ChrisWMan wrote:
Both very true. I've been thinking about alternatives and the only "good" one is a Revolution 13 with sailkit and side-kick since I don't have a place to store the trailer even if I had a towbar. Easier to store, easier to transport, a better kayak but not as well suited for sailing farther from shore and a lot less space.
At the moment I'm looking into the rhino-rack sideloaderto cartop tht TI.
For now I think my main hurdle is the fact that it's quite a lot of money so I have to offset that against possible enjoyment
.
The
Rhino-Rack Side Loader is not going to work with a TI. It has a weight limit of 132 lbs. Even the $722 Rhino-Rack
Nautic Kayak Lifter can only handle 176 lbs. The TI's fully rigged weight is 240 lbs
empty and it could easily weigh 300 lbs or more fully loaded. You're going to need something significantly better or always have at least two people to try to muscle it on top of a car. This will probably also require removing/reinstalling the amas each time. You're also going to need to carefully check the maximum weight limit of your car top roof rack. Many can't support the weight of a TI. It's a big, heavy, and long boat to put on top of a typical car. You'll need to be certain it's doable on your specific vehicle with the number of people you'll have available to help. Even with the AI, you'll need to ensure it's doable and not too much of a hassle. I used to own a simple, single-person, lightweight kayak and that alone was a hassle to get on and off of a cartop by myself, never mind a TI/AI.
If you go with the Revolution 13, I wouldn't bother with the sail kit. A converted kayak will never make an acceptable sailboat. Even the TI/AI which were properly designed to be sailboats are nowhere near as good for sailing as a true sailboat. The TI/AI are nicely day sailable close to shore in the proper conditions, but they're not great sailboats. Unless they're equipped with a gas or electric motor I wouldn't recommend taking either far from shore or your loading point. I speak from years of experience.
You can easily and quickly sail a TI/AI many, many miles from shore or your loading point and then the winds could die down. This happens a lot in many areas. Unlike an excellent sailboat, neither have good sailability in low winds, you really need a headsail for that. You can get a spinnaker kit for the TI, but that only improves downwind sailing which is not enough. If you want a jib, you need to design and install one yourself, no easy task. So, if you're miles from where you started and the winds die down, you'll need to peddle back. You'd better be in decent shape physically to do that. Before I equipped my TI with a motor, I often needed to peddle back 10-20 miles or more. That gets old fast.
In bad weather or heavy winds around 25 knots or more, the TI/AI should be sailed only by experienced sailors. Both can be easily overwhelmed and it takes experience and expertise to sail them safely in these conditions. And never rely on the peddles to get you safely back in rough weather. They are easily overpowered by heavy winds and waves, again I speak from experience. You could find yourself in a bad situation you didn't expect and are not prepared for. I've had bad storms appear from nowhere when I was far from shore and a couple of times I ended up in a survival situation in my TI before I was properly experienced and prepared for such events. If you sail the TI/AI far from shore, having a gas or electric motor is your best and safest way back when the winds are too light or too heavy. Personally, I would not sail a TI/AI without a motor if I wanted to sail it very far.
If you primarily want a kayak, get the Revolution. If you want both a kayak and wish to sail, your best bet is the TI/AI. If you need to cartop, then get the AI, the TI is too big, long, and heavy to effectively cartop alone in my opinion even though it's possible if you're strong enough and have the right rig. Even the AI is going to be tough to cartop alone. If you need to travel far, then equip any of these options with a gas or electric motor.
Always carefully consider the hassle and safety factors if you want a safe and enjoyable boating experience.