AI owner since 4-08 New to the forum.

Hey all I'm new to the forum but not the AI. I live in Houston, TX. And like to fish out of my AI. I also enjoy just cruising around and finding new places to go.

Originally I was going to buy the Hobie Hank Parker(I think) fishing version, but that demo day DEMO sold me on the AI. It is a whole lot more fun when the fish aren't biting.

Although I am one of those mechanically creative tinkering types. I haven't made any radical mods. yet. Mainly just a depth finder and rod holder. I mounted one Scotty rod holder to the left side of the cockpit and rod holder racks (ziptied) to the right side akas. These also hold my long arm dip net.

I too have thought about trampolines, spray skirts, hydrofoils, jib sails, etc. The tramps that I had tinkered with were a bit different from the ones out today. Using several pulleys (8 total) I was playing with the concept of making them slide back over the amas (workable from the seated position) when not in use. This idea would have been more expensive than the current design. But I was thinking of having a center section that would stretch between the 2 sides when anchored. Making for one big flat area. Maybe a mobil campground. Something that I see by some of the post can be a desirable addition.

As far as the hydro concept, I had an idea of having a drop in design that would go in place of the mirage drive. the foils would fold out as the forward momentum started. Locking the whole assembly into the AI and an adjustable pitch knob would be accessible from the cockpit to adjust the angle of attack to keep it flying at just the right depth. Add to this a simple slip on hydro to the front of the amas. Then just let the rear drag. Anything to get the bow/hull out of the water. Hopefully reducing drag and increasing speed.

But my greatest addition to my AI is my method of getting it to the launch spot. When I first bought it I took it out all the time. The 1 hour of loading and unloading got old quick. So I built a trailer to pull behind my motorcycle. I have also made it so I can pull it behind my SUV to. However the MC get 4 times better fuel mileage than the SUV. So I get to enjoy it more on a budget. And I spend on average 15 minutes loading and unloading now.

I am planning on posting a photo of it here, but I can't seem to figure that out yet. If someone has any pointers on how to post photos from my comp, not a website. It would be much appreciated.

Welcome AdventureMan
Pics need to be hosted on a 3rd party image hosting site.
More info here:
viewtopic.php?f=21&t=12574
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=9237&p=47454

I was afraid someone would say something like that.

Welcome Aboard Adventureman,

The AI truly is an incredible boat. The portability of it is one of the things that attracted me to it as well. I pull two of them behind a MINI Cooper Convertible. Not quite as small as a motorcycle, but still on the lighter end of the tow vehicle selection. And fifteen minutes after I park the car I can be feet wet and sailing!

As for posting pictures, a lot of people, myself included, have had good luck with Photobucket.com. Their free site lets you set up different albums, and even provides you with the code necessary to embed any photos into a forum such as this one. So easy, even a caveman could do it. We all look forward to seeing your rig.

Happy Sailing,
- Jim L