2015 TI - Maiden Voyage

So, I was able to get out Sunday for my TI's maiden voyage. It did not go as I planned. The boat was very capable, the wife and kids not so much.
1) The logistics of trying to get a 12, 9, and 2 year old on board were daunting at the least. I think we can work it out but it's going to take a couple of outings.
2) The water wasn't the warmest which upset the wife and kids. I didn't have any problems with it and in fact I waded in waist deep at the boat ramp.
3) Way windier that it was forecasted. We were only supposed to have 10-15 mph winds but it turned into 15-25 mph. I only unfurled the sail a few turns. The boat would be very capable in those conditions but I didn't feel like trying to figure out sail trim with 4 unhappy crew aboard. We ended up just furling the sail and just peddling back to the ramp.

A couple of things to note...I was able to successfully back away from the ramp by dropping the mirage drive in backwards. I did notice that I was able to overpower the rudder in reverse. With only one person peddling (me) and 5 people on board, peddling into a 15-25 mph headwind was exhausting and I was huffing and puffing by the time we got back to the ramp. At one point it was just me and trying to peddle just myself into that kind headwind was difficult.

Needless to say I love the boat. I can see myself and the family having a blast with it. Circumstances, just made for a poor day.

_________________
2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

• Trampolines
• Hobie cover
• Davis Spar Fly
• Kayakbob's Sprayskirts
• Spine Board Hakas

I don't want to assume anything but just in case - you don't have to put the entire sail out. Even a couple of three feet of sail would have allowed you to beat back in close hauled and arrive without the "huffing and puffing."

The "captain" (I think we all know who that is) made the decision for me and furled the sail all the way in. I didn't have much of a choice being in the aft seat. I wish they could figure out a way to make the furling work from both positions similar to the sail control. I may have to devise a way to do that.

_________________
2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

• Trampolines
• Hobie cover
• Davis Spar Fly
• Kayakbob's Sprayskirts
• Spine Board Hakas

This happens notoriously on larger sailboats. Because of the rudder cross-sectional shape, all that water flowing in reverse will tend to push the rudder dramatically to one side. On a larger boat, the wheel or tiller can be moved violently and cause injury as well as loss of directional control. Speed should be controlled just enough to get steerage and rudder action should be gentle to prevent this from happening.

Very brave of you to take the family on your maiden voyage!

In retrospect it was probably not the best thing to do. Lesson learned.

Unfortunately the weather does not look promising for the next couple of weeks. April showers have shown up. So it will sit pretty in the garage for a little bit. This gives me time to design my 2nd tier for the trailer and maybe get some star ports mounted up. I need to add a trailer jack. I almost threw my back out trying to maneuver the boat and trailer around.

Another issue I had was backing the boat down the ramp. I'm not the greatest at backing and I know I will get better, but with how low the boat and trailer are I had some issues. I could see it fine on the flat, but as soon as it went over the ramp decline I would lose sight and couldn't figure out where it was. My suburban does have a backup camera but it felt really awkward to use it.

_________________
2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

• Trampolines
• Hobie cover
• Davis Spar Fly
• Kayakbob's Sprayskirts
• Spine Board Hakas

nicely done - I am still waiting for my new TI hopefully be in the water mid April

_________________
Al aka "YAKMAN"

I can furl from the rear seat of my TI. Did they change something on the 2015 model?

when I back trailer I have rudder locked up so I can see it when backing on ramp. Harbor freight has tennis ball on a magnet based antenna like device that I attach to empty trailer, which I can see over f150 closed tailgate.

No, I don't think they changed anything I just couldn't reach. It would just be nice to have a setup like the sail control has where both forward and aft could furl with their own cleats.

_________________
2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

• Trampolines
• Hobie cover
• Davis Spar Fly
• Kayakbob's Sprayskirts
• Spine Board Hakas

For the furling line you only need the cleat on the front. The same line should serve both forward and rear seats. I'll try to take a photo of mine and post it. I know I did switch to a single set of controls that can be used in either position so I may not be remembering the stock configuration very well.

I'm not sure how Tom has his setup - I don't know how I could uncleat the line from the rear seat.

Here is the method I copied from kayakman7: viewtopic.php?f=71&t=43812&p=184174&hilit=furl+heavy+weather#p184174 I'm sure it's more trouble to setup than Tom's, but it does work well. Although it isn't useable from both seats, it doesn't change any of the stock fittings so you can choose which seat to route the line to prior to lift off.

Tom(s), you first save to cleat the mainsheet in the front cleat with no excess line, and then you have to tie the tail of the rear mainsheet to the furling line. Probably beyond the task list on a maiden sail!

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

No pictures, didnt happen! If you need co-pilot who doesnt mind the splashes let me know

I also furl from the back seat by tying the end of the rear seat main to the furling line. Sometimes have to give the furling line a fairly good flip to get it to pop out but it works. A bit harder when a passenger is in the front seat though.

I *wish* I had some wind to play with. Three weekends and outings in a row I've headed out expecting reasonable winds and they flat DIED on me when I got to the water. *sigh* I thought Oklahoma was supposed to be windy? Just got back from a vacation to the SE part of the state - where the wind stayed stubbornly nonexistent all weekend - and it's howling here at home. It's *supposed* to - and I'm *hoping* it will - be very windy tomorrow too. I'm desperate enough to head out and try sailing in (possibly) 20G30 tomorrow...

Try putting a hitch on the front bumper. Just a cheap bolt on one. Much easier driving the trailer down a ramp than backing.