Need for Speed, love my TI: Weta and what else?

I own 4 Hobies and am certainly not a pitchman for Warren, but in the interest of sailing in general I noted this new 20' model from Warren just recently announced: http://www.warrenlightcraft.com/specsul20.html

And its on special at only $14k.....

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

The funny thing is that most sailboats are pretty expensive. I've run into a few "sailors" in the short time I've had my AI and most were curious enough about it to ask questions. They seem intrigued by all it can do. The low price seemed to stun them, although also seemed to make some take it less than seriously. I had that happen recently and the same folks that were talking up storm to me while we were all unloading had nothing to say to me upon loading back up. Seems they were a bit shaken that a $4K Hobie was faster and quicker to tack than their $15K to $20K boats.

But, the Warren is still a very, very nice boat. If they could contract with Hobie to add a Mirage Drive to it, I'd spring for one.

And this is why I think Hobie's got it right.

Warren claims that you can car top their boat because it's so light, but at 20 feet long, you won't find many people placing that on top of their 15 foot vehicles, with 4 foot long roofs. So now you're towing a 20 foot long boat, (on a 22 foot long trailer) made of lightweight materials, and top of the line sail materials, so that it goes faster, when in reality a 13 foot Wave will tow on a shorter trailer, set up just as quickly, and give you more performance, carry more people, and probably be more durable, all for a price that can't be beat.

Don't get me wrong, there are certainly some very nice things about the Warren boat, and the Weta and others. But Hobie seems to deliver a great selection of boats for all kinds of sailors.

You'd have to REALLY want a trimaran to spring for that kind of money. Most people that I talk to are looking for more performance, they like the design of the AI, but aren't stuck on the Trimaran configuration.

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This topic had several posts about the TRIAK:

This weekend I sailed in North Carolina with a TRIAK for a practice run for the Watertribe NCC. The weather was pretty extreme with the cold front coming in. Blowing 20-30 knots. The TRIAK does not point well. The sail is not well balanced. Off the wind the boat can be faster than the AI. It is a rare Watertribe event when we can run a broad reach. But, the worst thing that happen is that the TRIAK developed a crack in the port ama at the attachment point. The single attachment point creates a lot of stress on the ama. The ama is very lightly built for the amount of torque that passing waves develop. Also the attachment point is not centered on the ama. You can see it flexing in the waves.

Bottom line: a TRIAK has some major design issues and is not well balanced...

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Paul
DogsLife
2011 Adventure Island


http://dogslifeadventures.blogspot.com/

I'm sure fellas that Triak is insignificant to Hobie. If they want to play those advertising tactics without having the product to back up their claims, well unfortunately the only people to loose are customers who don't fully do their research, and in the long run Triak themselves.

My advise to Hobie, for what it's worth, just smile and ignore them.

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

Still, you'd have to wonder if their spinnaker/snuffer couldn't be hacked to fit a Hobie.........

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I thought about that and almost bought one Chris. Instead I'm having one professionally designed specifically for the AI. One that will double as a jib when partially furled. The best part is it is about half the price of the triak spinnaker/snuffer and doesn't have "TRIAK" written on it in big letters.

Professionally designed?? Geeez, Chaos, what happened to that backyard stuff? You're going to smoke us all this coming camping season!

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

I have a "backyard" jib now Keith and it's great in good wind but after a recent 12 mile day in a very light (1-2mph) downwind and trying to keep up with a TI sailor who "smoked" me with his sailing skills, I decided I needed to improve the downwind sailing capabilities of this boat as well as applying the lessons learned from his sailing skill that day. He said sailing in very light wind is how you learn to work the wind. Not on a big wind day. Good advice.

Looking forward to Everglades camping with everyone again soon Keith.

Dogs life:
I met up and talked to a guy with a Triak last year at the Sarasota sailing squadron . The boat is pretty nice and he was very happy with it. Compares well to the AI in my opinion. He also mentioned that he had cracked an aka cross bar and Triak replaced it under warranty. No other complaints. He was car topping and appeared to have no issues. Setup seemed easy and effortless.
My first spinnaker design for my TI had a snuffer, it worked ok but my current roto furler is way nicer and faster to deploy and furl. Because of my mirage drive I have no difficulty sailing straight into the wind, I assume with the lack of the pedal drive he has to fight to point into the wind just like everyone else in the world, we are just spoiled.
It also infuriates me to see their advertising. Why not just advertise on your merits.
Bob

In the opening scene of this watertribe video, there is a trimaran that I would expect to be quite fast and efficient. No idea what make or model it is. I am assuming it is or was commercially available at some point, although it's possible it's a homebuilt design. Not sure.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pyKkYlVB ... ure=relmfu

The first boat in the the video is scissors he won the Ec in record time.
The boat is homebuilt. An amazing design

I'm confused. I thought 1st and 2nd places in the 2012 EC went to catamarans.

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I believe Randy with sizzor capsized in the Keys and had some difficulty righting being in shallow water. Marine patrol came to the rescue and the propeller of the rescue boat busted up sizzors so he couldn't finish. He was entered in the Ultimate Florida Marathon. That boat is really fast and quite amazing the way it folds up. Plus I like the color.