Performance Mirage

Cold? Hehheh. Happy Holidays from the Gulf Coast where I'm still kayaking in shorts & t-shirts. (Photo taken yesterday during our holiday canoe and kayak parade.)

My dream would be if Hobie developed a boat similar in length to the Tandem Island but with a much narrower beam and higher freeboard for increased performance and a drier ride. You would have to sacrifice the ability to use the boat without the amas attached but I don't see that as a problem really since the very low drag possible from a main hull that doesn't have to be designed with stability in mind should more then compensate for the increased drag from the amas. You could also ship it with two pairs of amas, one large pair for sailing and one small pair for pedaling, if you really want maximum pedaling performance.

Paddling with a double paddle would probably be difficult due to the high freeboard but one of the nice things about pedal drives is that they work regardless of freeboard height and giving up that advantage just to be able to use a double paddle seems silly.

Such a boat should have the potential to outpace most kayaks while simultaneously being an excellent sailing craft and I can't really understand why no such boat has been designed.