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 Post subject: What options?
PostPosted: Thu Sep 28, 2017 12:30 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 30, 2017 8:59 am
Posts: 36
Location: Mudjin Harbour, Middle Caicos
I'm in the process of getting a tandem island. I'm on Middle Caicos, an island of only about 100 people, so getting things to me here isn't easy. I'm set on the tandem island, aluminum trailer, cradle for the trailer, tramps, and boat cover. I'm interested in opinions on what other options I should get.

I want a set of beach wheels, but I'm not sure if the plug in type or the dolly type would be better? There is at least one spot I'd like to try where after parking the car it would be about 300' of beach to walk across, not sure how realistic that is?

I also assume I'm going to want an anchor. Not sure what type of anchor(s) work best with a TI. I have owned a few boats in my past, and a few different anchors, but never had a space or weight restriction.

Any other options I should be looking at right away?
Thanks!


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 Post subject: Re: What options?
PostPosted: Thu Sep 28, 2017 3:32 pm 
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Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2017 6:31 pm
Posts: 130
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When i buy something nice i want to make sure i don’t get buyers remorse nor do i want to skimp out of options that i like; i don’t like to compromise on options when i have the option to buy new. I bought the spinnaker kit with my ti but throughout the whole summer i used it only once. Even though i used it only once, it was there when i wanted to use it instead of i wish i had one so i can use it. That is just my philosophy but with that comes increa$e of cost. And co$t is a big factor.


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 Post subject: Re: What options?
PostPosted: Thu Sep 28, 2017 6:36 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jul 24, 2014 1:30 pm
Posts: 380
First welcome!

As for stuff we will need a little more info. Fish? Putz with family? Re-live your glory days crewing the Vestas Sailrocket?

Most of us have one primary thing but get the TI aka "Jack of all trades" to try to do everything.

FE - puts lots of miles on his to get to scuba sites

Huss - has his rigged to hunt jaws. I swear he is trying to see how much he can put on it before it sinks.

Pro10is- has been the lead lately on the electric motor front. Still waiting for the solar panels tests [emoji41](hey Torqeedo send him some to review!!!)

I have a PA rigged to fish so the TI is the family sailing machine.

Read some of our builds but here is a list for me:

Fish finder and battery setup
Good PFD
Longer line for furler (can't do it from the back seat otherwise )
Extra parts like drive mast, shear pins and such
Camera/speaker mount
First aid kit
Manual water pump
Lights/signaling gear
Good dry bag
Both carts (the dolly is nice but you have to leave it or walk it back to the car, plug in you can take on the water with you very easy)
Might look at electric/gas motor pending your use case
Spinnaker is nice but not a must for me
If you fish i think the h rails are awesome




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 Post subject: Re: What options?
PostPosted: Thu Sep 28, 2017 7:44 pm 
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Joined: Wed Feb 22, 2017 6:31 pm
Posts: 130
head_dunce wrote:

I want a set of beach wheels, but I'm not sure if the plug in type or the dolly type would be better? There is at least one spot I'd like to try where after parking the car it would be about 300' of beach to walk across, not sure how realistic that is?


300’ is a long way especially when carrying a fully rigged TI. A fully rigged TI is already over 190 lbs. Even 50’ is hard with weight. What makes it hard is the sand that you are stepping in. Just food for thought.


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 Post subject: Re: What options?
PostPosted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 4:04 am 
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Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2015 3:13 pm
Posts: 656
Unless you're a sailing purist, do yourself a huge favor and install a motor on your TI right off. You will instantly and considerably extend it fun, usefulness, range, and safety. It usually takes most of us a season or two to figure this out, so you'll be way ahead of the curve by knowing now.

You can choose a gasoline or electric motor. See these posts to decide which motor is for you:
https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=61256
https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=58926

I and a lot of others here feel that the Cooper Blue nylon anchor works best for the TI. It is lightweight, corrosion proof, and holds exceptionally well especially when properly rigged. Here is the best way I have found to rig it:

Image

This setup works perfectly and has never failed to hold my TI in any weather conditions. Thanks to Buckaroo and all who contributed to this thread:
Cooper Anchors

I would also recommend adding a Sonar/GPS unit. The sonar will help keep you and your TI safe in shallow waters and the GPS will log all of your adventures. It's a practical and fun addition.


