Best. Summer. Ever!Well, maybe not ever, but I sure had fun! After waiting (not so) patiently for two years, back in May of 2016 my accountant (spouse) finally allowed me to buy a new Hobie 2016 Tandem Island, golden papaya. I also sprang for the tramps right away. My dealer sold me a pretty heavy-duty Karavan trailer. I live near Medicine Lake in the Twin Cities, MN area, and it is an easy 2-mile trip to the ramp at the local county park on the lake. After buying the boat, I was out on the lake at least once pretty much every weekend. I also took a couple of extended trips, including one week of family camp on Clear Lake in Iowa, and 4 days of fishing in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northern Minnesota. I had a blast all summer! I didn't get many photos of me with the boat, but here is one from the camp in IA (several people wanted rides).
And here are a couple from the trip to the BWCAW.
My first sail was pretty low-key, wind not much above 5 MPH. I was getting used to the boat, and learning to sail, at the same time. I had taken a 6-hour ASA (American Sailing Association) small-boat sailing class, but nothing really prepares you for sailing all by yourself. I love the Mirage drive - makes it a lot easier to tack, and you can get back to the ramp when it is directly upwind!
But my next trip out, which happened to be with my wife, was very educational. Or should I say, a comedy of errors? The ramp, on the north end of the lake, was facing a strong southerly breeze, at least 15 MPH, directly on-shore. Somehow, after we both got in the boat, we managed to work our way around the dock/pier paralleling the ramp, and end up in the weeds next to it, no sail up, just trying to pedal and get some way on so we could steer out into open water. Again, not sure how, but we managed to gain some forward momentum… right into the pier alongside the ramp! And pop! There goes an aka brace shear-bolt! Boy, was I crushed. I thought the outing was ruined, and we would have to go home with our tails between our legs. Fortunately, the tramps kept the ama from collapsing, so there was hope. I even considered continuing with just the support of the tramp on the aka. I must have skimmed the manual a little too quickly, because I did not even see or know about the spare shear-bolts within easy reach. But, my ever-helpful wife dug around in a bag of spare parts that happened to be in the rear hatch, and found a stainless-steel bolt that fit the hole. OK, deep breath! Maybe we can keep going!
Somehow we got pointed into the wind, got out far enough from shore to unfurl the sail, and we were finally sailing! We didn't get too far, though. I was messing with the mainsheet for some reason (the memory is a little fuzzy), and all of a sudden I let go and it flew out of my hands, zipped out of the clew block, and left the sail flapping wildly in the wind! The line was trailing in the water, and there were the block and hook flapping out over the water! Yikes, what if the hook just flaps off! I managed to grab hold of the sail and pull it inboard. I snatched the hook and block and made sure I stowed them securely under the seat. Whew! Disaster averted, again!
Hmmm… again, should have read the manual a little more thoroughly… how do I restring the mainsheet?? No idea… Well, I took my best shot, and I must have gotten close, because it worked the rest of the trip. And that was about it for excitement. Other than the advice coming from the rear seat: "Maybe we should get a clip-on hook instead of that crazy open hook." And: "Maybe we should buy some spare shear-bolts." And: "What about buying some spare rope? In case the line just leaves completely next time?" Actually, all great suggestions, and I implemented them all later that afternoon. Of course, tying knots in the end of the line would have prevented it from zipping out of the cleat like it had, but I had forgotten to do that. Haven't had that problem since!
After that second trip, things were a little more under control most of the time. The first time out with my 16-year-old son was also a good stiff breeze, with big whitecaps, and he saved us from being blown over by quickly steering into the wind. He had been to sailing camp for two summers in a row, so he called it "sailor's instinct." After that, I balanced out on the tramps! I have since learned to furl the sail when there is that much wind.
I fell off the boat later in the summer. This led to the exploration of a tether system. I have details of that in the Tether section referenced below.
