Kal-P-Dal wrote:
The AI of my dream should be absolute watertight.
The wet ride I can accept.
But when the ride is over and I have reached the camp site for the night, I would love to have all my gear packed inside the hull, dry as desert sand.
Tom Kirkman wrote:
Part of the problem in making the AI taller, more voluminous, etc., is that this boat is sold in two distinct forms, one of them being a stand alone kayak.
Agreed with above!
My dream AI would
keep the following:
--All water capabilities, I used to sail my boat on the rough water of the Great Lakes, and later kayak down the smooth water of smaller rivers
-- Capacity to go camping for a weekend
-- Ability to break down the sailboat to the kayak quickly and without tools. One of my best trips was when I sailed to an island in the middle of a large lake, set up camp, then broke the boat down and kayaked down a small river to photograph wildlife.
My dream AI would
add the following:
-- More sailing speed, and performance. Think Weta.
http://www.wetamarine.comSomething that can have a main sail and a jib, with maybe the option for a spinnaker/gennaker, and something that sails with only one ama in the water at a time.
-- I don't mind getting wet, I thought that was part of the fun, and you can dress for spray, but the seat should drain better so that you're not stuck sitting in a puddle of water.
-- The ability to steer from the trampolines like a "real" sailboat. I used to sail almost exclusively from the tramps, but steering with your feet gets old fast.
--Ideally, (and this doesn't make business sense) I'd like to see the AI come in two forms. A performance version that is a fast sailboat, and a fast kayak, but still has enough capacity and storage (on top or inside) to go camping for a weekend. And a second version that has a little more weather protection, and capacity, that would be better for the fishermen among us (not me!) and would be a stable kayak when not sailing. Each boat could use the same system of sails, with the performance one using the extra power for speed, and the higher capacity model using the extra power to move a potentially larger boat.
Did I mention that the price would come down, and the weight too?
Boy, it sure is fun to dream!