there's a crack on the hull.