Pulling the trigger (TI vs sailboat)

Hi everybody, been reading the forums for a couple of weeks as I get close to pulling the trigger on a TI (yellow of course), really enjoying everyone's posts!

Does anyone have experience with monohull sailboats? Here's my situation: I got a Catalina Coronado 15 two years ago and have been learning to sail with it. Rigging and launching it is a lot of work for one person (though it is possible), and I've found that I don't get it one the water as much as I should (also, it turns out that my friends don't want to play 1st mate as much as I had hoped). Moreover, though I do enjoy sailing the boat it's not as relaxing as I had hoped - the boat needs to heel a little to get reasonable speed, and on the small lakes in central TX the shifting winds demand constant vigilance.

While I was visiting my parents in NJ I ran into someone with an AI and started talking to him - it sounded like a great balance of fun, versatility, and challenge! I imagine that I'd get more usage out of a TI than my sailboat - easier to sail single handed when necessary, and a more relaxing / enjoyable sailing experience. I guess my big question is, how does sailing the TI compare to a monohull sailboat? When the wind picks up and you're on a good tack with just the right heel, it's a hard feeling to beat. Has anyone left monohulls behind and not looked back?

Also, on a related topic - looking at towing with the hobie / trailex single trailer. I'm assuming that's big enough for a TI, right? Does it use the same cradle as AI, or is it a different part #?

Thanks,

dan

I would have to say that would be very much an individual thing, I had a small plywood cat called an Elwood Junior which I started out with (I won't say learned to sail, as I still haven't really) and used for one season. I sold it to buy scuba gear and bought the AI even later, I will say I probably would not have bought the AI if I didn't have the cat before it. The cat sowed the seed for sailing and the AI has helped it flourish.
They are two completely different craft, the cat was something you had to work at for performance and once attained, was a rush. Forget it if the wind was under 8 knots, good fun from 10 knots to 18 and for me get off the water over that.
In 6 to 12 knot wind, the AI is more chilled out, just kicking back enjoying the ride, from 12 up to say 18 knots it starts to get a lot wetter and a little more exciting but you still don't have to work that hard (not like the cat at least), 18 to 25 knots (shhh... and over) the AI is a blast, very wet and always thinking and watching and working on the waves around you, good fun!! Note: the AI is not built to be in those conditions and if you do use one in those conditions, you do so at your own risk and the risk of damaging your craft..

For me, I am more than happy with my AI but I would not compare it to a cat, as for a mono hull, well I have never sailed on one, The AI is quick and easy to set up for one person un-like the cat and I can only imagine that the TI would be the same compared to your mono hull, so you will definitely use it more. Will you enjoy it more ? Only you can answer that as it comes down to personal preference.

I doubt you won't enjoy it though .

My first sailboat was a Snark Sunflower which is basically a styrofoam picnic cooler with a sail on it. Since them I have owned a 20', a 31', a 36', and a 50' sailboat, all monohulls. I regularly single handed all the boats except the 50 footer.

My wife and I bought 2 AI's a year ago and we never regretted not buying a small monohull. My 20 footer was kept on a trailer and it was much harder to rig and launch than the AI's. The AI's are fun little boats. Sailing them are like driving a little sports car. Actually they are like driving a little sports car in the rain with the top down.

A couple of months ago I bought a TI and sold when of our AI's. I like the boat a lot but it is a lot more boat to handle than the AI. I almost always sail it solo. It is harder to get on and off the trailer because it weighs considerably more. It also is a lot harder to get in and get going because the wind blows it around more.

Bottom line is that the AI & TI are both fun boats to sail but when the wind picks up it's a wet ride. (We live in Florida so that's not a problem for us.) AI is much easier to handle by yourself but you can take a person or two, if you have tramps, on the TI. If I had to do it over again I would choose the trimarans over the small monohull.

Hope this helps.

