Frustrated with Locking Sleeve

[DPawloff]

First post. Unable to move the Locking Sleeve to pack up the kayak. Have been forced for the last three outings to carry the assembled kayak on the car's rooftop, apparently not the recommended method. Otherwise, the kayak handles beautifully and I really appreciate the lighter load as my 80 year old body balks at carrying the heavier AE Expedition kayak.

Soooo, what is the secret for dealing with this frustrating situation?

Appreciate all comments and recommendations.

[rjf]

I use a micro screw driver to press down on the pin and pop up. That seems to work. It allows you to pull up on the poles. I do get worried that pin lock may not hold the poles together. Sometimes the button will not pop up without working it. The light weight and glide of the kayak are great, I love the airfusion and would like to see the new evo in the spring at a demo in OKC.

[DPawloff]

Thanks rjf, will give it a try. Had a great run yesterday in heavy winds with white caps allowing me to surf all the way back. Even my toy puddle enjoyed the ride.

[JCOOLEY]

When trying to slide the locking sleeve, you need to push down on the poles to line them up straight. There is a misconception that the poles need to come up. That causes them to become unaligned making it difficult to slide the sleeve. The way the poles are designed is they stretch out the cover so there is a lot of pressure and they naturally want to bend up. So you need to push down on them to slide the sleeve.
Anyone that pulls up on them, uses force or tools to try and move the sleeve, can cause non repairable damage to the poles. It can also cause burs on the pole pieces including the sleeve which makes it even more difficult to slide and put together or take apart.

[rjf]

I just follow the video .The pin does not go down or up so easily. All i know is you have a small v or y when you connect the poles. I am not strong enough to do otherwise.

[rlpugh1]

Hey rjf, Try taking a look inside the pole that has the push button. In there, you'll see the spring mechanism that supports the push button. If you use a small set of needlenose pliers, you can reach in and adjust this spring a bit to straighten out the alignment of the push button in the hole that it pops up through on the pole. This should help it function a lot smoother and easier.

[rjf]

Thanks. I will give that a try. For some reason when the button is depressed is will not go down all the way to sled the sleeve. That is the reason for pushing the button down with a micro screw driver. Otherwise I find the AF elite easier to assemble than my old DS 1012.

[lee johnson]

A trick I learned from airkayaks.com is to leave the AirFusion kayak inflated before sliding the little connecting sleeve (# 3) along the main poles (# 1 and #2). Another trick is to put, say, the seat under the stern to ensure the poles do not "lift" where they connect under the sleeve.

[MathewCox]

I can notice that the principal trick is in the poles, there are two big locking pins and one small locking pin, I am finding the small pin to be a bit of a pain to push in, in order to lock and unlock the poles, it is spring loaded with lots of load

[rjf]

Lee mentioned putting the seat underneath the AFE near the cockpit . This makes it much easier to connect the poles with sliding lock sleeve. It took me a few times to get it right but I got the hang of it. Also helps when disconnecting the poles.

[KOCE81]

My solution is applying Vaseline on every metal joint
Works like a charm, but you should do it before, not after.

I had a problem with sand that almost worked like hard glue on metal parts and it was extremely hard to move any of the rods

[Rochmel]

I had the problem on my second outing since then I have just ensured that the whole boat is correctly aligned and 'straight' and is on level ground. If there is a bump or similar it will cause one or other of the poles to bend slightly and bind against the sleeve. I also ensure that the poles are dry so I get a better purchase on them. Hope that may be of some help.