AI and capacity

I just got back from a vacation at Lake George in the Adirondacks (great sailing there, BTW!). We took out our AI almost every day for a week, usually with me sailing, my wife and 10 year old on each of the tramps, and occasionally added in our 65 lb Golden Retriever on one of the tramps. With just the three of us humans, we were at Hobie's recommended capacity (350lbs), when adding in the canine we were over 400 lbs. No real issues in either scenario, though at one point on a beam reach, my daughter and dog were on the leeward tramp, and the leeward aka (ama? the pontoon thingy) ended up completely submerged for a few seconds before I could release the sheet. Passengers on either tramp are going to get wet, but its still a very stable and fast ride. Another observation: when it gets hot out, the AI with tramps makes an excellent swimming platform. Just sail out to the middle of the lake, reef the sail, and take a dip. Totally stable for getting in and out of the boat.

The AI does seem to be able to take more than Hobie's recommended weight in flat water and light winds, but be careful if you encounter larger waves and higher winds, then the extra weight could possibly overstress parts of the boat. With me and my gear being about 100# under the max weight, I sometimes get concerned for my AI when slamming down after catching some air coming off a larger wave, or being jerked suddenly 45 degrees sideways by a sudden larger gust of wind.

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

I agree with reconlon, Just because it can hold the weight doesn't mean you it can take that weight in all conditions. It's built to handle strong forces on various parts, but those forces are EITHER weight, OR wind, not both weight and wind. The TI holds 600 lbs, and if someone was looking to carry 400 lbs I'd be seriously considering that boat instead.

I've gone out with my dad, (total weight about 320 for both of us) and noticed how much lower the boat sits in the water. I wouldn't want to take that much weight out into the bigger winds that I sometimes get myself into, and that's still with 30 lbs of capacity to spare.

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The Hobie tramps do a great job of distributing "extra" weight to the Amas and giving the boat more rigidity at the same time.

Used correctly, they can add a little more ooomph to the sail as well.

But put that same passenger weight on the rear of the yak (or the wrong side of the sail) and you will have a whole other animal.

It's all about distribution, not strictly capacity.

(Although it's important to keep in mind that a hull full of water will add a couple hundred lbs of weight to your loaded craft).

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

With all my scuba / fishing / safety gear and a good catch I am over by up to 20 kg most times I come back and sitting very low, she generally takes on quite a lot of water but still handle's it well. I used to be concerned with the weight and how low it sat, but after surviving strong winds and rough waters many times am now quite confident. I have an electric bilge pump set up to remove the excess water and go for it.

Placement of the load is important, though with scuba gear can be limited in how it's stored.