Faster Hull?

I've asked this question in the past but it's fun/interesting to bring up every now and then to see if there is new info or ideas.

Will Hobie ever come out with a hull design that is faster and a better long distance cruiser than the Adventure, or is the Adventure about as good as it's going to get? I wonder if going any longer would be pushing hard up against "the law of deminishing returns"? Matt, any inside scoop on this topic? If the Adventure continues to be the top speed/cruiser model I can't wait for the day when I get one. However, it would be really cool if an even better model was introduced before I purchase.

Happy Yakking!

Stay tuned for a longer, narrower prototype.

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Sounds like you know a bit more than you're letting on about there Dan!
Have you Hawaii guys been doing a bit more of Hobie's R&D? I'm jealous!

The Island tandem (AI2?) prototype is supposed to be 18feet 7inches.

I'm hoping to see it this fall and am even looking at where it will be stored and how I will trailer/transport it.

It may end up being the fastest hull.

Dan weren't you woking-on or designing a carbon fiber expanded Island-type boat?

Right. But it's a S&G with fibreglass cover.

It will be 6" longer(shoulda been a foot) and an inch narrower,

Hobie already adapted some aspects in the PA (rod tubes). I'm hoping they will adapt some other features I'll show later.

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I couldn't wait for a faster hull, so I built one.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3shdFpGHg8

Boat uses Mirage drives, seats w/iComfort and I recently installed the big balanced rudder, what a difference, like having power steering. Hobie gear is ideal for the small boat builder.

Tilroh, beautiful job! It would be nice to see how you designed the drivewell and the rudder interface. Have you recorded any speeds with it?

Roadrunner, I've found your posts on Mirage drive maintenance most helpful, thanks.

Details on the construction of Ripple are at mackhorton dot com , click on "boats".

My g/f and I could average 4 knots for 2 hours when we were pedaling regularly. Me and a guy nick named "Kilowatt Jack" hit 12kts in a sprint according to the GPS.

Ripple tends to drag her butt at 4+ knots submerging the transom which limits cruising speed. The boat I'm building now has a different bottom so should be a little faster even tho it's bigger.

I invited two girls to take Ripple for a spin: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Xp4iyOBQ68

The problem I have with "Ripple" is that it looks like it will take on water and rapidly sink <grin>

Lots of 1-2 ft waves around here, plus I like to go off-shore sometime, and that boat looks like a tub waiting to be filled

Very nice though that you are designing and building your own, props to you!

Great adaptation for the Mirage Drive and problem solving with the rudder, and your workmanship was beautiful! Very nice photo-documentation. How did your Drivewell hold up with Kilowatt Jack on the pedals?

Keep us posted on your latest boat. I'm interested to see how you solve the "squatting" problem with the new hull shape. Thanks for sharing your work.

Roadrunner, The drive wells show no wear or signs of flex. Plywood and epoxy are a pretty good combination.

The squatting problem was hopefully solved by the designer of the second hull. He said he used 3 different CAD programs to create a hull that would make the best use of 36+ pounds of thrust. The boat is a camp/cruiser and should be very stable and dry. A flat out speed design would have too many compromises for easy daily use. I can't help wondering about the speed potential of Mirage drives but unfortunately I can only build one boat at a time.

It would be cool if Hobie offered a package consisting of Mirage drive(s) w/spares, seats, hatches, various hardware bits, and a rudder w/steering line for amateur builders. A boat hull is fairly easy to build... it's the smaller details that take the time. Hobie products offer bolt on solutions.

Seeing how this is a Hobie kayak forum, maybe we should talk off-forum or create a new thread... Hobie hardware on homebuilt hulls? I have no idea how Hobie would feel about this.

Cheers,
Mack
tilroh at yahoo com au

Now that's a very interesting coupla ideas - me, I am not yet a Mirage owner, but I am planning to become one in the very near future, possibly as soon as tomorrow morning!

I am not a fisherman - I just like boats, and I have built a couple of kits, and a canoe from plans, but that was a couple of decades ago

Mainly I like to explore quiet backwaters, tidal or non-tidal, salt water or fresh. So I have always used a mixture of propulsion systems - sail, paddle, oar, pole, wade-n-tow, whatever...

And now my retirement beckons, my health is good, and I am single again, so when I hit on the Hobie Mirage Drive, I thought Wow that's got to be worth a try!

There is no shortage of simple-to-build flat-bottomed boat kits or plans, it would be brilliant amazing fantastic to be able to play around with the possibilities of adding a Mirage drive