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 Post subject: Re: What options?
PostPosted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 6:59 am 
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Joined: Mon Aug 04, 2014 8:17 pm
Posts: 426
Location: Austin Texas
It's been a while now since I setup that Cooper anchor and I wouldn't change a thing about it. I sail in a man made lake in central Texas with lots of gnarly cedar tree stumps and rocks on the bottom and although I have gotten the anchor stuck a few times I always manage to get it unstuck. You can use a lighter cord on a reel for an anchor but the 3/8" nylon rope is a good size to work with in your hands and I wouldn't want anything thinner when trying to get a stuck anchor loose. The anchor has never slipped on it's own.

I still need to make a nylon rope tidy bag for the anchor. The cotton riggers bag from Harbor Freight I have been using takes a long time to dry when I get home. In either case I think you need to lay the line out to dry to avoid mildew. I just loose pack the rope in the bag with the bitter end hanging out a few feet to attach to the motor mount which is now the most secure thing on the boat. The rope never tangles.

Chris


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 Post subject: Re: What options?
PostPosted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 11:26 am 
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Joined: Tue May 30, 2017 8:59 am
Posts: 36
Location: Mudjin Harbour, Middle Caicos
Thanks for all the feedback. My wife and I will use the boat to explore around the islands, snorkel, hunt for lobster, and of course fish.

Ha, not trying to re-live my glory days of jet boating. Fuel is far too expensive out here, and no need to go that fast anymore!

PS - Wow the lobster hunting in my backyard has been fantastic after these two hurricanes blew through! 8)
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 Post subject: Re: What options?
PostPosted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 11:36 am 
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Joined: Tue May 27, 2003 12:44 pm
Posts: 15027
Location: Oceanside, California
Yumm! :)

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Hobie Cat USA
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 Post subject: Re: What options?
PostPosted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 12:18 pm 
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Joined: Sun Oct 02, 2011 8:59 am
Posts: 49
Location: Cleveland, OH
The tramps are worse than useless since they splash when furled, which they are all the time because they are useless, at least to me. Spend the funds instead on some spineboards or other Haka construction. The Haka thread is vital on the whole subject. Good covers can be found on ebay etc. for a fraction of the cost, save some money there too. Some kind of storage unit on the back deck is nice- from a milk crate or bucket to something custom sewn or a drybag.


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 Post subject: Re: What options?
PostPosted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 12:34 pm 
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Joined: Mon Apr 17, 2017 1:46 am
Posts: 249
Location: Sweden, sjöbo
I would definately recommend the big dolly instead of the pop in wheels. I have the pop in wheels and the roll ok but its a pain i.t.b. to insert and extract them without rolling the TI over on its side wich means you have to take out the akas on one side.

To haul the TI 300' over the beach is tough but 2 persons taking it slowly in terms will be no big problem with good wheels.
Looks like your having a good time, the TI will come to good use!! :D
All the best!
/Gustav

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Sailing my TI and fishing.... thats bliss!!


Last edited by Husse0416 on Sat Sep 30, 2017 2:43 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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 Post subject: Re: What options?
PostPosted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 1:45 pm 
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Joined: Mon Jul 10, 2017 12:46 pm
Posts: 49
I recommend a big Dolly too.
Lots of Laser/Force 5 have boat in the Dolly and Dolly in trailer with boat.

Motor is not to go places fast, it’s to get out of bad weather fast.
Personally I don’t think I’ll need a motor, I’m never further than mile from safe shore.

I LOVE the tramps.

I thought I was gonna need a Spinnaker based on all the hype, but I find downwind not that bad at all.

It really depends on the conditions you sail in.

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2017 Tandem Island in Red. Lake sailing/kayaking in NH only.


