So, "what's a moby" you might ask. A moby (plural, mobies) is a hidden latch mechanism for the purpose of keeping the hatch of a kayak closed. The moby, is a lever attached to the underside of the hatch cover that under the tension of bungie cords presses against the underside of the kayak deck and holds the hatch securely closed. I added mobies to the kayak when I built the kayak 2 years ago, but I built them using 1/8" recycled mahogany plywood. That proved too weak and 2 of 8 of them have broken. So, I am rebuilding the mobies. This time I have made them much beefier. They are being constructed of 1/4" poplar wood, with the grain in the direction of required strength. The poplar was reinforced before cutting out the pieces by adding a layer of fiberglass on each side. They are also larger in every dimension than the older version, which will make them stronger again.
This post was just intended to be a quick update. I have been taking pictures along the way in preparation for a future comprehensive Moby post, perhaps a "how to". So far, I have fiberglass-reinforced 1/4" poplar, drawn a new and enlarged moby template, cut out all the pieces, and cut off the old mobies and cleaned up the hatch lids. This evening, I glued the mobie components together with thickened epoxy and added another layer of glass to the underside of the hatch lids.
In the meantime, here are a couple of pictures from when I made the Mobies, Mark I.
Partially assembled pieces.
A pod of mobies ready for installation.
Mobies on hatches.
What are the dimensions on your new Mobys?
ReplyDeleteOK, I just pulled the kayak down from the garage ceiling to measure.
ReplyDeleteThe new versions are 3 1/4" long by 1" tall by 13/16" thick for the moby (lever) piece. The hole for the chicago bolt is 1/4", and the hole to allow the bungee to pass through is 3/8" long by 1/4" thick. The moby is laminated from 3 pieces of 1/4" hardwood (I used aspen because I had it on hand), strengthened with fiberglass laminations. The pieces from which the parts were cut had a layer of fiberglass added to each side prior to cutting out and gluing them up.
The brackets that hold the mobies are each 3 1/2" long by 1 1/2" tall. The 1/4" nhole for the chicago bolt axle is 15/16" above the bottom of the bracket (though it may have been an inch prior to shaping the bracket bottom to fit the lid).
Hope this helps. Contact me for more information.
Bryan
Thanks for the quick reply! Have the new ones held up?
ReplyDeleteKathy
So far, yes. They are much stronger than the old ones.
ReplyDeleteI took a bunch of pictures this morning and am creating a blog posting about the mobies answering your question, and hopefully that of future visitors.
Cheers,
Bryan
Hi Bryan,
ReplyDeleteDo you have a secret for threading the bungee cord through the holes in the Mobys?
I have 1/4" holes & 1/4" bungee cord and of course the bungee cord is slightly larger than 1/4"
Thanks,
Homer