Adapting small sail kit to Island?

Just wondering how hard it would be to adapt the smaller sail kit to the AI. Reason is that I would like to use it on a fairly wide river I kayak on (Suwannee). It might be nice to be in kayak mode, but still have some sail assist when the river is in the correct wind angle. I have used one of those sails before on the river with an adapted CLC kayak and I was able to sail.
http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z211 ... nt=1.5.jpg

Ted

Hobie does sell a cup for using the smaller sail on an AI ... but

why not just reef the sail some - instead of spending $350 for a smaller sail ?

Are you planning to go without the Aka/Ama's ? ... I have an Outback and have the sail kit. If the wind is anything over a breeze, the outback heels over and the rudder becomes inaffective. This is without those blow up ama's they sell. With the outback being more "portly" than the AI, I would imagine the effect would be the same or worse on the AI's slender torso

_________________
Alan W.

Papaya AI2 to replace my well worn V1
TheTwins - His/Hers 2007 Papaya Hobie Adventure Island's (v1.00.01)
.. and a Hobie Outback SUV

Not through Hobie.

We have a sail receiver for all Mirage Kayaks, but once an Island... we offer no adaption back to the smaller sail. There are posts in the forums from users who have made adapters.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

"why not just reef the sail some - instead of spending $350 for a smaller sail ?"

I would be going in the kayak mode without the amas and the Island rig would be too tall and destabilizing, even with a reefed sail.

I owned a Revolution with a sail rig and floaties and you could sail it without the floaties.
http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z211 ... rig001.jpg
You're right though, you would have to be careful about wind gusts. Still, it would be cool to relax now and then and use the wind when it was advantageous. Yes, 350 is some bucks for what would be a limited application, but aren't a lot of us constantly looking for way to increase the applications for an already versatile boat?

Ted

TJ,
This should get you started.
viewtopic.php?f=69&t=14931&p=80727&hilit=adaptor#p80727

Nice Revo jib and daggerboard setup! Clearly you know your stuff.

Roadrunner was all over this subject in 2007. You may find these links useful.

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=6901&hilit=small+sail+on+adventure+island

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=32&t=4755&hilit=small+sail+on+adventure+island

Just how many sailboats do you own?

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Very cool. When I get back from an extended weekend on the Suwannee River, I'll study those semi-complicated plans to see if I can adapt them to a 2010 AI. I think it is worth it to have the advantages of both boats.

Number of sailboats is currently only two - the AI, and a West White Potter 15.
http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z211 ... 0817-1.jpg
The P-15 Is for comfortable, laid back expeditions. The AI is for convenience and sporty sailing. This seems to be the near perfect compliment of sail boats for my purposes.

There have been a few other experiments getting up to this point of near perfect balance.

A multi-use Sunfish, with deck hatches for gear storage: http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z211 ... ish056.jpg

A similarly rigged Chrysler 19: http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z211 ... eer016.jpg

A Sunbird 16: http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z211 ... d08009.jpg

A Bolger Bob Cat: http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z211 ... Bobcat.jpg

A CLC Jimmy skiff set up with some Hobie floaties to keep it from going over: http://s190.photobucket.com/albums/z211 ... iff002.jpg

I don't have pictures of the Hunter 19 in Photobucket and there was no Photobucket during the multi-hull days or the sailboarding days. Don't even get me going on the WW kayaking days. The obsessions seem to go for about 8 to 10 years. I am up to about 8 or 9 on the most recent sailing jag. What's next, and don't say golfing - did that decade already - it sucks - to much pressure. This is it until the end. Though, I have told friends and relatives that, when I have had enough, I am going to epoxy one of my spray skirts onto one of my remaining WW kayaks, with me in it, and take off down some crazy un-runnable river. Or, I'll try a trans-continental trip in the P-15

Ted

Of course, you could just go w/ a Pacific Action sail for SOT kayaks: http://www.pacificaction.com/models1.htm

They are pretty popular with the WaterTribe crowd.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

Keith - that picture brought about a long dormant memory from when I was an early teen on a 10 day canoe trip up in La Vérendrye Wildlife Preserve outside Quebec as a high adventure Boy Scout outing. We were on-water for 8 days and were scheduled to cover just over 100 miles including several portage's. All gear and food was in our backpack or in a milk crate secured inside the Grumman canoes.

My canoe mate and I were the runt of the litter, both younger and much smaller than all the others allowed on this trek ... we were always in the rear playing catch up, and after a few days drew weary of arriving at the rest points only to see everyone else packing up - fresh and ready for more.

That nite, I lashed together a simple colapsible sail frame from some saplings and used a spare ground cloth as the sail. I stowed it in the canoe at first lite so no one saw it ...

... later that morning when the wind picked up and we were on a nice long downwind leg (again long behind everyone else) I had my bowsman hoist the sail !! lashing the ropes to the rear thwart ... and we were OFF !!

It didn't take long for us to overtake the first canoe ahead, and then we were picking them off one by one like flies. I made it a special point to lay back and rudder a lazily as possible uttering such nonsense as "suckers ... paddling is for panzies" at each boat passed.

After 20 minutes we were so far ahead of all the others that we had to stop because I hadn't looked at a map in days (being used to just following) and had no idea where we were headed or where the next turn around an island light be. We ended up having to back paddle about a half mile but that didn't matter much - we laughed and giggled like school girls.

The next few days saw many different itterations at attempts of sail building ... but we did it first, and with minor tweaks each nite, it lasted the whole trip.

Somewhere's in that big box of photo's we all have in the bottom of some closet, is a picture that one of the Dad's snapped of us on that first passing run - he presented to my father, who was more than proud of me and glad he had bought us that sunfish several years earlier

_________________
Alan W.

Papaya AI2 to replace my well worn V1
TheTwins - His/Hers 2007 Papaya Hobie Adventure Island's (v1.00.01)
.. and a Hobie Outback SUV

Those sails would be easy to pack and might even be better suited for a down wind run, but I think the 20 sq' Hobie sail and mast, properly rigged, might handle better and perform better on upwind legs.

Ted

Adding a PA sail could be a nice addition for sailing downwind, even with the full AI sail. (I wonder if it would promote nose dives or complicate tacking though).


(skymax's rig)

Or having a smaller hobie sail to use as both a reduced mainsail or secondary jib is another approach.

(yakaholic's rig)

I would be inclined to use the Hobie sail. I like the larger balanced sail, furling capability, upwind power and ready availability of them (new and used). It's a "better, faster, cheaper" solution. Nice choice of colors too.

And just look at the visibility with RR's mini sail:


Hey -let's see that picture Alan!

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The Wind Is Your Friend...