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 Post subject: Re: What options?
PostPosted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 3:35 pm 
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Joined: Thu Aug 16, 2007 2:25 pm
Posts: 2863
Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
I consider these as must have accessories and I wouldn't launch my TI without them:
Outboard, spinnaker, tramps, haka, C-Tug with cradle as a dolly cart, Windicator 285, 230g and 1kg Cooper anchors.


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 Post subject: Re: What options?
PostPosted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 5:34 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
Posts: 3058
Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
We have been running TI's since 2010, we do a lot of ocean sailing off Islands (mostly Key West). Our TI is now our only family boat, we got rid of our Searay 24ft, and all our other Hobie kayaks (yea we had bunches of em). We use our TI for anything and everything. You get a great bonus with these boats as a kayak (no sails and ama's). The darn thing is the best and fastest kayak we have ever owned, (lol Hobie doesn't even advertise that aspect).
I'm familiar with your area and what is neccessary for Island sailing, which is way different from most of the people on the forum who mostly sail inland lakes and close coastal waters, (a different world).
Island sailing is way more dangerous and with these boats I would call high risk, (the stock boat from the factory is not recommended for offshore sailing (CE class 'C'). The TI is a CE class 'D' craft, (mostly protected waters) as shipped from the factory. Of course these classifications are not mandatory in the us, but really are common sense and shouldn't be ignored, (sailing is bigger in europe than here).
Yes the boat can be hardened and modified to be more sea worthy, (what we did with ours).
It's pretty important to pay attention here.
First off the TI is a great boat and the mirage pedal system makes it an incredible boat, however the sail is rather small and the boat doesn't point upwind very well (we are talking 45-50 degrees off the wind upwind). And typical sailing speed is around .6 windspeed. On lakes and close coastal waters this is not a problem. When sailing off remote islands this can be fatal, (before modifying our rig we got washed out to sea several times and couldn't get back to the island, ( in our case next stop Cuba).
In other words if you plan on going off shore it's pretty important to have an outboard, even if you never use it, it's there for safety backup to get you home and back to the island.
I'm not going to bore you with all my harrowing offshore experiences, but wind changes occur, winds die, and sudden unforcast storms come in almost daily in the summer in the keys, plus the currents are fierce in the keys, as I'm sure yours are.
I actually have twin Honda 2.3 outboards on ours, mostly because we travel great distances, plus the likelyhood of both failing is very slim. We always carry a couple hundred mile fuel on board, (our daily range is 100 miles).
When tilted up, the motor doesn't effect your sailing at all. In the grand scheme of things, that extra 27lbs (the Honda motor weight) means nothing, doesn't effect performance at all. Just for safety reasons I always carry an extra 2 gallons of fuel, I can't recall the last time I used them, (refill the fuel tanks while out on the water) most of our trips (typically under 25-30 miles) are well within the built in fuel tank range. But they are always on the ready if we get in trouble.
I'm not knocking the battery/electrics (like the torqeedo 403), but my worst nightmare would be being caught in the gulfstream or really unfavorable winds 5 miles out with only enough juice to get me to 3 mile out. Just sayin, the ocean is unforgiving.

You get out into open ocean (more than 3miles out), it can get pretty rough out there, you need to harden your AMA's to keep them from folding in when waves hit, (plenty of posts about that on this forum).

