Sail for a i11s

Has anyone tried to put a sail on the i11s or tried to use it for wind surfing? It seems like the natural progression for Hobie to put a sail on the i11s. I think it is the only "kayak" that Hobie has not provided that option.

I have a 1.4 square meter Kayak Sailor rig with genoa fitted to my i11s in "bow sprit" mode.
Mirage drive out, plug in. I haven't sailed it yet. http://www.kayaksailor.com.

I have been looking at various options as well. The i11s compliments my AIs, thus must have a sail due to the sailing addiction...

The expensive option would be the Paddle type Sail- "Dasail" I think is the name. Looks interesting with the sail hidden away within the paddle.

I just made a "paddle" sail this week (no pictures yet) out of a windsurfer sail. Had two 3.0 size laying around. Took just a few minutes. Cut it down under one of the battens to an appropriate length and slid it over my paddle (one blade removed). The sail already had a "topper thingie" and loops to go around the paddle. Not ideal, since Ill be holding it with both hands (paddle in one, end of sail line in the other) - but should pose a fun time! I also have a Pacific Action sail that I dont use. I may try to rig that up once I have more time. I am thinking I would only need a strap around the hull to hold it in place.

Hope to test it out this week down in Outer banks NC. Ill try to take some pics during the test.

Sadly, the Mirage drive sticks up right under the boom. I'll have to settle for the paddle.

A poor man's K2? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qrkrepYd_uI

I am going to try the small windpaddle from windpaddle.com. The particular one I intend to use is the Scout. See it at:
http://www.windpaddle.com/product/windp ... ayak-sail/

I'm pretty impressed with the I11s, we have TI that we call the mothership (ie... The ultimate Tandem Island), where we tow other kayaks and such to remote islands, then everyone separates and does their thing, sometimes as many as 4 kayaks (we have a large family, and lots of friends lol). Our current range is around 60 miles/day, (yea we could maybe go a hundred (10mph x 10 hrs = 100 miles), but who wants to spend ten hrs on the water in a tiny boat (boring,,,lol)).
I was thinking about getting a SUP (or two) that I could lash to one of the tramps (seems like a cool idea), however I'm kinda old and operating a SUP standing up isn't in the cards for me.
We are also kayak sailers, actually we have never taken a Hobie mirage kayak out without a sail kit strapped to the side in the last ten yrs of kayaking, (not even once). Probably our favorite pastime is kayak sailing.
If I get an I11s I will likely take a white PE cutting and contour it to fit in the area of the tie downs (with a blow torch), drill openings where the tie down bungys stick up so it sits flat on the grey surface.
I will then make a mast cup that screws down to the cutting board just in front of the mirage drive. (basically a flat plate welded to the end of a piece of tubing that the 7/8" dia hobie kayak sail mast slips into).

It will look a little funny because the mast will be tilted back slightly to maintain a good center of effort.

The cutting board may be able to be lashed down with all the bungy tabs, alternately it wouldn't be too hard to double stick tape the cutting board to the top surface of the kayak, or a layer of silicone. All easily removable of course.

Then get a Hobie inflatable kayak sail, or build your own mast topper for all the guy lines with a standard Hobie kayak sail (not too difficult, all of our sail kits had this setup).

Tie a line to the stern (rear stay), and your probably good to go, side stays may be needed, but I doubt it, and you shouldn't need a front stay (you don't sail backwards lol).
I would build a PVC furler for the sail (pvc furlers are super cheap to make ($5 bucks), and take about 30 minutes to make). Every kayak we have ever had has the PVC furlers installed.

I would add a cleat to the cutting board for towing purposes.

We used to have the TI, an oasis and two revos, transporting all those huge kayaks was a monumental undertaking. We eventually sold off all the other rigid kayaks and replaced all of them with cheap inflatable paddle kayaks. Great for transportation, but everyone hates the darn things (think mutiny on the bounty (lol)), they don't mind being towed the 3-10 miles out to the islands, but once we anchor, everyone despises paddling around on the cheapo paddle yaks exploring (they are all used to the Hobies, and kayak sailing).

When not kayak sailing you just pull the mast out, furl it up, and stow it on the deck somewhere.

I'm seriously thinking about picking up a couple I11s's and rigging them with sail kits as described above, I think it might be a viable solution for us.

There are usually 3-4 of us, (sometimes 6) and as everyone knows you get that many people on a TI, it becomes not fun, (even with our massive sailsets and twin outboards).

The only remaining question is if I can tow these things ten miles with our TI at 10-12 miles per hr with someone sitting on them, (no problem with the regular Hobie rigid kayaks, our our inflatable 4 person dingy).

Obviously needs much more planning and thought, but this might be the first viable solution to our dilemma in a very long time. At the next local Hobie demo days event I'm definitely going to take out an I11s, and scope the whole thing out.

FE

I think that is a really good choice, I hope to see your observations after trying it...

_________________
2019 Outback360 'Fish Retriever'
2016 i11s 'Go Cougs!'
2012 Oasis and 2012 PA12 (moved on but not forgotten...)

Most of those aftermarket sail kits out there are downwind only sails, you can't sail upwind with them, and many have difficulty even on a broad reach.

