Having a rough time deciding.

Hi everyone,

Having a bad time trying to decide which boat to buy. I' relatively new to sailing (dinghy classes and book studying). I DO know I want either a Hobie Wave or a TI. I'm 6'0 250, and my girlfriend who is 5'6 130 will be with me about half the time. I'm not interested in racing; it will be more recreational, and for cruising around here in Puget Sound.

Honestly, the TI looks REALLY good. I have enough money to buy a new one, but NOT enough money to buy something that is not the absolute right thing, and have it sit unused.

My only reservation a bout the TI is this: does it provide a "legitimate" or "real" sailing experience? Sailing is my passion, so it must have that real feeling of sailing.

Thanks for your replies.


Brett

I would say that you won't be disappointed with the TI. The nice thing about the TI is that it's not just a sailboat. Break it down and you have a great kayak as well. Will it be as fast as a Wave, no, but it is a much more versatile boat. Not to mention rigging a TI is much less involved which gets you out on the water faster.

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2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

• Trampolines
• Hobie cover
• Davis Spar Fly
• Kayakbob's Sprayskirts
• Spine Board Hakas

The TI's a real sailboat, but downwind performance is not great, because the lack of boom causes the sail to kind of flop around downwind. You're not going to outrun everything else in the water, but it's very easy to rig, works great solo or with a passenger (both can run almost all the controls which is fantastic!), it's super stable and when the wind dies, you can easily cruise along at 4+ mph with minimal effort using the mirage drives. I've had mine about 6 weeks now and sail at least 4-5 times a week- fun, versatile boat.

If you are a sailing 'purist' you may have some issues, but if you want a good time on the water, I'd say go for it.

Ask yourself these questions - Do you want to actually go somewhere? Do you want to camp, fish, nature watch? Do you want to eat lunch and handle binoculars while under sail? If so, then the TI is your boat. Yes it sails like a real boat and has a reasonable sensation of speed, but not the same as a beachcat or racing tri.

On the other hand, if you want to just blast around, then get the Wave. Better yet, get a Getaway or T2.

Just different boats all the way around.

I also used to be a sailing "purist", and my last sailboat was a J24. This thing could sail to windward at 8 knots or more in the right conditions, and could get up on a permanent plane downwind. I thought going to such as simple boomless una-rig as the TI would bore me to tears.


Not so! Like a gokart, the low seating hugely intensifies the experience, along with the copious spray, while there is enough sail area in relation to the light weight of it to offer genuine boatspeed.


As for downwind performance, just cut a square notch in the end of your paddle, and catch it on one of the knots on the string dangling from the clew of the sail and you can then push out the sail to make a quite efficient downwind sail shape.

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

Many Hobie dealers have monthly demo days, where you can try out all their kayaks including AI/TI's sometimes. You can also go to a local launch on a weekend and stop and talk to TI and wave owners and get their recommendations. Look for sailing Regattas in your area most have a Wave class. There is no racing classification of any kind for the TI. Many resorts rent out Waves. Most sailing purists put their nose up to the TI and really dislike them.
Don't get me wrong we are on our third TI now and just love the thing, but we live in the keys and our favorite hobby is snorkeling and scuba diving and are out having a blast every weekend all year round on ours. Likely a far cry from what you plan to do.
Take your time try and talk to other owners of both boats, many will take you for a ride if you ask.
Bob

I can't speak for the Wave, but the Ti is very fun boat. One thing that helped to drive my decision, was my wife who I go out with the majority of the times. I knew I would enjoy it, but would she? What does your girlfriend think/ like? I read a lot on this forum( a lot of the regulars that have already responded) and got a lot of great information. Still do! The Ti is definitely a versatile boat. We have gone out and the wind has died. If it wasn't for the mirage drives, we would had to paddle. You can definitely get 4 mph without much effort. Not sure what you would do on the Wave. The TI is also very stable. I remember the first time we went out. We caught a good wind and the Ti took off and started to lean to the one side. My wife started to yell, but after I explained this is what it was supposed to do, she started to have fun! My point was that I felt very stable in the boat and was not concerned about flipping. To me the TI looks more stable, but I too was not looking to race.

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2015 Hobie Tandem Island

My wife and I looked and studied for a year before we bought a '15 TI. We took sailing lessons and checked out all the places we might go. We've had the boat about 5 weeks and had it out a half dozen times. We have not been disappointed in our purchase. I also recommend a test sail before you buy, any good dealer will set this up and give you some basic instruction on the operation of the TI. I can say we are hooked.

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2015 Tandem Island
"The JoJo-B"

With the TI, you can take your wife or girlfriend out with you. With the Wave, you could take your wife and your girlfriend out at the same time.. but that would probably be a very bad idea. The TI is safer in this aspect and therefore the better choice.

(married for 33 years and NO girl friend lol)

You really need to try one. 15 minutes and I was sold. But they do have some issues.
First, when the wind is above 10 knots you will get wet. Accept it or find another boat.
Second the lack of a boom and no sail controls other than a mainsheet are an issue sometimes.
You cannot setup the sail like a laser or hobie cat. But that is not to say it isn't fun. I have a blast in any wind, it is still a very responsive sailboat that never gets boring.
Third, it doesn't plane. The hull is displacement only so speed is somewhat limited.

However to put this all in perspective I haven't enjoyed sailing like this in years. My wife loves it, and we are out every weekend and some week nights. The lawn never gets cut, weeds are overgrown and all I want to do is sail more.

or buy spray guards. Cuts the wetness factor by 90% or more. I bought a 'cheapie' version on Ebay, but now I'm going to try to make a set like Kayaking Bob's- the cheap one only came up to the front aka and it lets some splash through behind the aka. Bob's won't have that issue.

Both the Wave and TI are great boats. I've owned a Wave--great fun---can take it out in almost any wind and it'll do great. Good buoyancy. The TI is very cool, too. The furling mainsail and mirage drive make it so easy and convenient. It's not as fast as a Wave, but I've built a pair of haka's to get away from the spray in the front seat. It will hold me--200 lbs--but actually not tested yet in wind. So, we shall see about the speed when that happens. The sprayskirt helps, but doesn't eliminate the spray. Get both, if you can!

Hi Brett.
I'm with Tony, well also in Australia and went from my Young 7.8 which would plane in the right wind to the TI and still love my sailing. Went out with my mate in Melbourne on the weekend in his H28 and started planning a sail to Gippsland. Yes I still enjoy sailing a craft that points and runs well but wouldn't swap the TI for my previous trailer sailor, dingy or cat.

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Cheers, Brian in South Australia
Tandem Island -

Think of the TI as the "Swiss Army Knife" of boats. There better "pure sailboats", better "pure rowing boats", etc., but the TI is a great boat because it can be used in nearly every condition.....plus, it's great fun! I've owned pure racing boats-multiple kinds, dinghies, cruisers, etc. and ended up with a TI as my favorite.


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