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Jerry D.
St. Johns, Florida
2010 TI
2008 AI

"easier to sail single handed when necessary, and a more relaxing / enjoyable sailing experience"

Having owned a few mono hulls - still own one, I would say that the Adventures are easier to handle, but I don't know about being more relaxing and enjoyable. On some level it's more enjoyable for the simple reason of being easier to rig and launch; maybe more fun when it gets going over six knots. I'd give relaxing, as long as the winds are moderate, to my mono hull. I can sit back under a bimini with a cooler in front of me and take it easy - nice and dry and relaxing experience. Not so relaxing when it get dicey and I am concerned about capsizing the mono hull. Haven't sailed the mono since getting the AI, but I'm looking forward to sailing it soon. It's particularly nice for overnight beach cruising. Not talking about a big boat here (15') but it has some free-board and a small cabin big enough to sleep in.

Ted

I've never owned a monohull, but I can tell you what you'll enjoy about the AI/TI boats that is very underrated; The mirage drive. If your issue is that you're just not getting out enough, the thing that I love is that I'm able to head out after dinner when the winds are still good, and sail until they die. If I'm a few kilometres from shore when the winds die down, I have no problems pedalling and sailing together to get back. Even if you just have to pedal for a few kilometres, it's completely manageable.

So if you're looking to get out on the water, the ease of rigging is great, but the mirage drive is a great tool that will allow you to stay out longer, or even head out when others would probably stay in.

Just my two cents.

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If you single hand a lot, its hard to beat the versatility and wind range of the AI. I use it mostly on a mountain lake in Colorado where the wind comes up strong and fast but drops just as quickly and I don't think I'm as comfortable taking out anything else as I am the AI. Its a wet ride however (I have a dry suit)..

I have sailed/raced several boats. I have owned a 25 ft mono, Flying Junior, Laser and Hobie Getaway. I have crewed on Thistles, Scots, Bandits, Corsair Tris etc. What I decided was I like sailing multis because they are generally faster then an equivalent sized mono and they sail flat. We recently moved to a small lake and at that point I had the Getaway and a Laser that I raced in a local club. After several years my Laser and I decided we didn't like each other and went our seperate ways so I was looking for another singlehand boat to take out on the lake. I wanted soemthing fast, easy to set-up, could handle just about any wind I wanted to tackle with out requiring acrobats on my part and was a multihull. I looked at a Weta but thought that was too much for what I wanted. I ended up buying a used AI and after taking it out 4 or 5 times I can say that this boat fits what I wanted. I will use the Getaway when I have crew and take the AI out the rest of the time.

All that being said I still think there is nothing like being in Thistle when the wind is blowing 15 - 20 and everyone is hiking hard to keep the boat flat.

With the AI you have to get over the mirage drive and just accept that a sailboat can also have pedals then you will never look back.

My thoughts for what they are worth....

Scott

Thanks for all of your help and opinions, found them really helpful - went an put a deposit down on a TI this morning! I especially like the sports car in the rain analogy

At the shop they said they had already had the 2011 model on order for early Sept and it lists for $300 more, but he said I could go with the 2010 or 2011 model. Anyone know what the differences are? He said he was going to check with his Hobie contact but it's always good to get second opinions.

dan

The dealers have the information on the 2011 boats now, but Hobie doesn't release that information publicly until September 1st. I guess that allows the dealers to move old stock. So unless there are dealers here, most of us won't know the differences until September 1st.

Somebody mentioned that their dealers thought that the whole line of kayaks was going to get the larger tillers, but the TI already has larger tillers. I'd assume that a model like the TI wouldn't have many changes as it was just introduced.

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Congrats Dan! I'm sure you'll enjoy the TI. I bought mine mainly for sailing, but love it's flexibility and the Mirage Drive.

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Cheers, Max ● TI: the "Yella Terra" ● Website: www.MadYakker.com ● YouTube: madyakkermax

Congrats as well, Dan!

I, too, have a lot of sailing experience in boats of all sizes and configurations, and find that I really enjoy the TI. My wife likes it a *lot* more than the Aqua Cat that she learned to sail on when she was a kid - so much so that we're beginning to think about a large catamaran to use as a base of operations for longer cruises. We're not interested in monohulls of any design due to several factors that multihulls excel in: extreme shoal draft, lack of heeling in higher winds, more volume for the same amount of length, etc.

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Mitch

2010 Tandem Island
2010 Revolution
Chesapeake Bay and Eastern Shore

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