Off key west there are lots of coral heads, you will be breaking your rudder pin (we have broke plenty, offshore even just waves hitting you wrong can break a rudder pin). You are not going to steer these boats with a paddle (just sayin), another reason for the outboard (needs to be able to steer, basically that's your backup steering, we have had to use ours (outboard for steering) plenty of times. Basically if your 5 miles offshore in open ocean in 15mph winds and 3ft chop, you are not going to be able to replace your rudder pin, (I've tried many times), very dangerous and scared the wits out of me.
I'm not tryin to scare you or anything, or tryin to talk you out of a TI. My main point being know your boats real capabilities, not imagined.
When modified and hardened these boats can be quite durable and handle most conditions within reason, however the boat sits very low in the water, your goin to get really wet.
Since we scuba dive (your area is the meca), we have the tramps (re-enforced so they can handle our weight with tanks on), and we often have too many people on board ours (another reason for the tramps, we've been out plenty of times with 6 on board (adults and kids of course), and only on really safe water obviously). Actually we normally tow an inflatable dingy behind our boat for all the extra gear and sometimes people. I would definately get the tramps if it were me.
For offshore I recommend the Hobie spinnaker, we have both spinnakers and jibs (all custom) on ours (up to 260 sq ft of sail area, but thats a different story).
We have a guardian g4 (maybe g5 don't remember for sure) that works well on the sand bottoms in the keys, I also hear the cooper (mentioned above) is very good.
Of course all the offshore safety stuff like FM radio, eprb, or spot, flares, compass and paper charts, (gps's can fail), etc.
We have been caught out way after dark many times (usually from changing conditions, never on purpose), I have two complete sets of Atwood full nav lights (red/green, white), and always at least two waterproof led flashlights, (you literally can't see anything on a moonless night). Keep it all in a dry box in the bow, along with tools, flare pistol, first aid kit, etc.
Some will tell you you only need just a white lite, our TI under power is about the same speed as a pontoon boat when we really need it, so to avoid confusion we have full lights, good bad or indifferent, that's what we got, works for us, we have an absolute blast with ours, I'm sure you will too.
One nice thing about these boats is they are easily modified to do anything you can imagine, some of the offshore game fishing guys rigs are a sight to behold with sonar and everything, ( the ultimate fish slayer).
Hope this helps
FE

Edit:
If your planning an aluminum trailer, I would just use that as a launch cart ( that's what we do). If you slide the boat back a bit on the trailer so it's balanced on the axle, the put just one strap on to hold it, the trailer with boat walks very easily in the bearing axles and the road tires. I added a cheap harbor freight winch that I operate with a cordless drill. I don't remember the last time we used our scupper cart, (it's been years).


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 Post subject: Re: What options?
PostPosted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 9:01 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 26, 2015 3:13 pm
Posts: 656
fusioneng wrote:
We have been running TI's since 2010, we do a lot of ocean sailing off Islands (mostly Key West). Our TI is now our only family boat, we got rid of our Searay 24ft, and all our other Hobie kayaks (yea we had bunches of em). We use our TI for anything and everything. You get a great bonus with these boats as a kayak (no sails and ama's). The darn thing is the best and fastest kayak we have ever owned, (lol Hobie doesn't even advertise that aspect).
I'm familiar with your area and what is neccessary for Island sailing, which is way different from most of the people on the forum who mostly sail inland lakes and close coastal waters, (a different world).
Island sailing is way more dangerous and with these boats I would call high risk, (the stock boat from the factory is not recommended for offshore sailing (CE class 'C'). The TI is a CE class 'D' craft, (mostly protected waters) as shipped from the factory. Of course these classifications are not mandatory in the us, but really are common sense and shouldn't be ignored, (sailing is bigger in europe than here).
Yes the boat can be hardened and modified to be more sea worthy, (what we did with ours).
It's pretty important to pay attention here.
First off the TI is a great boat and the mirage pedal system makes it an incredible boat, however the sail is rather small and the boat doesn't point upwind very well (we are talking 45-50 degrees off the wind upwind). And typical sailing speed is around .6 windspeed. On lakes and close coastal waters this is not a problem. When sailing off remote islands this can be fatal, (before modifying our rig we got washed out to sea several times and couldn't get back to the island, ( in our case next stop Cuba).
In other words if you plan on going off shore it's pretty important to have an outboard, even if you never use it, it's there for safety backup to get you home and back to the island.
I'm not going to bore you with all my harrowing offshore experiences, but wind changes occur, winds die, and sudden unforcast storms come in almost daily in the summer in the keys, plus the currents are fierce in the keys, as I'm sure yours are.
I actually have twin Honda 2.3 outboards on ours, mostly because we travel great distances, plus the likelyhood of both failing is very slim. We always carry a couple hundred mile fuel on board, (our daily range is 100 miles).
When tilted up, the motor doesn't effect your sailing at all. In the grand scheme of things, that extra 27lbs (the Honda motor weight) means nothing, doesn't effect performance at all. Just for safety reasons I always carry an extra 2 gallons of fuel, I can't recall the last time I used them, (refill the fuel tanks while out on the water) most of our trips (typically under 25-30 miles) are well within the built in fuel tank range. But they are always on the ready if we get in trouble.
I'm not knocking the battery/electrics (like the torqeedo 403), but my worst nightmare would be being caught in the gulfstream or really unfavorable winds 5 miles out with only enough juice to get me to 3 mile out. Just sayin, the ocean is unforgiving.

