Will these upgrades be found on 2015 TI & AI?

What does the hull weigh? The thing that's kept me in my AI is the ability to get it up on the roof of the car easily and even to pick the hull up and carry it through scrub when necessary. If it's not too much heavier, I'm sold. Otherwise, might as well go for a TI (or stick with the old model)..

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I think we can safely assume it will be slightly heavier. However all the components are the same outside of additional plastic. I'm just guessing here but if we are talking 10% more plastic, I would guess the weight will be 10-15 lbs heavier with the bulk of that being the larger AMA's.
Just speculation on my part, but definitely not a show stopper from my eyes.
Bob

I don't mind the amas being heavier, 'cause you can carry them separate from the hull.

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You'll still have to land it and drag it up the beach single-handed. With the added flotation, we'll be carrying more gear too, for sure. Oh, and gotta add that fish finder and battery now.

Guessing the hull will be close to 100lb.

Hope the internal bracing is improved.

So what has it got to offer over a TI, given it's still a single-seater?

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Especially if (when?) the TI gets the new seats, seat scupper valves, new Miragedrives, taller mast, longer amas (akas?), double bungees on amas, etc...

Looking forward to the announcement!

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

If the new AI is substantially heavier, I think it will be the death knell for the AI. Hobie will be cannibalizing its own market.

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You just need to learn more about leverage !
There are so many ways to move things without straining the family jewels.
Hell, I remember seeing vans back in the 1980's with 16 ft. Hobie cats on a rack on their roofs and wonder " How in the hell did they get that up there ? "
Here's a VW car with one on it !


Here's some more Yankee ingenuity !

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In my experience if it's difficult to load then you end up using it less. You only need a small excuse to not be bothered going out. Our first Hobie was an Oasis which took some effort to load on my tall 4WD roof racks. Nothing like what a TI would be, which is why I opted for a trailer. We have used our TI a lot more than we did our Oasis.
My AI is easier to load on the roof than the Oasis was. The longer narrower and lighter Adventure hull makes for a quicker load. I carry everything else, ama and aka etc inside the vehicle. With the new ama being 3' longer I'm not sure I'll still be able to carry them inside. Lifting the heavier hull now with built in daggerboard and more plastic will also be more of an effort. So the advantage of not needing a trailer that the AI currently has over the TI will be gone.

Chrisj's point is a good one. If I have to trailer then I'll be taking the TI.


What will be interesting is seeing how the new AI works as a stand alone kayak. If you are not sailing then you don't need the built in daggerboard. Used in kayak mode the current Adventure is a dry enough ride as is so the extra height and bulk/weight are not really wanted in a stand alone kayak.

I wonder if Hobie are keeping the old Adventure hull for kayak sales and going the same route as the TI with the new AI available only as an Island?

What I find ironic in all this is that Hobie have gone to a lot of effort in developing an improved AI that addresses the shortcomings of the previous model like nose diving, wet ride, sitting in a puddle etc.... that disappeared if you added Haka and began hiking out. I don't need longer ama if I'm out on the haka.

A larger sail is welcome but it's extra power can be handled simply by hiking out on Haka which are the best accessory the Islands have seen and yet still not available from Hobie!

Stringy, I get what you are saying about the improved performance using hakas, but I personally would prefer that to be a bonus over an improved performance envelope available while sitting in a central seat.

Old fat blokes like me with spinal issues can only dream of being able to dart from haka to haka. Heck, I was able to use my weight as an excuse for not getting tramps ( ), so any hakas I get would be there to carry camping gear and be useful as a table at the destination.

C'mon Hobie, you know you would sell shiploads of rotomolded hakas (and even supply the medical spine board market as a bonus)

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

Salty - Good one!

Stringy, I predict you'll love the new Amas. They look perfect.

Sailing should be much smoother and when you're just hanging out there for lunch or camping, you'll appreciate the extra floatation too. A little more sail power and the reshaped bows should help us punch through the swells.

With or without Hakas, it looks like a move in the right direction.

Willing to give it a try out here.

Really interested in this new hull shape. Bloody ugly hull bow in my opinion but the Amas look pretty modern and quite racey. Very similar in fact to........

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

I was out in my AI yesterday and as it cut through the water I was again impressed at how fast it is under just pedal power. Talking with a friend who also owns an AI, we concurred that due to it's lighter weight and more streamlined hull, the current AI is likely to be better in stripped down kayak mode (no amas or akas) than the new newer, heavier, bulkier AI. But neither of us has ever used our AI's in stripped down kayak mode.

From that angle I suspect that what Hobie was after wasn't necessarily a better kayak, but a better sailing kayak. Sort of like the ProAngler - these things are getting beyond the realm of kayaks and are closer to small fishing/sailing craft which due to their size and weight are most suited to trailering. What is the percentage of people who trailer their AI's? I have no idea, but would think they would be in the majority.

Bottom line - no company can continue to add the sort of features that Hobie does and make the boats smaller and lighter at the same time. You have to give up one thing to get something else. In order to offer more comfort, convenience and performance , the new AI is going to wind up being bigger and heavier. That's the trade off and those who don't want to go that way can always stick with what they have or look for a used AI. I suspect there's going to be a lot of them on the used market very shortly.

OK, hands up all those who would trade up to the new AI (as opposed to the TI) if the hull weighs 100#.

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...And keep in mind that a new TI will still be over $1000 more than a new AI.