In addition to my newest favorite hobby (sailing), I love fishing. And this boat is a fantastic fishing platform! I love being able to stand up and cast. My only previous boating experience has been in my aluminum canoe. This is so much better in almost all respects. The only thing the canoe has going for it is durability when hitting rocks, and less appendages extending below the hull to snag on weeds and other obstructions.
Anyway, I took my TI to the Boundary Waters this fall. For those not familiar with this area, it is a region of hundreds of lakes in northern Minnesota. Most of the lakes do not allow motorized boats, so really the only boats you see are canoes and kayaks. Technically, the TI would not work well in the true Boundary Waters, because it is not easy to portage, especially since you can't use carts or wheels of any kind. But in the border lakes, there are plenty of ramps and access points where you can launch from a trailer. It sure worked great! My buddy was up front, with his Mirage drive facing forward, and I sat in the rear, with my drive in backwards. He would propel us slowly forward for a gentle trolling speed. Occasionally, one of us would get a snag. All I had to do was quickly pedal backwards until the line un-snagged, and we were good to go again!
All in all, I had a great time learning how to sail the boat and deal with different wind conditions. I love my TI! I can't wait to get out on the water again this spring!
Just for fun, I have included some pictures and descriptions of mods I have made over the last few months.
ModsSplash GuardsMy very first "mod" was to buy the splash guards from Kayaking Bob (thanks, Bob!). My lake seems to have two wind conditions: glassy calm, and whitecaps. So when we do have wind, the splash guards sure make it much more comfortable.
Mainsheet RatioIt didn't take me long to decide to switch to the 3-to-1 pulley ratio. My shoulders are not that healthy anymore, and I found the standard 2-to-1 ratio too hard.
Larger Mainsheet BlocksI had read on one forum thread that a larger block also helped the resistance on the mainsheet, so I upgraded from the standard 40mm block to a 60mm block in the stern. I used the original 40mm block on the clew. This did help some, though not as much as I had hoped.
Rear Seat ControlsAbout midway through the season, I started to realize I was getting a lot of weather helm when sailing solo in the front seat. I switched to sailing solo from the rear seat, and that helped a lot, but the furling line was not that easy to access from there. So I implemented my own system to get the furling line to the rear seat. In the end, it would probably have been just as cheap to go with Yak Attack or something, but I invented my own track system using aluminum track I knew about from my woodworking hobby. I got a length of T-track from Rockler, and bought some way-overkill aircraft-grade aluminum stock from Metals Online, and crafted my own rail system. Added a couple of new blocks along the hull to direct the line to the new cleat, and it works great!
FishingAs mentioned above, one of my other hobbies is fishing. And the TI makes a great fishing platform! Near the end of the season, just before leaving for the BWCAW, I created a fishing rod holder assembly from PVC. It was intended to hold 1 to 4 fishing pole in various attitudes, two of which were designed, I hoped, to be ideal for trolling. Below are a couple pictures of it. The feature I am most proud of is the rotating holders. Short slits in the cross fitting allow the inserted tube to rotate, and hose clamps tighten it up so the angle is solid. This rig also works to keep the main sheet off my neck and head.
The contraption mounts in the original pole holders, with a pair of 22.5° elbows bringing the rest of it to nearly vertical. At the time the pictures below were taken, the top ""U"-shaped portion was not even glued in, it was just a tight press fit. I might insert a set-screw eventually, but I like the removable option. I am thinking I can try different upper profiles, like maybe bending the PVC into a "U" instead of building it up with elbows, to eliminate the line catching on the joints.
And I was able to incorporate a {bracket} to hold one end of my mast for transport. The other end is supported by a similar {bracket} that fits nicely in the mast holder. The height of these supports is designed such that the middle of the mast is supported by the backs of the folded-down seats. I like this system much better than strapping it alongside the folded amas as I had been doing.
