OK, I finally got the TI out for a shakedown cruise today as a 2-man.
My First impressions:
On land, it's BIG and that mast is TALL!
(Jesse is 6' tall)
o- With the centerboard down, it turns on a dime. Much quicker than the AI. It pivots at the centerboard (front seat).
o- In lighter winds, (8-10mph) the TI seems to point a lot higher into the wind. Noticeably higher than the AI.
o- The TI seems slow to get to speed, but then seemed to sail a bit faster than an AI once it gets going.
o- The mass (weight) of 2 people plus the TI is enough at these wind speeds to come about without pedaling.
o- In 12-18mph winds, the TI's mast bends a lot more then the AI's.
(Matt, should the long batten look like that?)
o- The TI seems to ride up 3-4' wind waves much better than the AI. No submarineing during this trip.
o- In 12-18 mph winds, it takes a lot more to pull in or uncleat the sheetline. More of a 2 handed operation.
o- Steering so far is tight, taking more force to turn, but not a problem. Even sailing over 9 mph I was able to keep my hand off the rudder control for 30 to 60 seconds with almost no change in direction. Even in 3-4' wind waves.
o- With it's longer length, a couple of times trying to pedal fast to catch a wave, all I got was air!
(The bow and stern were on waves, but just air under my pedals)
o- It's a little dryer at lower speeds, but wetter at higher speeds >6 mph. Definitely needs a sprayskirt and probably tramps to keep mostly dry.
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EF-ej3Buj28[/youtube]
A last chuckle, the rudder goes a LOT deeper than the AI's. So much so, that when I put down the rudder after leaving the boat launch in what in an AI was more than deep enough water, we stopped dead as the rudder anchored us in the sandy bottom!
Tomorrow a longer sail with some AI's...
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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006
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