You get out into open ocean (more than 3miles out), it can get pretty rough out there, you need to harden your AMA's to keep them from folding in when waves hit, (plenty of posts about that on this forum).

Off key west there are lots of coral heads, you will be breaking your rudder pin (we have broke plenty, offshore even just waves hitting you wrong can break a rudder pin). You are not going to steer these boats with a paddle (just sayin), another reason for the outboard (needs to be able to steer, basically that's your backup steering, we have had to use ours (outboard for steering) plenty of times. Basically if your 5 miles offshore in open ocean in 15mph winds and 3ft chop, you are not going to be able to replace your rudder pin, (I've tried many times), very dangerous and scared the wits out of me.
I'm not tryin to scare you or anything, or tryin to talk you out of a TI. My main point being know your boats real capabilities, not imagined.
When modified and hardened these boats can be quite durable and handle most conditions within reason, however the boat sits very low in the water, your goin to get really wet.
Since we scuba dive (your area is the meca), we have the tramps (re-enforced so they can handle our weight with tanks on), and we often have too many people on board ours (another reason for the tramps, we've been out plenty of times with 6 on board (adults and kids of course), and only on really safe water obviously). Actually we normally tow an inflatable dingy behind our boat for all the extra gear and sometimes people. I would definately get the tramps if it were me.
For offshore I recommend the Hobie spinnaker, we have both spinnakers and jibs (all custom) on ours (up to 260 sq ft of sail area, but thats a different story).
We have a guardian g4 (maybe g5 don't remember for sure) that works well on the sand bottoms in the keys, I also hear the cooper (mentioned above) is very good.
Of course all the offshore safety stuff like FM radio, eprb, or spot, flares, compass and paper charts, (gps's can fail), etc.
We have been caught out way after dark many times (usually from changing conditions, never on purpose), I have two complete sets of Atwood full nav lights (red/green, white), and always at least two waterproof led flashlights, (you literally can't see anything on a moonless night). Keep it all in a dry box in the bow, along with tools, flare pistol, first aid kit, etc.
Some will tell you you only need just a white lite, our TI under power is about the same speed as a pontoon boat when we really need it, so to avoid confusion we have full lights, good bad or indifferent, that's what we got, works for us, we have an absolute blast with ours, I'm sure you will too.
One nice thing about these boats is they are easily modified to do anything you can imagine, some of the offshore game fishing guys rigs are a sight to behold with sonar and everything, ( the ultimate fish slayer).
Hope this helps
FE

Edit:
If your planning an aluminum trailer, I would just use that as a launch cart ( that's what we do). If you slide the boat back a bit on the trailer so it's balanced on the axle, the put just one strap on to hold it, the trailer with boat walks very easily in the bearing axles and the road tires. I added a cheap harbor freight winch that I operate with a cordless drill. I don't remember the last time we used our scupper cart, (it's been years).

+1 Excellent advice from a TI expert.


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 Post subject: Re: What options?
PostPosted: Sat Sep 30, 2017 12:15 am 
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Joined: Fri May 13, 2016 8:06 pm
Posts: 44
Location: Laem Sing, Chanthaburi, Thailand
Nobody seems to have mentioned marine compass which apart from the outboard motor I carry every trip as a safety backup.

PDF, tramps, outboard, fishfinder/GPS, marine compass, anchor were my first purchases all made before my first trip offshore. It won’t take you long to work out what you need if you follow the forum.

Cheers
John


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