Looking to see a Tandem Island

G'Day Ya'll
I was wondering if anyone can tell me where to see a Hobie Tandem Island. In other words Im looking for a STOCKING distributor that I can go to in Northern California to examine the Tandem Island in person. My wife is still battling cancer for her life and it would be nice to buy her one of these and take her out while she is still able to go. I need to get the feel of its size for storage purposes and also looking for a foldable trailer that I might buy in order to launch it. Will I be able to load it and cart it too the water all by myself or does it take two people to launch. The clock is ticking away and Im ready to pull the trigger.
Thanks in Advance. Have fun out there.
-Kepnutz-

Hi Kep,

I'm very sorry to learn about your wife. You both have entertained us for years with photo journals of your excellent trips and adventures. Hopefully we'll be able to share in your outings for some time to come.

With your talented innovation and fitness, you should be able to handle the TI by yourself. On a trailer, it shouldn't be difficult at all. Just stay away from the deep sand.

Surely there must be stocking dealers in your area; if not, Tandem Islands are definitely in stock and on display here in the San Diego area. I saw one in the Escondido store last week and would be happy to check for other locations in the region if you'd like.

Warmest thoughts for Mrs. Kep from your fellow forum members!

Welcome back Kep and what RR said!
I'm sure you would both love the TI. It's much more of a sailboat than the Oasis and would be very therapeutic for Mrs Kep in her recovery.
I launch ours from a trailer without assistance. It does help to have 2 carts in both sets of scupper holes or an underhull cart and a scupper cart when retrieving.

Hey Roadrunner Hey Stringy
Thank you both for your quick response. We live up here in Sacramento and there are no Tandem Islands to see that Im aware of. Our local economy here has been devastated by the recession so I can understand the dealers not wanting/needing to stock any Tandem AI's .

Mrs Kep has been very sick and her illness is very serious which is why I have been absent from the forum. I have been busy doing all our shopping, cooking, cleaning, and chores while working full time and taking care of her needs. She has only been on two Hobie outings in two years. She has had a year of radiation and now shes been undergoing chemo treatments.
Her surgery was sucessful however the radiation kept her indoors her last summer and fall. At christmas I sent her in for a check up when she had a cold and they found that her cancer had metastisized into both lungs ,thyroid and liver

She has now been on chemo treatments since mid January and has about a 10 percent chance of surviving another 8 months according to the statistics. She sometimes feels like giving up and has even talked about ending her own life several times which I can understand given the circumstances. She often wakes me up at night terrified and very scared which I would be too.

All that aside she has always loved our Hobie Tandem Kayak and all the outings we have been on , in fact it was her idea to get into a Hobie Oasis Kayak in the first place since we only live a block away from the American River and there are many other rivers and lakes here as well as plenty of coast line to kayak in a few hours away. !

I have about spoken with her about buying a Tandem AI so that we might still go out on the kayak without her having to do much pedaling (if any at all) due to her constant fatigue from all the chemo.

I thought of you Roadrunner because I knew you may have an idea who might stock a Tandem AI and trailer in your area. We have one traxx cart for the oasis and could pick up another set if needed. With a small kayak trailer she would not need to help me lift the TI on top of our SUV's which has been another roadblock to getting her out on the water since I cannot lift or load/unload/re load our oasis by myself .



If you know of any dealers that may have AI tandems in stock I would be more than willing to drive down to your area to pick one up .
Its my hope that with a little wind I could get her back out on the water without needing her help to load or even pedal at all. Im sure getting her out on the water might lift her spirits and really help her to keep a positive mental outlook which has been proven to be a very crucial element in all sucessful cancer treatments.

Roadrunner, I would gladly send you my phone number in a private message on the forum here so that we could discuss any TI options ins and outs or advice on using a Tandem Island . I need to work the sail since she has no sail handling skills and so I have to put her in front and keep her as dry as possible out there.

Its great to hear back from both you and Stringy as you both are among the most respected, and knowledgeable hobie sailors here on this forum. I personally have no doubts about your opinons, expertise, suggestions and advice. Thank you in advance ,have fun out there

Kep,

I'm a new TI owner and would definitely encourage you to get one and enjoy it with your wife. I'm really sorry to hear of her suffering and pray that she will have many great times with you on your TI. It's a great craft for taking out kids and others who don't need to peddle or paddle.

I'm up in Washington but if I were in your area I'd offer you unlimited use of my TI. Maybe some other TI owners in your area would also offer to share theirs so you can enjoy it while waiting for yours to arrive.

As for handling launching chores alone I can affirm that a trailer makes it a snap. I'm 66 and have no problems to launch directly using my home built trailer from a boat ramp. Here's some of the details of how I built mine. Total cost was under $450 and I only had to make one change, adding a roller/support under the aft end of the trailer to strengthen the lattice.




Here's the finished trailer with the TI loaded. Note how the Amas are supported:





Here's the fix I added using a piece of metal conduit with a pool noodle:



Let me know if I can help with any questions.

Wishing you all the very best!

_________________
It's a good Life, Let's sail!

iHop

Dune TI - 6/4/2011
Camas, WA

Kep, the San Diego dealer has all colors in stock and a demo available for you and Mrs. Kep. He also stocks trailers.

I'll send you a PM this afternoon.

Thank you all Roadrunner . Stringy and Islandhoppa
I recieved your contact information message RR, thank you for the help .
Im no spring chicken myself and need to save strength for other things. I use the surf racks on top of my iron donkey but it still takes both my wife and I to load and unload our Oasis Tandem groan.. A Tandem Adventure Island will require a trailer to keep the fun in and the hassle out of using the TAI. I hope its possible for me to cart one solo across the beach to launch it. I have a local water hole only 15 minutes from the house where we will learn to use our new TAI before branching out to other waterways. I hope I can get Mrs Kep out to enjoy our TAI real soon. I will post it up on the forum here with photos as always
Have fun out there and thank you all for your input
Kepnutz


Small water hole


Big water hole

It's worth finding boat ramps to simplify your pleasure sails. There must be some at Folsom Lake. Good luck, when do you get your TI?

I'm in Orlando all week playing with two grandkids but I miss my TI!

_________________
It's a good Life, Let's sail!

iHop

Dune TI - 6/4/2011
Camas, WA