Advice on Purchasing Used TI

Hi All,

I'm new to the forum. My wife and I have been kayaking for a while, and are considering getting a Tandem Island. We're currently looking at a 2015 model, and are wondering if there is a list of the changes on models after 2015 so we could evaluate what we'd be missing by not buying a new boat.

I'm pretty sure the Vantage seats came sometime after 2015, but this particular boat has upgraded the seats.

I also think Mirage Drive 180 came after 2015, so that's something we'd either not have, or would have to spend a fair amount to upgrade. For those who have the 180 drive, how much do you think we'd miss the reverse capability?

Any other upgrades of note since 2015?

Any potential issues we should be looking for on a 2015 model TI?

Thanks!

Dave

I can't speak for when each of the mods came into being but I can tell you that I do use the reverse on my 180 every time I leave or return to the dock. Having said that, I'm sure I could manage without it. I've read of people simply pulling their mirage drive out and installing it backwards for reverse. This would be especially effective while having two on the boat, one set for forward and the other for reverse.

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Bud
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2018 Tandem Island -

Almost impossible to put Vantage seats into a non-vantage Island. The hull floor isn't made for it.

You might like the new seats, although some, myself included, like the original seats.

Doing a little more research on Hobie seats, it looks the TI we're looking at has the Vantage CT seats. I'm not sure what was standard on the 2015 model. Were these the standard seat?

They also look identical to the seats on the current model.

Dave



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Hi Dave

When I bought my used TI (2016) did a lot of my research using the Hobie Support pages. Has TI manual for pre-2015, 2015-2016, and 2017+ to compare what had changed on the boats.

https://www.hobie.com/support/mirage-tandem-island/

The CT seats arrived in model year 15 and continue the same through current year.
The 17+ have 180 drives.

Best of luck.