After 4 months of using the i9, I still like it although I will likely replace it next year with an i11 when it becomes available in my area (NW) - I'm hoping the greater stability will allow me to alternate between seating and standing. I'm tall and retired so my stability is not what it used to be.
I softened the seat and made it longer by adding a large soft knee-board as folks use in gardens and such, and wrapped a cut-off t-shirt around it to hold it in place. One thing that still bugs me about the seat is the top bar for the back - it should be more curved so that it doesn't cut into your back. I didn't notice this at first but after spending 4-5 hours on the board, I felt it!
Both my wife and I had trouble with the line that lowers the rudder and brings it back up. I solved the problem by replacing it with a slightly longer line which I run through the starboard forward eye of the rear cargo area and then clip to the starboard forward eye where the seat is attached. We now lower and retrieve the rudder without fail.
I still believe the folding is impractical and shoving all the gear in the provided rolling bag is not something I want to practice and learn. For now I bought a couple of large and long bag (one for each board) where I store anything but the board itself. I notice that Matt Miller indicated the size of the i14 rolling bag is 43.3 x 24.6 x 23.6” (see
https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=47&t=68615), so I should be able to easily stuff 2 i9 or one i9 and one i11 into one i14 rolling bag, and keep the rest of the gear separate. Is the i14 rolling bag available, and if so at what price?
For downwind situation, I got a couple of cheap clear umbrellas, and we pop them open when downwind and we're tired. We won't win any races, but I'm first and foremost a sailor so I had to have a "sail".
Question: when not in use, is it best to store the board completely deflated and folded, or to store them inflated (like at 5psi)?