Micro-Hakas and Hiking StickThroughout the summer I enjoyed reading the haka thread elsewhere on this forum. I didn't get up the gumption to build anything myself (yet), but I did add my own invention: micro-hakas! Two seat cushions attached with a couple of bungees really add to the comfort of sitting out on the trampolines. It is surprising how much nicer it is to sit on that cushion than to sit with your bottom sagging into the waves on the tramp.
And observant readers may recognize most of the parts for my hiking stick. A spare aka-brace latch, a matching aka brace knob, and I was in business. I have to say, though, unless the stick is held mostly horizontally, it pops off a little too easily in use.
TetherThere I was, out on the lake at family camp this summer with my wife. We had a pretty decent wind, with whitecaps, and I had my micro-hakas in place so I could hike out on the tramp and balance it a little. I was piloting from the rear seat, and I wanted to hike out onto the port haka. As I placed my feet on the tramp and sat back, I missed the haka… and suddenly I was going over backwards, head-over-heels, implementing an impromptu test of my self-inflating PFD! As I bobbed to the surface, there was my wife, with no sailing experience, disappearing into the sunset!
Naturally, she yelled, “What do I do!”, and I yelled back, “Steer toward me!” She actually did a good job steering the boat back. I managed to grab an ama and crawl back aboard. Sailing the rest of the way back to the launch point (a beach) was slightly uncomfortable with the inflatable PFD up tight around my ears. My wife, ever concerned for my safety, suggested I look into implementing a tether to prevent the boat from sailing off without me in the future. Thus this post.
I read up on this forum about what I could regarding tethers. I couldn’t find anything that was based on real-world experience. Someone expressed hesitation regarding “skiing” behind the boat as it continued to sail, and being unable to swim or keep ones head above the water. Various attachment points have been discussed, including foot, wrist, and waist. With all that swirling in my head, I determined to do a little experimentation. I started with 50 feet of 1/8” paracord, because that is what I had for spare line in my boat at the time. Someone had suggested tying the tether to the bow so you would work as a sea anchor and keep the bow pointed into the wind. That seemed like a reasonable idea, so I tied the far end of the line first to the front aka crossbar, then up through the bow shackle, then back to the rear seat, where it would connect to me. I didn’t really like the idea of having a rope around my ankle, or my wrist for that matter. So I tied the line to the lowest latch on my PFD. For this test, I didn’t want to waste another $30 refill of the inflatable PFD, so I used a normal, vest-type PFD I always carry as a spare. The line ended up tied about at my belly-button.
I implemented the test in two phases, as so:
1. STATIC PHASE
To begin the test, I stopped the boat in the middle of the lake and furled the sail. The boat was drifting a little bit with the wind, but not too bad. I then just jumped in the water. No big deal so far, the boat was not drifting so fast I couldn't catch up with it, even with my pathetic swimming skills. So, I swam backwards as fast as I could until I ran out of line… and bump, I felt a gentle tug. I stopped, and the boat stopped. I could almost pull the boat behind me. At no point did I feel like it was going to pull me under, or make it awkward to swim. I had full control of my attitude and position at all times. All I had to do was pull myself along the line back to the boat. In fact, as I pulled, the boat moved towards me slightly, as I moved in its direction.
2. DYNAMIC PHASE
Emboldened by the success and lack of drama of the first phase, I immediately determined to go all-out. I set the sail, got up some speed, and dropped overboard. Just like the static test, this was impressively drama-free. As the line ran out, I felt a gentle tug, and I picked up a little motion, and the boat slowed down considerably. I was easily able to pull myself back to the boat. I didn’t really act like much of a sea-anchor, pointing the bow into the wind, but that didn’t matter, because the boat was pretty much dead in the water anyway, and there just wasn’t much motion. After returning to the boat, I managed to slide around to where the mainsheet was cleated and uncleat it. After that, the most annoying part was the sail flapping loudly overhead, until I could get back aboard and furl it.
