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PostPosted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 8:15 am 
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fusioneng wrote:
GetawayIsland:
I also live in the keys (Key West) quite a bit of the year, and am offshore quite a bit, I've been running my TI's for 4 1/2 yrs now and don't feel the TI is the right boat for such an epic trip without a mother ship.......
Bob





My kayak.. after outfitting

Hobie TI Dune 2015
Torqeedo drive with x3 battery packs & x2 solar chargers
Custom jib (unless Hobie has one up their sleeve)
Slash guards
Tramps
Custom made Carbon fiber Haka
Hennessy hammock Mounted on boat
JetBoil cooking system
Salt to fresh water hand pump
5 gallons water on board (Emergency backup)
Food is stored in dry-bags, freeze dried & seasonings for fish
Backup tent (hilleberg)

So that's the short list....My kit total, weighs less then 150 lbs, and can support me for months, less water.
If you get right down to it, what do you NEED to do this trip? A boat, water, and a way to get food. No kitchen sink needed..

I'm not planning to cross the Gulf Stream, i will ship the yaks over, prob. to the Exuma park HQ in trade for some supply's from the US.


Thanks for your opinion. I respectfully now ask people with no 'go' to please stop telling me why you can't do a trip like this. Thanks


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 10:32 am 
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I wasn't telling you not to go, I was just trying to help you come up with a viable game plan where 4 of 5 couples might be interested in going along for a 6 month adventure.
By suggesting the mother ship option as the home base for such long adventure, 6 months is a very long time.
That's all
Bob


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 18, 2014 11:22 am 
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I am interested. A mother ship could be a good idea, but might not be necessary. There are loads of smart solutions by which you might be able to do without a mother ship. Unless you're a comfort creature. I can fix myself pretty good comfort on a TI. I can stay for months on a TI. I also know various ways to avoid having to go to a grocery once in a week. You can pack a lot of food in a TI.

Probably I would stay in America yet another half year and then transport the TI to the Canaries.

"Tourq. engine with x2 solar panels & extra battery pack" will probably cost 2500-3000 dollars. I like being environmentally friendly but might still prefer a traditional engine. Some of them includes a generator by which it can produce electricity if necessary. I however dont need much electricity. A small solar panel will be enough for me.

I would like the group to contain five rather than three TIs. It will make it easier to do without a mother ship. It is also good to have different kinds of engines. Three electric and two gasoline or two electric and one gasoline. Every Island wont necessarily need to have an engine of its own.


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PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 5:34 am 
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Let's start a global company! We can be 5-10 founders who order a container full of TIs to some place where we can stay for three months or half a year. We can sell TIs or rent them out long time (3-6 months) to people who follow us during that time. After three or six months we put the TIs back into the container and have it transported to some other nice country where we stay for three to six months. And then we move on again.

You could quit your boring job and earn your living on being a Hobie Island Globetrotter. Wouldn't that be much nicer than your present life? You just have to break up from the boring relations you got. If you have kids they might become Hobie Island Globetrotters with you, unless they are too small. Perhaps even your wife could choose a life style like this? Otherwise, tell her goodbye! And sell your house, if necessary.

Start dreaming! You could get the life you always dreamt about. :D

It doesn't have to cost you 100.000 dollars to get into this kind of life style. You might not have to invest more than 12.000 dollars to get into it. That's enough for two TIs delievered to some really nice spot on Earth. You rent one of them out for 500 dollars a month or more.


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PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 7:08 am 
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I think you might be able to do something worthwhile if you can organize it into some type of global awareness documentary (you kind of hinted at that in your first entry) like Transparent Seas Voyage ( http://transparentseamovie.com/ ) for global awareness, maybe coral reef protection, or awareness of the plights of the Caribbean, (can't really do the whale thing, that's been done, plus you would need to import real wales for stunt doubles (lol)).
Or even tracking garbage and the severe impact it has on the environment in the Caribbean. ( http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/1 ... 38514.html )

Get donors and an independent film crew to document the whole thing.

Something like Mission 31 ( http://mission-31.com/). My wife and I are avid divers and I guess you would call activists/followers on this kind of stuff. When mission 31 was underway she literally watched their video feed 10-15 hrs every day, we even traveled down there and went out on our TI just to see it (from a distance of course, we didn't want to get in their way).
I have a feeling if you got a hold of a guy like Fabien Cousteau and describe what you have in mind, explaining it to be something similar to the Transparent Sea Voyage, he would be on board in a heartbeat. We communicated back and forth with several Mission 31 people (including Fabien) they are very friendly, and very dedicated.
What would make this unique is the group of TI's (in my opinion the TI is one of the best ECO friendly scuba diving platforms available today, that's what we mostly use ours for).
Of course you will also need to get Hobie on board.

