2015 Island upgrades -At what cost to their versatility?

Is car- topping the AI impractical? I wouldn't think so.

I know just from the dimensions of the ama that I will no longer be able to fit them inside my vehicle.
Does the extra weight and bulk mean that getting the hull onto the roof is too difficult? I have friends, 52 & 63 yrs old, who lift their TI hull up on top of their pickup racks. They also, separately, lash their TI amas onto the roof rack.

Any opinions gratefully received!

I car-top my current A.I. onto my small Kia Rio hatchback and it's probably already on the borderline of being too heavy.

I have plenty of dents in the roof which occurred when I was man-handling it into position. I can only imagine that another
12kgs of mass would cave-in the roof altogether.

Anyway, regardless of the anticipated benefits of the new A.I., here's my take on the things I'm not so keen on:

1: Weight - it was already a heavy lump, now it will be even more so.
2: Length (although it's only about 25cm longer, that makes it about 15cm too long for my garage
3: The seat - while it's certainly better than the old hobie-supplied seat, I feel it's too complex for
its own good. If it collapses/fails while out at sea in rough conditions, what can you do? With the old hobie
bum-soaker, at least it was pretty-much fool-proof. If you need to ditch the seat altogether (in an
emergency) you're left with a flat, rectangular seat-well, which would make things interesting. The old
seat well was ergonomically shaped, so you could at least still sit, paddle and pedal - although not
comfortably. I'm just playing devil's advocate here, I'd still have a go at retro-fitting one to my boat!

As has been mentioned before, the high seat, along with the higher COG of the hull may make it
tricky to take the new A.I. out in kayak-mode. The greater freeboard and therefore windage may
also work against the boat in kayak mode.

4: The rear-well, just like the one on the Revolution - which was one of the few things I disliked about my Revo.
The 'ski-jump' rear caused me to loose a few fix and other bits and pieces off the back of the boat. The one
on the 'old' A.I. was just about perfect.
5: The centreboard - just one more gadget to go wrong/require maintenance.
The simplicity of the old dagger-board was genius.
6: The look of the front-end - ugly

These are just my opinions, I've never seen or sat in a new A.I., so my views may be way-off. So there's
no need for anyone to blow a gasket over them.

Cheers,

Mike.

I car-top my current A.I. onto my small Kia Rio hatchback and it's probably already on the borderline of being too heavy. If possible, I recommend NOT roof topping any kayak that comes out of saltwater. I've rusted out 2 vehicles (Ford Bronco & Toyota 4-Runner) used to roof rack sea kayaks.

I have plenty of dents in the roof which occurred when I was man-handling it into position. I can only imagine that another
12kgs of mass would cave-in the roof altogether. See my comment above.

Anyway, regardless of the anticipated benefits of the new A.I., here's my take on the things I'm not so keen on:

1: Weight - it was already a heavy lump, now it will be even more so. Yes, it is because it has lots more plastic to handle the increased volume almost everywhere. Hopefully, it is strengthened in all the right places. Time will tell.
2: Length (although it's only about 25cm longer, that makes it about 15cm too long for my garage I must angle my 3 AIs, 3 sea kayaks in my garage. (I've got to sell some boats.)
3: The seat - while it's certainly better than the old hobie-supplied seat, I feel it's too complex for its own good. If it collapses/fails while out at sea in rough conditions, what can you do? Yes, it is complex, but it is not new. It has been around for awhile. Again, Hobie has had experience with this seat.
With the old hobie bum-soaker, at least it was pretty-much fool-proof. If you need to ditch the seat altogether (in an emergency) you're left with a flat, rectangular seat-well, which would make things interesting. I don't see why you would ditch it. It fastens positively to a bar across the front edge of the seat area. Also, it has a clip which fastens it to the back of the seat area. You are sitting in the seat; it is not going anywhere unless you capsize. If that happens, the clip should keep the seat with the boat. In the event of a capsize, keeping the seat may be the least of your worries.

The old seat well was ergonomically shaped, so you could at least still sit, paddle and pedal - although not comfortably. I'm just playing devil's advocate here, I'd still have a go at retro-fitting one to my boat!

As has been mentioned before, the high seat, along with the higher COG of the hull may make it tricky to take the new A.I. out in kayak-mode. The greater freeboard and therefore windage may also work against the boat in kayak mode. Although it could be used in "kayak mode," Hobie is not marketing this aspect.

4: The rear-well, just like the one on the Revolution - which was one of the few things I disliked about my Revo. The 'ski-jump' rear caused me to loose a few fix and other bits and pieces off the back of the boat. The one on the 'old' A.I. was just about perfect. TIs have had this "ski-jump" rear well for some time. I have not heard TI owners complain about it.

5: The centreboard - just one more gadget to go wrong/require maintenance. Yes, but, again, TI owners do not seem to complain about it. Many of these new items are simply adaptations of similar items on the TI. Hopefully they are further improved on the AI 2.

The simplicity of the old dagger-board was genius. Yes, it was, but how many have been lost overboard?

6: The look of the front-end - ugly I like the looks of the new bow. Call it an ugly duckling if you wish, but if it reduces diving and accepts more gear, I love it.

Bottom line, the AI 2 should give you a drier ride, both outside and in the hull. That alone is a B-I-G plus.

These are just my opinions, I've never seen or sat in a new A.I., so my views may be way-off. So there's no need for anyone to blow a gasket over them.

Cheers,

Mike.

quote="stringy"]Is car- topping the AI impractical? I wouldn't think so.
Stringy, as you probably know, I'm not a fan of roof racking either TI or AI because of probable rust problems. I'm just giving you my opinion in answer to your question. Wait a minute, Stringy. Don't you use a trailer?

Keith[/color][/b]