Based, then, upon this limited but real-world test, I am much less worried about the tether causing any kind of issues when in the water. After thinking about the physics, I decided that the difference between the weight of the boat and my weight was relatively small, in proportion. I weigh maybe 150 lb soaking wet, and the boat is maybe 250 lb, fully loaded. So the difference was vastly less than that between me and a fully loaded bass boat at 2500 lb. I affected the motion of the boat nearly as much as it affected me. There was no way it would ever be going fast enough to drag me very far before it slowed down to a snail’s pace.
I still have the tether on the boat, just as I originally rigged it. Just to reduce the amount of line laying around the boat, I might shorten it and tie it to the rear aka crossbar for the next sailing season. Trying to leave it on the bow shackle is kind of pointless, because it just doesn’t have the intended affect.
I hope this little experiment contributes to the knowledge-base on these fantastic boats!
Wind VaneNear the end of the season I began to yearn for a wind indicator. Being a cheapskate, I built my own out of some 14 AWG copper wire and some aliminum duct tape. Works great! I drilled a hole in a rectangle of aluminum (left over from the mounting rail project) and clamped it at the top of the mst. The shaft on the wind vane sticks in that hole and secures with a set-screw. I end up installing it and remvoing it every time I launch because it doesn't fit in the sail bag, but it only takes 10 seconds to mount it. I really like having it, and I miss it when it breaks (happens once in a while).
TrailerAs I mentioned at the beginning of this novel, I have a pretty heavy-duty trailer. My dealer sold it to me with the stock Hobie TI cradles. As has been noted elsewhere on this forum, I began to notice dents in the hull where it rested on the cradles. Plus I could see the potential for cracking, as has also been noted. I cracked one slightly when I didn't slow the boat down enough when loading and it bumped into a cradle too fast.
For all those reasons, I replaced the cradles with PVC bunks as suggested and implemented by several people here. I used 1.5" Schedule 80 PVC for its greater thickness and stiffness. I got 12' lengths from my local big-box. I reinforced it with 8' lengths of treated 2x4 cut down to an octagonal shape and slid inside. Those also gave my mounting bolts something to bite into. If I recall, I think Idrilled holes through the PVC and then used 2.5" deck screws up through the 2x6 mounting blocks, through the PVC, into the inner wood core. I also ground out depressions for the scupper drains. For now, I have hard foam pads on the sides for supporting the amas, but I might switch to PVC for those, too.
In addition to supporting the hull better, I like how the PVC bunks make it easier to load the boat onto the trailer. It self-aligns very nicely from a pretty big range of approach angles.
You know, the more I look at the mounting system for the PVC, I wonder if I should just eliminate the treated 2x supports. I added them originally because I wanted a way to secure the PVC from rolling. I cut shallow grooves in a couple chunks of treated 2x6, which seemed to do the trick. But maybe I could do some sort of wedge directly on the underlying 2x4… or maybe just count on the mounting bolts to keep the PVC from rolling. That would sure simplify the whole system. I might be able to get away with just letting the amas rest on the carpet covers 2x4. Anyway, something to try next summer, maybe.
In my on-going quest to make loading and un-loading from the trailer as fast and efficient as possible, I added some eye-bolts to the ends of the 2x4 supports at the front and back of the trailer, which are easy to hook with my tie-downs. Now, instead of wrapping the straps down and around the 2x4 and back up and into the boat and hooking the hooks to each other, I shortened the straps and just hook each end on and a couple of cranks with the ratchet tightens down.
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) With that in mind, I might work harder to make it usable. I wonder if I could do something with a bungee...
But the PVC was large enough that it would not fit down without pulling out the mast-keeper lever. And I made a slot in the PVC to catch the mast-keeper, so it is pretty secure.
) But here is a drawing of it. Just an aluminum block with a hole on one end for the copper wire, and a tapped hole in the side for a set screw. It is held on to the top of the mast with a hose clamp (incorrectly called a C-Clamp in the picture).
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