Even organizations like Mote marine ( http://mote.org/), or NOAA might become interested.
It's kind of an oxy-moron the way they currently do their coral reef monitoring ( http://mote.org/research/program/coral- ... monitoring). They get on their big ole powerboats and go out to the reefs ( I guess they don't get that part of it yet (LOL)).
I like Hobie Crafte's idea of turning it into a traveling road show moving from area to area to raise awareness. Places like Bahamas, St Maarten, St Thomas, Barbados, Florida Keys, etc.

If you have 6 months to be able to do something like this, why not turn it into something that saves the world....

just trying to give you ideas
Bob


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PostPosted: Sat Sep 20, 2014 11:59 am 
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Hobie Crafte wrote:
Let's start a global company! We can be 5-10 founders who order a container full of TIs to some place where we can stay for three months or half a year. We can sell TIs or rent them out long time (3-6 months) to people who follow us during that time. After three or six months we put the TIs back into the container and have it transported to some other nice country where we stay for three to six months. And then we move on again.

You could quit your boring job and earn your living on being a Hobie Island Globetrotter. Wouldn't that be much nicer than your present life? You just have to break up from the boring relations you got. If you have kids they might become Hobie Island Globetrotters with you, unless they are too small. Perhaps even your wife could choose a life style like this? Otherwise, tell her goodbye! And sell your house, if necessary.

Start dreaming! You could get the life you always dreamt about. :D

It doesn't have to cost you 100.000 dollars to get into this kind of life style. You might not have to invest more than 12.000 dollars to get into it. That's enough for two TIs delievered to some really nice spot on Earth. You rent one of them out for 500 dollars a month or more.


Now, that's what I'm talking about! I would simplify it even more, Just cruise into an area, and rent the things out on a hour rate to pick up some extra pocket cash. I'm game for that also. Many places in the Bahamas to pull up on a beach and rent them out to people on vacation.

I have mixed feelings on the Elec. outboards. A 2.5 gas would be ideal, but the penalty in weight is hard to overlook. And carrying gas...If we are going to to carry gas, the hukkaa dive compressor is back on board with me, right over the front seat, 60 lbs,
4 divers to 60'.


I'm a very experienced fisherman, i just cant see myself not catching/eating fresh fish everyday, in these waters.

Food is easy....some people just don't realize how good some freeze dried stuff is these days. http://www.maryjanesfarm.org/categories/food-pantry.asp <<<The best....For a example.

Water is hard to get and heavy.....In these waters (no pun) while remote

If your serious, you have a place to come, place to ship the boat, place to stay, and a epic trip.

Let's shoot for 5 boats minimum.

In my mind, my goal is 170 lbs total plus me on the boat.

My boat:
hokkaa compressor, Elec. Motor, 5 gallons fuel, hammock system, freeze dried food, ultra light weight, cooking system (Jet boil prob) fishing equip. solar charging kit, water maker, emergency water bladder, I can do it under 170 lbs plus me on a Ti no problem. How to spread the 'ballast/weight' needs to be tested.











Who else is in!


