Over night trips how do people 'pack'

Mickey,

No it is either the tow bar or the T bar. I have often thought of having a welder put something together for me. Even taking the TI and the bikes on a trip.

But at the moment it is the TI and the TI and the TI. I have 2 weeks left of a 11 week holiday from work, most of the days have been bad for sailing. I cant complain as most of the east cost of australia are under water

Give Scott a call; I call it a T bar (Thule), he will know what you are talking about. If he does not just tell him that Paul has it on his car with his red TI

I paid Scott a visit last week to have my hull swapped over.

If you want to see and feel (put it on/off the car) the TI, I am in Narre Warren!

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Paul, Rebecca & Stephanie

Paul once again, thanks for the info and offer re loading the TI.
11 weeks is a remarkably long holiday ! Sounds like you had accrued quite a lot or taken it all at once.
The weather hasn't been all that fantastic. - probably will be the day you go back to work !
If you want to take a run down here (Nicholson) you could bring it down and have a great time sailing/kayaking in the rivers and lakes. Guaranteed!
There are quite a few of us down here now to show you around or keep you company. If you want to camp or bring a caravan I have a couple of acres close to the Nicholson river and boat ramp.

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Mickey
2016 AI Hibiscus
purchased NEW Nov 2021 - My 5th
Adventure Island Sailing since 2008

Mickey,

would love to come down 1 weekend. I have a tent and would love to camp!

I will have a chat with the boss and we can see if we can organise a suitable time.

Oh, when I am up there please feel free to take the TI on and off the car for me

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Paul, Rebecca & Stephanie

I like it. You could almost carry the TI over the frame you did for your pod trailer if only the trailer A-frame was a bit longer.

Whilst I car top my TI, it's not as easy for me, especially when I go on my own. The roofracks on my 4WD are a tad wee tall for a comfortable reach for my 168cm height. As such I have bought myself a 3-step folding ladder than makes everything easier. I'll take a photo of my loading and unloading set-up shortly.

But for now, here is how I carry my TI. I'm just waiting for the Yakima Showboat to come in stock and I'll fit it which should make things a little easier. For now I have to mount then remove the Thule Waterslide each time I load and unload.

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H@mmer
"Intelligence is nothing without imagination"

Paul,
The larger drybags 60L and up are usually made of nylon and we haven't found them to be as waterproof so we use one drybag inside the other.
Just had some more discussion on transporting here:
viewtopic.php?f=69&t=26107&p=133927#p133927

The newer Podtrailers have a longer drawbar. Might be able to get away with it then.

If I was looking at putting the AI on top of the trailer I'd think about some kind of bracket that flips over to the side to take the weight off the lid so it can be opened. Currently I only put fairly light stuff on the roof racks like chair and fold up table.

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Stringy,

I have the Hobie drybag, I have also sot a small dry bag (like the hobie one ~2l) for my keys and alike. I have a large maybe 60l from Aldi which I always pack in the hull just of the fun of it, this does not seem to get water inside. I have seen a 60l bag from Rays Outdoors that stated it is completely waterproof. I filled it up with air and could not push the air our much (interesting), the zip was covered with some sort of plastic/rubber. Not sure how this bag would go over time?

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Paul, Rebecca & Stephanie

Paul,

Having just returned from an extended camp trip w/ 4 AIs and 1 TI, I would strongly suggest you do a trial run yourself, maybe w/ your wife or someone else. Do the trip you are planning. You will get a pretty good idea about how much your boat leaks, and what precautions you need for gear. Personally, I load all gear I want to keep dry in the bow. Gear that is water impervious(stakes, pump, pee bottle, bottled water, Gatorade bottles, etc), I pack in the stern--remember, when you pull up on a beach, your stern is low and will collect all the water in the boat.

If you look at my thread on AI camping http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=7276&start=0 you will see that I have complained & made suggestions extensively about water leakage into the AI. My 2007 AI, now leaks about 1-2 qts of water (from the rear) on a very rough day (it does not leak if I simply am doing a day sail or running fully-loaded downwind.) My wife's 2009 AI leaks very little on the same days.

My tent is in a water-repellent, compression bag and simply jammed in the bow. It is 2" off the bottom. I bag all my clothes in a pointy Sealine bag, expel the air, and jam it as far forward as possible into the bow.

This may surprise people (they will probably say I'm nuts), I do not dry bag my sleeping bag. My bag is a Mountain Hardware Ultralamina (http://www.rei.com/product/747877) It is synthetic and packs very small (6.5 x12 inches) into a water-repellent stuff sack—I jam this high in the bow along w/ my clothing bag—it is about 5” off the bottom. Kitchen gear is in a dry bag w/ the opening 3” off the floor—same w/ food bags. Tent poles are always in a dry bag—you can ruin aluminum tent poles by allowing them to get in contact w/ salt water. I have numerous small dry bags, and I try to keep their openings 2-4" off the bottom.

On the trip mentioned above, the TI leaked significantly, as did one of the AIs. You have to tighten every screw, seal any opening which may leak w/ goop, and pay close attention to keeping the TnS hatches clean and the ring lubricated w/ silicone grease (most spray lubricants, like WD-40, will ruin the O-ring.)

Regarding the TI and leakage, since it has more holes through the hull than the AI, it has more to maintain. I don’t see why it should be any more prone to leakage than the AI, if everything is maintained. The rear hatch is slanted so water does not sit on top and leak in thru a poor seal. Still, there is nothing like doing a practice run, BEFORE you take your wife & daughter out. A bad experience will likely end their interest in doing any further TI camping.

Good luck!

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

Thanks Keith,

I have done a dry run; well with the TI it was a wet dry run

My 1st overnighter I plan to sail from Tooradin to French Island.



Great little trip the TI did not leak at all (well maybe 50ml).

Great thread you gave me!

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Paul, Rebecca & Stephanie

The best way to pack for over-nighters and expeditions is to take an ultra-light approach, using much the same sort of gear hikers do. Forget about 40lt eskies, forget about big heavy canvas swags, etc. The heavier and bulkier an item is, the more of a liability it will become.

Stringy is right - use multiple smaller dry bags and distribute inside hull with respect to weight. I'm yet to do this on a TI, but on an AI I have found that it is best to have lightest and bulky items up front (sleeping bag, mats, etc), heaviest items towards the rear, and items you need most accessible in centre hatch.

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Kayak Fishing Specialist: SLH
https://slhobie.com.au

Yakass,

Santa gave us a lot of equipment for camping; all have been lightweight and good for hiking. Santa is sooooooo smart

All I need is to keep everything dry! And it look like I need a lot of dry bags (have 3 already!

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Paul, Rebecca & Stephanie

Paul,
You're going to need a lot more than 3 drybags.
As Yakass points out by using smaller bags you can maximise hull space.
Maybe not as many as this but you get the idea:

(Freya Hoffmeister's packing solution for her epic circumnavigation of Aus by sea kayak)

... now which bag did I put ... in??

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

Freya gave a talk here in Miami after she paddled around Australia, 9000+ mi--I suppose you blokes all know about her. She is impressive and could probably tell you where she put every bag, especially after the 1st month paddling. She did the trip in a year--solo.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

Hey, that looks just like how my wife packs for an overnight stay in a hotel.

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