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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 5:44 am 
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Even without the mirage drive, you can always finish an unsuccessful tack by steering in the opposite direction once the boat stalls and begins to move backwards. The bow will then continue through the tack and the boat takes off in the right direction. This assumes you can at least turn the bow into the wind. The only time I feel like I really need the drive is at the launch site.

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2016 AI - Spinn & Jib

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PostPosted: Thu Apr 21, 2016 8:52 pm 
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This is all terrific advice. I don't want to be a 'kill joy' but is it just me or do we get a bit too obsessed with going fast. Don't get me wrong, I can't get enough of sailing racing and it's good to sometimes squeeze every last knot out of the thing. But what I love more (and what I got the boat for ) is just plodding along and sometimes the last thing I want to do is go fast. ie A faster trip = less time on the water. Personally, if the main reason for buying a boat was to go fast, I wouldn't have bought an AI.

We are all pretty blessed hey, in finding a sport/hobby that's so versatile and ticks a hell of a lot of boxes !

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PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 4:13 am 
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I sail the AI with out any drive and the TI with the front drive locked in the inline position. They sail nicely without them, they feel slippery.

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https://www.seqic.com.au


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PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 6:44 am 
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Slaughter wrote:
This is all terrific advice. I don't want to be a 'kill joy' but is it just me or do we get a bit too obsessed with going fast. Don't get me wrong, I can't get enough of sailing racing and it's good to sometimes squeeze every last knot out of the thing. But what I love more (and what I got the boat for ) is just plodding along and sometimes the last thing I want to do is go fast. ie A faster trip = less time on the water. Personally, if the main reason for buying a boat was to go fast, I wouldn't have bought an AI.

We are all pretty blessed hey, in finding a sport/hobby that's so versatile and ticks a hell of a lot of boxes !


Well said! I do have the need for speed when the conditions are right, but for the most part, I have no place to be, except on the water!

Generally, the only time I have problems making a tack are in strong winds. I'm interested to see if this technique will help my situation.

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Last edited by chadbach on Fri Apr 22, 2016 9:16 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 9:06 am 
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As vetgam mentioned, the alternate way to move to the other tack (very useful if you find yourself "in irons", ie stopped dead in the water with the bow pointing straight upwind) is to allow the Island to drift backwards with the rudder reversed (eg steer as if you are going one way, and the reverse pressure on the rudder will swing the >stern< in that direction,. obviously swinging the bow the other way.

You may be surprised to know that until more efficient sailing vessels were invented, this was the >normal< way to sail onto the other tack. It was called "wearing ship"

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PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 9:26 am 
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Location: South Florida
stringy wrote:
Great work with that guide Spook! 8) What you have described is exactly how I have learned to sail the TI, with the exception that I always hike out if the wind is strong enough.

Re the Miragedrive in/out debate ...if the wind is strong enough and I can sail faster than I can pedal (around 6-8km/h) then I always pull the drive, fit the plug and purely sail. The TI tacks much better than the AIv1 (don't know about AIv2?) but both boats tack better if the pedals are removed, assuming of course you are not pedaling.

Someone on this forum years ago described pulling the unused drive as like releasing a handbrake and I found the same.

At speed I hated the fluttering of the unused fins against the hull when horizontal and the extra drag, weed catching etc when vertical.

BTW- Tony, the fins when vertical do offer lateral resistance. We discovered that in the early days when sailing our Oasis with 2 sails. It was very noticeable the difference in side slip with the fins down compared to up against the hull. So much so that I used to stick an eyebolt through the adjustment holes to lock the fins vertically. We could then sail into the wind quite well without pedaling. That was until I added a daggerboard, which does work better of course.

The best accessory I've found for improving sailing was adding tramps and later haka to enable hiking out. One of the basic rules of sailing is that a 'level boat is faster'. Hiking out keeps the boat level and minimises drag from the buried ama which = faster! :D

I had hoped to stay out of this discussion, but.... Stringy is certainly right: keeping any cat or Island flat gives you the best speed. Personally, however, i do not hike out in general.

Slaughter makes a good point, speed is not the main reason that most of us bought our Island. If it were, I would have gotten a Weta or something else.

The AI 2, if up to speed, makes every tack without pedaling. Finally, pedaling is good. Most of us are at an age (over 50) when leg exercise is good. Lack of leg movement for sailors and kayakers can have serious (deadly) health problems. Keep the pedals in most of the time (except maybe on downwind runs), use them, stay healthy.