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PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 7:07 am 
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Some of the stuff we do with our TI on a regular basis might be of help to you. We are scuba divers and go off shore with our TI often, we have learned how to load down the TI with lots of gear yet still be able to make good headway. I like to average at least 6-8mph regardless of wind and wind direction, my TI is rigged for this with more sail area and motors (everything is just bolted on, no changes of any kind to the TI itself). We have a small inflatable 4 person dingy/mule with 650 lbs capacity that we haul a lot of our gear on. Basically we just tow the dingy directly behind the TI on about a 15 ft tow line. It is amazing how easily the dingy tows behind the TI, you cant tell it is back there at all. We have gone out diving with as many as 5-6 people with 2 tanks each and all dive equipment. Most of the time we have 4 divers (2 tanks ea), three ride on the TI, and we tow the dingy with all the gear, and the extra divers ride on inflatable or rigid kayaks, we have them hang onto the ropes on the dingy. It's pretty amazing how much weight the TI can haul and still sail just fine.
One time we were out with other (stock TI's) and I towed a second TI so we could catch up with the rest of our group, the main group was about 5 miles ahead of us (offshore) upwind in about 5-6 mph winds. I hooked up the second TI on a 30 ft anchor line by tying the rope to my rear AKA bar, and to their front AKA bar (right near their sail (strongest point on the TI)). I had them sail at about a 45 degree angle behind me under tow (in clean air). Alone they would have had to tack back and forth into the wind and would have averaged around 2-3mph vmg, all while the rest of the group was sailing away from us at about the same rate of speed. With my TI with all my extra sails and motors I could have easily caught up with the group by myself by opening my boat up to around 10-12mph, but I would have left them behind, so I offered to hook them up and get all of us caught up with the rest of the group. We hooked the boats together and I was able to tow them at around 7-8mph almost directly up wind (I don't waste time tacking since my boat easily sails almost directly into the wind (makes it's own wind with the wing sail)). Of course I had to have the motor running a little faster than usual so I didn't get my normal 100-150mpg that day with the Honda 2.3, but I'm pretty sure I got at least 50 mpg. I know this because I have a 1 liter fuel tank, and we covered around 15 miles that day, and I never had to refill my fuel tank (I used .25 gallons of fuel that day, that works out to .25*4=one gallon x (15*4= total distance if using 1 gallon of gas) = 60 miles. So my fuel consumption was 60 mpg. With fuel at $3.50/gal I used $.87 cents worth of fuel that day....

Here is a pic of me towing the other TI just as we caught up with the rest of the group:
Image

Now days I have twin Honda's mounted on my TI, so it is considerable faster now, with very close to the same fuel economy.

I just gave the above examples to possibly give you some ideas on being able enable your TI's for a 6 month expedition (how I would describe what you want to do). Standard equipment on my TI is a Honda 2.3 engine (27 lbs) with 2 additional gallons of gas (12 lbs) which gives me a range of between 200 and 250 miles (if you need more range simply carry more fuel, and you can replenish at any gas station). Of course if you have great wind you simply leave the motor tilted up unused. If compared to and evolve (15 lbs) plus a couple extra batteries (12 lbs) you will have a range of around 25 miles at best, once the batteries are dead you will have no means to recharge them except the solar panels (which cost as much as the Honda just by themselves).
I'm just sayin if properly hardened and rigged a TI can easily haul 1000-1200 lbs (equipment and people), by using mule/dingys, and properly equipping the boat. I'm also pointing out that not all 5 of the TI's you are planning need to be equally equipped, as you can use the ones with motors to tow some of the other ones thru calm seas when there is no wind (which is most of the time in the summer at least around here). Or if you get into a bad situation the motors can help save your lives. One real serious problem that can and does arise when sailing offshore from islands is strong offshore winds and currents where a stock TI doesn't have the ability to overcome the wind and current enough to make headway, basically blowing you out to sea (this has happened to me on multiple occasions).
Just trying to give you ideas.
Bob


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PostPosted: Sun Sep 21, 2014 7:28 am 
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Thanks for that info. Sure looks like you all have fun! Great thoughts about gas vs Tourq' engines. Sure seems to point towards a Honda 2.5 as the best option. No way the range would be equal with the electric engine. I guess the gas engine would be a much more reliable option to have, to dodge any trouble that might arise.

6 boats total would be perfect, 3 with the Honda 2.5HP. 3 can be towed, the only time i see any towing needed is to avoid weather, etc etc... Good suggestions, thank you


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PostPosted: Wed Sep 24, 2014 10:26 pm 
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My main worry is that I only occasionally will have a decent internet connection. Any information which gives reason to believe that it is pretty easy to download text (especially news) in Bahamas and other countries would make me more enthusiastic. I dont want to go into an information shadow.

In due time Google or some other company might make internet via satellite pretty cheap, but what's the present state? Wikipedia has this article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Satellite_Internet_access . It seems like it will be really expensive unless you can limit the communication to html and pure text. You have to avoid big pdf:s and loads of big e-mails.

This could be a good place for further information: http://www.satellite-internet-forum.com ... boat-f260/ . Except for the fact that it is quite dead.

Here is a router: http://www.globalmarinenet.com/optimizer_crew.php

When it comes to electric motors it is worth remembering that if you have big solar panels they will work whenever the sun shines, so they essentially have an unlimited range. You can buy foldable 300W solar panels at Alibaba. One of them can give a pretty good speed when the sun shines. Two large solar panels can give a really good speed all day long.


