2015 Island upgrades -At what cost to their versatility?

[quote="RandomJoe. The one thing my TI trailer doesn't have is a storage bin. On the regular kayak trailer I have all the accessories stored in a bin so it literally is hitch-and-go, with the TI I have to transfer stuff to the truck and back. No room on the trailer for a bin, need to find a reasonably light bin/box I could slide in the truck that can hold (most) everything.


Rubbermaid action packer cargo box 24 gallon

I drilled 4 holes in it. used 2 u-bolts, and bolted it to the tongue of the trailer mounted lengthwise. you have to slide the boat back on the trailer a little, making adjustments to the front and rear crossbeams, but it does reduce the tongue weight which i thought was too heavy anyways.

its ideal for life jackets, cooler, misc other stuff.

Also, dont be afraid to practice maneuvering and backing your trailer up in an empty parking lot. My forst trailer experiemce was towing a hobie 18 behing an 84 Volkswagen Rabbit convertible. the boat looked like it was trying to eat the rabbit. I practiced, and got very good at towing that monster anywhere I wanted.

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Crazy Joe
Captain of the LIC. Landlocked Island Club, Omaha Ne.

2016 Tandem Island on a Trailex Aluminum trailer being towed by a
Triumph Scrambler Motorcycle..

Swag Off Road makes these aluminum mounts for those 8 and 24 gallon Rubbermaid bins. They have extra latches for securing the lid and an accessory mount that lets you stack them or mount other things above the lid. The 8 gallon one might make a nice Haka accessory. They show a small flat fuel tank mounted on one that might appeal to folks with outboards.
http://www.swagoffroad.com/8-Gallon-Rub ... _p_35.html
- Chris

HO-lee-COW!!!

I just loaded my TI on my truck. The short version is: it works, but only if I'm desperate!

Loading the hull upright wasn't too terrible, but the bars (Yakima round bars with pool noodles over them) made some pretty big divots in the bottom - *without* straps, just the hull weight. I may be more concerned about that than I need to be, but it sure bothered me. I tried flipping it over, which was great support-wise but a very clumsy pain in the rump to load/unload without breaking something.

Think I'll just stick with the trailer...!

I will also note that a few times during my attempts I desired a good handle - and the seat mounting bars were always right where I wanted to grab, they worked just fine! Might not be suitable for use actually carrying the TI anywhere, but for rolling it over or sliding it back and forth on the truck rack they were great.

Joescrambled, I can't move my boat back any on the trailer. With the bow right at the back of the coupler I can only *barely* get it in my garage, and I still have to angle it to get the last few inches to close the door. I might put something in the bed of my truck, though I like having the whole bed available at times. Or just deal with the inconvenience for another year, plan to buy a van next year - so many ways that'd be more useful to me now. Low-rent camper, changing room, storage bin!

I took my TI out as just-a-kayak today. Had the seat in the lowest position, felt just fine. Tippier than my Outback, but then the Outback is wider. Not as tippy as my Jackson Coosa with its lawn-chair seat, though. I never felt like I was anywhere near the danger point, but I was just running up a river, not out in open water with waves.

Paddling it was nice too, though I wish I'd have taken my longer Werner paddle. The Hobie paddle is a little short, I couldn't get the full blade in the water without reaching side to side. I averaged 2.5 MPH when paddling according to the GPS. Not an all-out effort, just a comfortable cadence.

And I do like the more streamlined bow! (Compared to my Outback, that is.) Even with the extra size and weight, I go about the same speed (3-3.5 MPH) as on my Outback for my medium-speed "can do this all day" pedaling. I was VERY pleased / surprised to see I could easily drive it up to about 5.5 MPH when pedaling hard, and very little bow wave. The Outback starts really churning water and hits a brick wall about 4 MPH. The TI hull also glides SO much better!

Valuable info there RJ.
Thanks for that. That's the type of feedback I'm very interested in. It's good to know that we can still paddle OK sitting in the new seats.
Did you have any experience paddling the TIv1 in kayak mode?
The pedalling speeds sound impressive!

No, I had never tried a TI before. I took a V1 AI out for a quick sail at a demo day once, but that was it. Thinking back, I was putting a lot of faith in Hobie, trusting the TI would really be what I wanted!

My Outback is the only Hobie I've spent much time on - and it has seen a LOT of time on the water in all conditions. I suppose a lot of that faith in Hobie came from how happy I've been with the Outback. (Aside from the seat, that is. Couldn't stand the stock seat, had to roll my own. One of the main reasons I waited for the '15 model Islands.)

Any actual data on the New AI. Very interested to see data on speed between the new and old version under the same conditions. I was hoping the watertribe EC event would bring some input but that was over before it really started. In the market for and AI and wondering if the extra cash will bring more speed or if the old model can still hold its own.

I have posted at length about the 2015 AI (AI 2) on my "Expedition" thread on the Hobie forum. My comments start on page 41 (http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=7276&start=600) and run off and on for the next 7 pages.

The most recent post is by Matt Miller. He stated the following:

Aside from the seats and hardware and additional plastic added for seat support,

Amas: 33% larger than V1
Mast: 1.5 feet taller
Hull: 6” longer, 4” more freeboard, 2” wider
Battens: Larger diameter, with more full-length battens
Centerboard Conversion: added weight to the well; the board itself is heavier; and the spring-loaded mechanism/casing added weight

Matt's comment comes in response to my comments that the 2015 AI (AI 2) was much heavier than the "142#" stated on the Hobie web site. Matt and others now agree that the AI 2, fully rigged, weighs 185#--that includes everything, like the Mirage Drive, water bottle, paddle, etc. It is both a much larger boat and heavier than previous AIs .

Despite the extra weight, the AI 2 has the higher mast, larger sail, more volume up front, longer amas positioned more forward--it definitely sails significantly faster than the AI. I've heard, but cannot verify myself, it is supposed to sail closer to the wind. Because of the extra volume up front, it is going to be doing much less diving and cutting waves, which should also increase speed in rough waters.

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 for the information and the link to that thread. Wonderful to be able to see a side by side comparison. 2015 may be the one to get. Now if I can just find the jar of money I buried......