The Hobie kayak sail system is a true sail, (turns any of the Hobie mirage kayaks into a true sailboat) where you can sail downwind, upwind, broad reach, or any thing you like just like a real sailboat. ( just FYI).

FE

I just found out about a couple of interesting sails that could perhaps be used on the i11s. I'm referring to the Spirit and the Serenity sails by www.upwindkayaks.com. They seem affordable, but my main concern is that the boom might not be high enough... What do you think?

Very good points, Daft! I think I am still closer to pulling the trigger on the i12s.

I went with the WindPaddle Adventure, just arrived, the updated 47" shallower design, once it stops raining here, I will be testing it mounted at the front of my i11s and also center mounted on my Oasis...I like the fact that it folds up easily and small enough that I can have it along on all my outings on either boat, ready to grab a free ride from the wind when the opportunity comes along...

_________________
2019 Outback360 'Fish Retriever'
2016 i11s 'Go Cougs!'
2012 Oasis and 2012 PA12 (moved on but not forgotten...)

Not quite straight into the wind, I need to be at least around 10 degrees off the natural wind. Everything works nicely in around 5-7 mph winds. In lower winds under 3mph (which is almost never) I need a little more throttle and have to sail in an shallow curve path back and forth. I know this all seems really wierd but it all boils down to the basic design of my wing, it has to have positive pressure on one side and vacuum on the other to work, driving on a curve biases the apparent airflow slightly. The wingform is an eppler 420 symmetric airfoil, to bend the wing into an assymetric shape requires air pressure on one side or the other to change it's form.

Keep in mind my boat is not a sailboat, the wing is not a sail and doesn't propel the boat as primary propulsion at all, works on a totally different concept from any sailing vessel (way simpler basic physics no different from how an air conditioner works by amplifying existing energy, (my forward motion, created by my forward motion, similar to the way an airplane wing operates (the wings don't propel the airplane, they only create a vacuum that lifts the plane in the air).
In 2-3 mph winds my pedaling effort and supplimental hybrid propulsion system propels the boat to around 7mph, the wing buys me maybe 1-2 additional mph at the very most in very low wind, and improves my fuel economy (via less drag).
The propulsion is constant (throttles always locked at very low rpm ( very quiet). The more natural wind I have to work with results in higher cruise speed and improved fuel economy. I average around 60-80mpg.
FE

Really eager to read about the outcome of your Windpaddle and Spirit sail experiments!

We have always been big into kayak sailing, and even to this day kayak sailing is one of our favorite pastimes, Actually in the ten or so yrs we have been kayaking with Hobie mirage kayaks we have never gone out (not even once) without a Hobie kayak sail furled and strapped to the side of the kayak. If any usable wind develops we have it up and working within a minute or so (just plug it in). All our Hobie kayak sails have the cheap PVC furlers on them so we can furl/unfurl the sail in a heartbeat (the PVC furlers cost about $5 bucks to make, and can be made in about 20 minutes, really simple).
Because of geography and natural wind direction we find ourselves going upwind 85% of the time (we always start out upwind, then return downwind, just for safety reasons).
One really unique feature of the Hobie mirage kayak is it's ability to sail efficiently upwind (close hauled), 15-25 degrees off the wind even in higher winds. This is totally unique to Hobie mirage kayaks.
What we do is point directly into the wind. unfurl the kayak sail and pull it as tight as you can, (it shouldn't luff and flutter if pulled tight enough). Now start peddling (like crazy at first), as you pick up speed turn slightly off the wind. As the sail catches and starts driving the boat you have to keep peddling, but not super hard (just a walking pace). This puts the boat into an artificial stance. It works great even in 15 mph headwinds, you just have to maintain strict rudder control, if you go sideways you will for sure go over, or if your forward motion stops, the rudder becomes useless, so you have to keep peddling. If it gets too windy run with a partially furled sail.
The big turbo fins work the best, the whole key to defying physics is keep peddling (it's good exercise anyway), and in my opinion what keyak sailing is all about, don't bother trying to pretend you a sailboat (total waste of time), exploit the design for what it is, not what it isn't (a sailing kayak, not a real sailboat like a laser or sunfish, (it's actually way better).
This should all work on an I11s as well, (one of the reasons I'm thinking of picking up a couple of them). Yea we got the big ole TI, but we miss the kayak sailing once we get to the remote islands, our current cheapo Sevler inflatable paddle kayaks just don't cut it, and nobody wants to even take them out once we get to the remote island and go exploring. The big TI mothership gets us there and back (sometimes 15-20 miles from launch).
Some of our kayak sailing rigs:

Our old Oasis


One of our two matching Revo's:


Our TI in kayak mode with a wing sail (what we use now for kayak sailing, when not using the boat in full TI mode (AMA's, motors, and massive sailsets)):


We have a lot of fun traveling and kayak sailing in any body of water we can find, and have way over 200k road miles with trailer in tow and sailing kayaks on the roof. Plus it's a really nice way to see nature up close, and good exercise.
I hope to see some I11s sailing videos before we commit. Basically putting a knife to our cheapo Sevler inflatable kayaks (total waste of time and effort (family mutiny, they were all spoiled by the Hobie mirage hard kayaks). Our problem is we only have so much room on top of our truck.

It's a Hobie life for me. (in a pirates voice)
FE