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 8:19 am 
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Hobie Crafte:

If it were me and I was planning to be in the Bahamas 6 months I would just go to BTC and get a cell phone and plan with them (use a tether to your laptop for data). http://www.btcbahamas.com/roaming/coverage-maps
Anytime your near any of the main islands you can use the phone/data/email. Most of it looks 3G but there appear to be a few 4G areas.
Just leave your US phone off because you will be raped by the international rates.
I used to travel all over the world continuously (not so much anymore) and I would just pick up a phone in the country I was in and use that. I also had an international Skype (another Swedish company) subscription where if you called my Skype number from anywhere on the planet, it would ring to the phone I had in my pocket at the time. Actually I worked 30 yrs for a Swedish company and my Skype account has free long distance to both the US and Sweden, I try to run everything thru that whenever possible.
My best friend (who still lives in Sweden most of the time (I'm sure you know where Gothemburg, and Gislaved, and Anderstorp are) also has a half dozen houses all over the world and he still does this (not me so much anymore).

Another possible option for you would be a Spot system, actually Spot has a new global phone just for that purpose ( http://www.findmespot.com/en/), actually I almost bought one last month, but backed out. You can get the data kit which you can hook to your laptop and send and receive email at 9.6kpbs.
It's a given that you would have a standard spot tracking system with you anyway on such an epic trip for safety, Spending a little more and using their global phone system instead might be a viable option (or just to be safe have both).
I'm sure there are other systems available as well if you shop around.
Of course if the Zombie Apocalypse happens while your out there you can always use your sat phone to save the day
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WE6vCWFjyqs
I think that's an iridium she has in her hand.

If it was me I would at least plan on something, but then again I couldn't live without my internet or cell service (LOL) Currently I watch CNN on 4G, and surf the web while I'm out sailing on either my iphone or Ipad.
Actually on the weekends most all my forum responses are from my Iphone or Ipad while I'm out sailing on the water (I have Lifeproof waterproof cases on both).

Bob


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 11:03 am 
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A new development from the sat phone people.

http://www.predictwind.com/iridium-go/

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YbCakX3QdUw[/youtube]


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PostPosted: Thu Sep 25, 2014 11:33 am 
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Iridium GO seems good enough, if you're five people who share the connection. You still have to pay much for a slow connection, but I can live with it. Unless all five wants to use the net simultaneously. We sure also will have a standard wireless broadband connection, to be used while closer to civilization. Like the one Fusioneng is pointing to.


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PostPosted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 11:50 am 
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I'm sure you will have a great time. But without proven history and what seems like a naive approach I doubt you will get any takers.

Whats your CV like? Who are you? Have you been on any existing Hobie meets?

You talk about Trading in the Bahamas? Rentals? PLI? I suspect the landowners/town hall/council and existing concessions may get a little pissed off if you rock up and start stealing trade.
Bulk buying of boats? You're not a dealer or even a business? How does the paperwork and red tape stack up? Noone in their right mind is going to send a few grand to someone in the states and then "meet them in the bahamas"!

What happens when it all goes wrong? Not just for those accompaning you but you yourself. If 5 people get injured or suffer financial loss, it is you they will go after.

For that reason I'm oot. And I strongly recommend anyone else to remain oot or proceed with extreme caution. :D


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PostPosted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 1:54 pm 
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cosybike:
All good advise, that's one reason I was trying to convince him to maybe do something slightly different involving a bareboat rental (ie..mother ship), which is a little less extreme. Plus bareboat charters usually carry insurance and such and are more cut and dried expense wise, still not cheap by any means, it would likely average to around $1,000/week per couple. That's another reason I mentioned to him to inquire on the cruiser forums, there are wandering couples out there who are looking for adventures, and help with their expenses (I know boat owners who have done this), I suspect everything would always be smoother with close friends as a group though.

We are actually doing something similar with a group of couples (all close friends) where we are renting a bareboat sailboat (or maybe a houseboat, we haven't decided yet) for a few weeks (not 6 months). We would be towing our TI's along behind. I know my wife would never be all in on a camping trip with no showers/bathrooms/cooking and sleeping facilities, actually I don't think I would be either (LOL), especially for 6 months.
But to each their own.
Bob


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PostPosted: Tue Sep 30, 2014 10:24 pm 
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Well cosybike, you're obviously a very negative kind of person. Not the kind of person who creates anything wortwhile. Please notice that we are two persons from different parts of the world brainstorming a little bit. We haven't asked people for money and might never do. We might settle just for a long expedition in Bahamas and you're asking for our CVs? Like if there had existed Hobie Islands for a few decades. And dismissing all the talent and experience we can get from others who decide to join the party.

You're not even worth discussing with...


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