Is my lake too small? Or cold? What about a shore station?

hey for the past few months i have been considering purchasing a new TI. They look like a blast. Last night after watch a bunch of the videos posted, I realized that it seems that most people are sailing on massive bodies of water (like the ocean).

We own a home on North Lake Leelanau in Northern Michigan. Is my lake BIG enough? Lake Leelanau is directly adjacent to Lake Michigan which is friggin enormous, but I'd rather take off from my front yard then have to drag this boat around.




Also is my lake going to be to cold? During July and august the cold water is amazing... But will this be a problem in other months?







Also, has anyone ever considered using a "shore station" with a TI? We have a dock in the front yard,and I was thinking about trying to mount the hobie trailer supports to the shore station. Is this a ridiculous idea? Do I need to break down the TI after every outing. Or could I leave it rigged on a shore station?

Your lake looks big enough to me! I like going out on little lakes every now and then. The big lakes like Lake Ontario near me, or Lake Michigan, near you allow for bigger and more consistent wind.

The nice thing about these boats is that you can enjoy them on small lakes like other small boat sailors do with their sailboats, but you also have the option to take them out on bigger lakes and oceans, and there aren't many small boats that can do that.

Here is a picture of me sailing on a smaller lake this past summer. The picture was taken from shore, and you can see the opposite shore on the other side. I had all kinds of fun on that little lake.



As far as your lake being too cold. Dress for the weather, but I haven't had any problems. I sailed in October in Canada. I've kayaked in the very early spring on our Revolution. There doesn't seem to be anything limiting the boat from sailing in cold water, it's just up to you to be safe.

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The lake is OK, but I bet it won't be long after you buy it that you say to yourself, boy I'd really like to try it out on Lake Michigan ...

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2010 Tandem Island!

Trsdx,
Welcome. Your "Lake" looks like a lot of water to me Get the boat and dress warmly.

Somewhere in the Forum I remember seeing a picture of a TI on a dock lift sort of thing. It seemed the subject of the post was about Spray Skirts though and this guy was showing his boat with the spray skirt on it...

For an Old F... that's the best I can remember. You might try doing a Forum Search as see what comes up. Good Luck.

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Sun E Sailor
Ezra Appel
Palm City, Florida
2014 Tandem Island

I guess your 'small lake' is a bit like sailing in rivers which a lot of us do and thoroughly enjoy it. I think you've got the best of both worlds. The small lake for leisurely sails and the big lake to set new speed records when the urge hits.

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Yellow 09 Oasis
Red 2010 AI /Grey tramps.

You've got the best of both worlds there trsdx. Wecolme to the forum. You'll also find that both bodies of water will work differently. The smaller lake looks fast cause I doubt that the waves would have time to form any significant height but you would still have the same wind speeds as Lake Mich next door. However Lake Mich will be where the fun will be. Big uninterupted winds lead to big waves. If augaug's latest clip doesn't get you in, noth'n will !

I won't comment on cold water. I reckon our Australian waters are too cold.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

I can't say much more than the above comments buy.

You luck Guy

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Paul, Rebecca & Stephanie

Thanks guys!

Lake Leelanau actually has fairly strong south easterly winds because of it's proximity to lake Michigan. I'm the photo above the big bodie of water is just a tiny fragment of lake Michigan the land mass in on the left is not the shore but Manitou Island. Clearly everybody must know this, but the first time i saw Lake Michigan I really couldn't believe it was fresh water. It is friggin enormous. And by enormous, i really do mean enormous.

I'm super excited about getting. TI ... But I really want to be able to just role it off my lawn and go for a sail/kayak.

Thanks!

I'm in Oklahoma. So, my only local options are lakes. The lakes I spend most of my time on are probalby of similar size to your lake. It's hard to tell the scale of the lake in the pic. Do you know how many acres it covers. They measure lake size here in OK in acres. The lakes I frequent most (because they are close) are 1820 acres and 2500 acres.

As for the lift, I don't see why you couldn't adapt it to hold a TI. Make sure it's wide enough and put the cradles on it. As for de-rigging the boat, there's not much to it and if you put a cover over the lift or over the boat you will probably be fine. De-rigging in your situation may simply consist of taking down the sail and bagging it after it dries. I usually try to take the pressure off the elastic cords and open up the boat to dry too. It doesn't take much time.

Buy one. It's a great boat for lakes or anywhere else. Oh, for the winter, put some blades under her and go ice sailing.

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Mark
2010 Tandem Island
2010 Adventure
Hobie Cat 14T
Home built sailboat (in progress)

Edmond, OK

I'd be getting to know the bloke at the Lake Mich. end of Sugar Bush Lane. I don't know the access and topography but it's only about 500m between to 2 lakes and you will find the TI far better balanced than the AI whilst pulling on the cart and therefor feels 10-15kg lighter.
It looks an easy walk on google maps.

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Sail to the narrow bit of land separating the small lake from the large one (as seen to p right in the picture), put the wheels in, pull her across and set it free in the big lake!!! Yahoo!!!

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Sail it like you stole it!