Adventure Islands have arrived!

Oh I am not a racer, either. Just figuring how long it would take me to get from island to island here with one boat vs. the other.

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Island life in the Devil's Triangle:
http://2gringos.blogspot.com/

You can ballpark it at 5 knots average, with the usual caveat of wind strength and direction, currents, etc. At least with the AI, the boat can easily do this even with no wind if you're in good shape.

I have never sailed either of these but a crew of 2 on a beach cat like the Getaway should be able to easily beat the Island in a sail only race. The amount of sail area difference is hugh
That being said the Island will easily beat the Getaway in low wind if you employ either the pedals or a paddel
The Getaway should be dryer as well because it has a bigger free board.
I am probably going with the Island because it is easier to launch in remote places, it is car topable and I think it will be faster to set up and tear down than a beach cat. Additionally there are a lot of strong currents were I sail and I want to be able to muscel out of problems in low wind conditions.

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sf flyer

Indeed if ease of launch is a concern, then get the AI. While the Getaway is simpler to set up and launch than the H16, the mast is still a 25' long 50 lbs unwieldy stick, compared to the 15' 20 lbs of the AI mast (sail included).

From the trailer, I can get the Getaway set up and launched by myself in a little under 1/2 hour. The AI takes about 1/2 that much.

If you can leave the mast up, then the difference is much less.

this is all good information, thanks. I am leaning toward the AI, although its a shame they dont make one for two people.

The car-top aspect of it is also a factor, as well as storage. I am assuming I could fit two of them on top of a Ford Expedition.

And the exercise aspect is also something to be considered. I was still rollerblading 30-40 miles in a morning when I was 52, and biking as far as I wanted. But since moving here, I dont do either of those things and I miss the exercise. I cant do the gym/bowflex/running stuff....I wont exercise unless I am having fun at it.

The AI looks fun. So does the Getaway, but its a different thing. There are tons of places to explore here, and skinny water over the reefs and currents are part of it. If I ran an AI up on a sand bar or reef, I could easily get it off, even if I had to step out of it.

Has anyone here paddled an AI? Do you fold the ama forward to use a kayak paddle with it? Looks like they would be in the way, or awkward at best, to paddle.

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Island life in the Devil's Triangle:
http://2gringos.blogspot.com/

Once you try pedalling, it's hard to go back to paddling! The only time I break out the paddle is when I'm stuck in a narrow channel and need to back out or if the water is super shallow and I don't want to damage the fins.

The one time I had to do it on the AI, I left everything set up (i.e. amas out). The front aka is sufficiently forward that it's not in the way, and paddle strokes loose efficiency when the blade is aft of your body so the rear ama hasn't been a problem either. The only annoyance is the main sheet (it's best to disconnect it and lay it down).