T.I. AMAS on an A.I. - any issues doing this?

Hi Guys,

I can get hold of a set of T.I. AMAS for a good price and would like to fit them to my A.I.

Are there any major issues doing this?

I know that the front AKAS on the A.I. will be a little too short to properly 'fill' the front slot of the T.I. AMA, but that can be sorted.

I'm also guessing that (due to the shorted spacing of the slots on the T.I. AMA) there will be some 'toe-in' of the AMAS on the A.I.

The major unknown (for me) is will there be any extra stress on the A.I. crossbars with the larger and more buoyant AMAS installed?

Is the crossbar/mast cup assembly of the A.I. much different to that of a T.I.?

Cheers,

Mike.

I had them on my old AI and the extra buoyancy it well worth it. It did have a set of TI front Akas to go with them, as you pointed out the standard AI one won't go all the way through. Be aware that you won't be able to fold the amas in and if you have tramps they won't fit very well.

I have been using 2013 TI amas for 2-3 years on my 2012 AI. They stabilize the boat very well and they allow you to show much more sail in higher winds. Well worth it for pre-2015 AIs.

There have been no signs of structural strain during this time period. The toe-in issue is very hard to even visualize and has not noticably effected the boat performance in speed. I might have to peddle one extra stroke through a tack but that's hard to really tell.

When I first bought mine I also purchased the TI front akas due tO the AI akas not fitting all the way down into the TI amas. Looking back that was a waste of money. I later realized that if I use the original AI front akas, the toe in is less noticable and the TI amas never come out of the AI akas. It was a non issue and for the last year and a half I have just sailed using the original AI akas with the TI amas. My tramps fit great with this set up.

One extra advantage you will notice is that your can now sit out on the tramps if you weigh less that 210 or so. Before my butt would drag in the water.

The crossbar aka joints are the same as the TI but the mast cup is quite different. Not an issue for what you are doing.

_________________
Greg

2016 AI - Spinn & Jib

“Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him.”
– Charles G. Davis

The Batboat in Hawaii has been doing it for at least 5 years. I go to ride it a few years ago, very nice! Smoothed out the old AI's ride in chop.


http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=33992&start=15

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

Whoa! Sweet ride. With the wrap around seating and added floatation, you can balance the boat on virtually any point to sail.

BTW, the Batboat Akas were reinforced for the added loads. The mast pin/V-brace was not. We have broken one mast receiver pin. But not the threaded SS set screw.

Which is interesting because Hobie has added more Ama AND more sail area to the AI recently. There was no change to the mast base, as far as I know. Plus, the AI and TI V-frames are virtually identical, despite the much larger TI sail area and weight capacity.

Are these set screws and mast pins a concern? Time will tell.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

On the issue with folding the amas in all the way. This has not been a problem when transporting. I pull the back akas out of the amas, everything folds back flush.

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Greg

2016 AI - Spinn & Jib

“Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him.”
– Charles G. Davis

Thanks for all the excellent feedback guys.

The two reasons I'm looking at doing this are:

1: Less diving/submarining when under full sail in strong winds
2: Being able to sit on the tramp (or Haka) without sinking (I'm only about 85kgs, so should be okay)

Looks like it should work well.

@vetgam - you mention the tramps fit well - that's the original A.I. tramps you're talking about?

I guess the difference in weight is negligible - old A.I. amas about 7.5kg each, compared to about 10kgs for the T.I. amas?

Cheers,

Mike.

Yes, these are the original Hobie AI tramps.
The extra weight is only an issue car topping where you have to lift them. Otherwise a non issue..

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Greg

2016 AI - Spinn & Jib

“Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him.”
– Charles G. Davis

@vetgam, thanks for the info...

I will be car-topping, and am not sure if I'll be able to fit the AI hull and TI amas on the roof-rocks.

It's going on top of a puny 2002 Honda CRV with (rather narrow) factory racks...

Any chance you could post the dimensions of the TI amas (L x W x H)?

I'm particularly interested in the 'girth' of the amas at the widest-point.

Cheers,

Mike.

AI amas are about 7 in wide and TI amas about 8 max (more like 7.5in).I car topped TI amas and an AI hull on my small PRIUS for a year or so. There was no noticable extra width when I car topped.

Buy them. You won't regret it.

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Greg

2016 AI - Spinn & Jib

“Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him.”
– Charles G. Davis

Hi Greg,

Thanks for the extra info. I reckon it's worth a shot, so I picked them up this afternoon

Let the fun begin!

Have fun Mingle.

You might try fabricating some extensions to the Aka arms, out of pvc or such to perfectly mate to the Amas. Hobie sells the plastic endcaps you will need.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Thanks for the extra info...

What I'll probably do is 'pack-out' the lower section of the T.I. front ama 'hole', so the tip of the A.I. aka will be supported while attached - I might try a bit of pool-noodle first, but have plans for something a bit more solid. I'll probably avoid making extensions, as I'll probably still need to use the A.I. amas from time to time.

One thing I have been toying with is to move the A.I. rear crossbar forward a few inches, so the spacing matches that of the T.I. This would alleviate the 'toe-in' of the longer amas and also allow them to fold against the hull properly.

Obviously I'll have to move the aka brace attachment point (was thinking of going "T.I. style" and adding the new mount-points behind the crossbar. That way I can leave the originals alone. Might be a bit of a stretch to reach them from the seat though...

The other downside to moving the crossbar is that the A.I. tramps would be too long to fit, although I'm looking at a few simple ways to get around that problem...

Cheers,

Mike.

No advantage or need to make any modifications from my experiences. I attach the amas bungee to the top button on the aka and never had an issue with the amas hole. Sail it before making mods and you may be suprised. Are you using all original AI akas?. Toe-in should be hard to notice. Is yours bad?

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Greg

2016 AI - Spinn & Jib

“Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him.”
– Charles G. Davis

Hi Greg,

I haven't actually tried them on the boat yet - planning on heading down to the beach house in the next couple of days.

Just thinking ahead... One of the other reasons I'd like to move the rear crossbar is so that I can store my Trax2 cart in the scupper holes!

When I get down, I'll be taking lots of measurements, photos and doing a bit of brain-storming

Cheers,

Mike.