Tandem vs AI for female solo

Hello!

I am new to this forum and I have never owned a Hobie or anything other than a canoe before.
I have browsed a lot of the threads on the subject of Tandem vs AI but I am unable to make a decision based on my situation. I am a female (5'4" 140lbs with not much upper body strength) and I will be doing 75% local solo sailing vs 25% camping/adventure sailing with a male partner.

I really like to purchase a Tandem (the AI will be very restrictive considering all my intended uses) but will it be practical for me to handle solo?

When I go solo I will be storing the boat in my garage, I want to wheel it to (300 feet or so) from my garage to a road and then onto a grassy area then a cement narrow boat launch towards a very rocky (sharp) river bed.
My questions are:
1) how best can I store a tandem in my garage (i have enough room to keep it beside my car)? can I leave it on the cart with the aka/ama on? or will that eventually warp it? I want to avoid having to take apart and put it back together for every regular/local sail.
2) which wheel cart should I get? I am very leery of having to lift the boat all by myself so that I can aim the trolley's 2 rods at the bottom of the kayak! also I watched videos of the Tandem dolly and it also seems not that easy to slide all the way under the kayak.
3) If I can't store the tandem with the akas/amas on the cart and have to load/unload constantly from the floor to some type of cart, is that possible for a solo female of my size? any tips or recommendations?

Thanks!

p.s.: I really appreciate all the informative posts on this forum and I thank the European contributors for assuaging my fears about car topping with a Tandem! Thank you everyone!

If you will need to ability to carry a passenger, even 25% of the time, you'll have to buy the tandem. The AI simply isn't designed for, nor will it easily handle two people if you plan to go any distance.

If the boat is being launched from the trailer (trailex version highly recommended) then launching a TI is no more difficult than launching an AI.

If you're going to be launching from a dolly or require lifting the boat into or on top of a vehicle then the AI will be much easier on you (still won't be effortless by any means).

Agree with comments above.

I have owned both the AI and TI.... I have car topped the AI but not the TI.

I recommend the TI:
- Easy and fun to sail solo
- Faster
- Bit drier
- Bigger - comfortable for 2 adults and a couple of kids or dogs

I also recommend a small trailer for launching and storing the TI.
- I do not recommend storing the TI on the cart wheels
- While possible - I do not recommend car topping the TI - just to big and heavy to solo load and off load.
- If you must use a cart - get the larger full width beach cart that has the standard cradle for storage. Still recommend a trailer and a hitch for your car.

_________________
Jim
Hobie TI 2022 - Offshore rig - Outboard - having fun!
Hobie TI 2021 - Offshore rig - Outboard - sold
Hobie TI 2016 - Offshore rig - Outboard - sold
Hobie Kona 2014
Hobie AI 2015 - sold
Hobie Rev 13 2014 - sold
Hobie Outback - 2008 - sold

i’m a guy, 72, 205lb, 5ft 11in. i mistakenly thought i could car top singlehanded an Adventure Island. way too heavy for me.
i can get it out of the water after taking aka’s off but still unwieldy.
it took 3 of us to car top when we bought it.
luckily i live on a canal with sea walls, (gators stay “down there”)

i have to take amas off to get it up on my concrete cantilevered dock using 3-4 pool noodles as rollers and tide tables as no lift presently.
(the water has come up on the dock 2-3 times, when hurricanes went past, usually 1-3+ ft below)
it is a heft to get out and my wife definitely could not.
if we were 30-40 years younger no problem tho.
just on my canal, i can see probably $500,000 worth of boats that other than one or two., literally have never moved in 7 years another reason to take delight in a kayak you use all the time
(several have barnacle encrusted propellers so definitely never move and iguanas that have taken up residence that scuttle away as a pedal past)

it is however, a delight to pedal both with and without ama’s on Florida canals, like a bicycle on flat ground.
i do plan on getting a bimini like stringy in Australia has that attaches to the aka’s for protection from the brutal summer sun here, easily removable so the sail can be used

(we have the occasional alligators) but 400 miles of man made canals, plus the river, protected bays, cabbage key where “cheeseburger in paradise “ was supposedly written, on the Everglades Challenge route just south of the start, manatees that can flip a kayak and wildlife everywhere, oyster bars, wildcats, bazillions of coconuts,
it is also a delight to go out on the Caloosahatchie river with the ama’s and not get flipped

if you have to wrestle it to get it to the water, and back home, it may become less a delight

i vote with Mr Powers for the lightweight trailer to move it around, and a tandem island will/should suddenly become easily manageable.

(i also don’t have a lot of upper body strength and titanium hips and knees and arthritis everywhere )
realize i’m barely a beginner at this, but i’m sure you will enjoy the fun and delight and safety of a hobie.
apologies for rambling so much

One thing for sure...when you sail it solo, it's gonna be FAST. I always launched/recovered mine on a regular boat ramp (stored it on the trailer) and it was no problem. If you have the room to store it in your garage next to your car, you can leave it on the trailer, and leave the amas on it. Release the bungees that hold the amas on the akas, the bungees will last longer. Just remember to loosen the tie down straps if it it going to be sitting for a long time over winter.