Keith

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Last edited by Chekika on Fri Apr 22, 2016 12:33 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Fri Apr 22, 2016 11:07 am 
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Chekika wrote:
Lack of leg movement for sailors and kayakers can have serious (deadly) health problems. Keep the pedals in most of the time (except maybe on downwind runs), use them, stay healthy.

Keith


Just can't argue this point. This is the main reason I keep the drive in. You have to have some exercise. This dicussion reminds me of the same issue I have with my bike. I turned it into an electric bike last year and now have to make myself peddle every now and then. For those looking for more hobbies to enjoy, look hard a e-bikes. These things are a blast. Let's you expore land while the boat lets you explores the water.

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2016 AI - Spinn & Jib

“Out of sight of land the sailor feels safe. It is the beach that worries him.”
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PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2018 4:32 am 
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Spook wrote:
During the practical part of yesterdays upwind sailing event it was evident that whilst we mastered the upwind sailing technique, some of our members didn't manage the tacking bit so well and boats were going all over the place. To help with this I have written a basic guide on the technique used to tack a Tandem or Adventure Island without using the mirage drive. I prefer to sail my Tandem with no drive or the front drive in place but locked to act as a centre board. The page can be printed out if you want to re use it.

Please do not reply with negative comments, this is method works but might need a few goes at to get it right. If all else fails Peddle. But if you want to enjoy your island like I do without the mirage drive it works. It is definitely that tiny bit faster and feels slipperier. I love it. I will do one in gybing next week.

http://www.seqic.com.au/general-information/tacking-hobie-islands/


I'd sure like to read this article but it looks like the page is no longer available. Could someone possibly direct me to where I can read it?

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PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2018 1:51 pm 
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Looks the website has been recently updated, so links are outdated, but all the articles can be found in the blog section.
https://www.seqic.com.au/how-to-tack-your-hobie-island/


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PostPosted: Sat Apr 28, 2018 8:18 pm 
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stringy wrote:
Looks the website has been recently updated, so links are outdated, but all the articles can be found in the blog section.
https://www.seqic.com.au/how-to-tack-your-hobie-island/


Outstanding!!! Thank you Stringy. :) And thank you Spook. :)

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 29, 2018 6:19 pm 
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Love your videos!

Just picked up a Tandem. zFirst time I took it out could hear the fins fluttering against the hull. Never heard that with the couple of AIs that Ive had. Besides being irritating, it creates major drag.

Whenever I cant complete a tack solely on momentum I back-wind the main. Just grab the bottom of the sail and push it into the wind keeping tension, of course: It will put pressure on the mast, forcing the boat to complete the turn. Works wonders for pesky catamarans also.

EDIT: Put some tension on the turbo fins and no more flutter.


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PostPosted: Wed May 02, 2018 6:09 pm 
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Pescatoral Pursuit wrote:
Love your videos!

Just picked up a Tandem. zFirst time I took it out could hear the fins fluttering against the hull. Never heard that with the couple of AIs that Ive had. Besides being irritating, it creates major drag.


EDIT: Put some tension on the turbo fins and no more flutter.


Better solution is to remove the mirage drive while sailing. ;) Just got my new TI today. First the wife and I peddled around the lake. Then she got out and I sailed it all over the lake without the drive.

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PostPosted: Wed May 02, 2018 7:33 pm 
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budgates wrote:
Better solution is to remove the mirage drive while sailing. ;) Just got my new TI today. First the wife and I peddled around the lake. Then she got out and I sailed it all over the lake without the drive.


Congrats on the new boat, but your assessment is not necessarily correct. The TI seems to have a lee helm problem. Leaving the front mirage drive in with fins down moves the CLR forward to counteract it.


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PostPosted: Wed May 02, 2018 7:51 pm 
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Pescatoral Pursuit wrote:
budgates wrote:
Better solution is to remove the mirage drive while sailing. ;) Just got my new TI today. First the wife and I peddled around the lake. Then she got out and I sailed it all over the lake without the drive.


Congrats on the new boat, but your assessment is not necessarily correct. The TI seems to have a lee helm problem. Leaving the front mirage drive in with fins down moves the CLR forward to counteract it.


Thank you.

Interesting. I never experienced any lee helm. Possibly because I was sailing from the front seat.

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