What does the lack of new TI info today mean?

Yakass (Josh Holmes -Hobie expert working for a dealer in Australia) posted this in another thread


I would be surprised if they didn't also include the seat scupper flap system as included in the AI, but even if they don't, the higher seat and freeboard on the TI will still be pretty good. (you can always add a spray skirt if you want to eliminate the aka joint sending bow waves skywards in your face ).

So it looks to me like your only issue is going to be delivery date, and I can't help you with that one (remembering that it would make sense for Hobie to ship lots to Australia as we are in spring heading for summer, as opposed to you guys heading for the "off season" - sorry about that. In fact we have no off season here anyway )

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

Try coming down to Vic and saying we don't have an off season Tony
And the US market always gets catered for first. If there is a delay on the TI in the US, it will be further delayed here most likely

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Kayak Fishing Specialist: SLH
https://slhobie.com.au

Actually I'm thinking the TI may become the ultimate off shore fishing platform now that it will have vantage seats and is Lowrance transducer ready. Especially in places like south Florida, the keys, and south Texas offshore where expanses are huge and the good fishing can be quite a ways out in open water. The TI in my opinion with a little hardening (very simple to do) can become a very capable offshore fishing platform especially for those who simply cannot afford to own, keep fueled, and maintain big powerboats any longer (they have got so expensive anymore power boats are out of reach for most families any longer). Plus the TI is so versatile it can double as a family boat for a young family with husband and wife plus a couple kids to go out adventuring, camping, etc.
On top of all that it just happens to be a great kayak (in kayak mode) for adventuring up long rivers, even as just a kayak it has plenty of space and storage, and as a kayak it is very fast and capable, we find that if my wife and I take turns pedaling we can extend our distance considerably without having to be hard core athletes (that's a big deal to us).
The best boats in my opinion are the ones you can use and adapt to any lifestyle and activity, and the TI in my eyes is the most capable boat out on the market today to do just that.
All the things we used to enjoy doing on our 24ft sea ray we can do on our TI (properly equipped of course).
In my opinion the TI is pretty darn good and can be easily modified to do anything one would want to do with a boat. It's dog simple to add more sail area, add motor(s) if you so desire, with the tramp option and/or HAKA's increases your ability to haul gear and passengers (within reason of course).
My opinion is in 2015 Hobie has made the best boat out there even better and more versatile, especially for us sissy boomers who need comfortable seats and lots of grand kids who love to go out with grandpa (lol).
Of course as always my opinion is my own.
The best part of all is ongoing maint is near zero, and the whole works fits nicely in my garage (don't have to spend $375/mo for dry storage like we did with our $60,000 dollar Sea Ray with a gas tank that cost $400 dollars to fill. Today I can go out pretty much all day running my twin honda's and it only costs me a dollar or two in gas. All dependent of course on how much sail I can fly and how fast I want to go, and how loaded the boat is.
Actually I just invented another new type of furl able semi-rigid main wing sail the other day that's only going to cost me about $50 bucks to make (materials) and am hoping will increase my TI's capability into a totally new realm (3x wind speed in low winds fingers crossed). A major break thru for me. The best part is it will take no longer to rig than the existing sail rig and will hopefully be equal in power to a 130-140 sq ft standard sail without the heeling moment (the force trying to tip you over). It's all based on the eppler 420 wing form, and best of all it furls up completely just like the standard Hobie TI main in about two seconds. The coolest part is no mods are needed at all to the standard TI.
Who knows it might even work, when I get it done in a few months I will post video (I always do), I'm sure stuff like this has zero interest out there, sorry for boring everyone.

Bob

Bob, just woke up and saw this. (Boy you must have been up late last night) Holy cow!

Hell yes I wanna "venture down" and see the "nothing stock" TI with all the mods! And my wife, she actually "likes" crazy because she has been living with one for years and finds it interesting (like in never a dull moment). Will pm you and see what your upcoming schedule looks like.

Hey Mark,

FYI,

Hobie's website now updated with 2015 TI info!

Any one have a comparison on the differences yet? The site says 600lbs and 90sqft sail is that different from the previous model?

Charro, thanks for the heads up.

Looks like a new 2 piece mast, (must mean bigger sail or higher to accommodate the seats) Vantage seats, huge "centerboard" whatever that is (I guess not a dagger board).

OK with me ... I'm happy to be a new owner when I get it.

Found a 2014 description and as far as I can tell the only change(s) is the seats.

Yes, the TI site has finally been updated. No change to dimensions/specs other than the upgraded seats and the reverse bow. Not sure if the sail 'scallop' has changed but the mast length and sail area remain the same.
Here is the old TI pic. There could be more headroom for the front passenger in the new pic?



Looks like the side handles are staying!

What is the advantage of the reverse bow? Less front end dive and splash?

Mark:
Water doesn't compress at all so it takes much more energy to push it down and out of the way for the hull to go thru than it does to just throw it up in the air and away from the hull. That's the theory anyway, most of the really expensive racing hulls have that feature.

That pic was probably done in photoshop (the old pic was updated with the new features, and the color updated to the new red), nice artwork though.

Hopefully this will satisfy your curiosity now, (we are all glad for you).

Bob

So up and away means more splash?

I would also assume it has to be Photoshopped as they probably don't even have the first one rotomolded yet. LOL

Yep, shame on me for doubting Hobie.

Good point about the pic being digitally updated Bob.
That never occured to me.
Now that you've mentioned it there are lots of remarkable similarities between the two.
So any comparisons are really pointless at this stage.

Same sail pictured. The new seats look too small. The blue fins are grafted on.

Pic only shows single bungies for the amas I thought they went to two?