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PostPosted: Tue Aug 26, 2014 1:23 pm 
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Joined: Sun May 25, 2014 4:35 am
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Location: Singapore
I fitted a 35 square foot Bermuda sail with boom/kick strap/ furling ability from Solwày Dory in the UK to my ÀI in adventure mode ( no Amas)
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I used pvc pipe specers and PE sheet shims together with the Hobie Furler and mast foot to get the 38 mm mast to fit (a press fit with a rubber hammer), meaning I didn’t need to use any funky glues. The tube clip is just à backup...
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I thought it might be a bit too big as the mast is almost as heavy as the standard AI one, albeit shorter, but in combination with cut down Àkas with PU foam padding to help lean out...
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...and which fold in for docking...
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...it worked out really well in the 9/11 knot gusts I tried it in (with small wind waves) I find kickers a bit tricky when turning downwind and this in combination with the weird reverse steering linkages on the AI (why did they do this!?) had me in the drink early on before I got the hang of it, but after furling the sail, it was reàlly easy to right the kayak using the cut down Akas for leverage. After disconnecting the kicker I went on to have a blast balancing the main ànd the tiller against the wind and waves :-)

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 26, 2014 4:00 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 18, 2010 2:31 pm
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Location: Kailua 96734
First adventure with a real boom, I believe.

Extra points earned for the padded armrests! :mrgreen:


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 26, 2014 4:25 pm 
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Location: Central Coast NSW Australia
Great work Simon. Cut down aka for hiking out also a first I believe. Very innovative. 8)
Did you have the daggerboard down when you capsized?


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 26, 2014 5:54 pm 
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Thanks guys :-)

Daggerboard was down but I steered the wrong (right in any other boat) way initially in the first gust with the kicker connected to the Drive leash eye, whereupon the kicker tightened up and locked the sail and over I went. I was aware this might happen but thought I'd be able to loosen the kicker in time. Wrong... Beginner's mistake :-) The kicker is supposed to attach to the mast (or a furler drum hole) as recommended by Solway Dory, but that means having to disconnect it when furling.

After I disconnected the kicker I had a lot of fun in the gusts coming through a cut in the hills at 90 degrees to the small waves in the bay. I started with the rig partially furled but it didn't take long to get used to sailing it on what was only my my first time out ever in my AI and my first time sailing in donkey's years with anything other than a tiny Pacific action sail on a sea kayak.
Once I started leaning back and out on the cut down Aka's ( Ak's? :-)), I was pleasantly surprised by how stable and forgiving the sét up was for such a narrow boat with the sail fully unfurled. I think the weight must help. I did miss the kicker downwind a bit so will probably refit it next time out.

The set up's not perfect for me but once I fit some kind of hiking strap, an extra pulley for the main, tie the mast yoke on the boom to the mast and reverse the pull on the outhaul on the boom with a small pulley at the mast end, i think I'll be very happy with it indeed.

Shame it won't plane, mind :-)

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 26, 2014 7:26 pm 
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Location: Forster, NSW, Australia
Having sailed a fair bit before getting my TI, at first the "reverse tiller" confused me too, but it didn't take long to adapt to the standard Hobie layout.

If you are still sailing other boats as well, you might like to change the Hobie steering lines over so the tiller works conventionally.

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Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 01, 2014 11:38 am 
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The cut down Aka's worked much like training wheels: I removed them before my last outing along with the rear cross bar. This allowed me to lean back AND hike out more easily and lower, in combination with a hiking stick and a hiking out strap for my feet tied across the yak amd level with the front of the carry handles. A really good work out for my ageing abs :-) Being able to lean way back and low really helped with my Adventure's marked tendency to broach and.rock in solo mode downwind across following seas too

I fitted a better vang to a loose noose around the mast, a pulley to reverse the outhaul on the boom and secured the boom yoke to the mast with loosely fitting zip ties. The Adenture as rigged is so forgiving and as long as your reactions are reasonably quick you'd have to reaaaaally push it to get blown over, although I still find gybing a bit hairy. It does take a while to set up however so I can see the attraction of the simple boomless Hobie sails.

I had a blast yesterday hiking way out to stay with a TI upwind in 10 - 15 knot gusts, but I couldn't keep up with him on a broad reach. I also tied an inflated empty MSR ”Dromedary” water bag to the mast head as a float and tested it. It stopped the mast going under, making the yak fairly easy to right with straps but no outriggers

Balancing the boat against the wind constantly with body weight, the mainsheet and the tiller does mean the rudder lines take a beating and the main problem I've encountered is having to retighten the rudder lines between outings. I'm using half hitches under washers and a reef knot but they do slip, so if anyone has a better solution, could you please let me know?

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PostPosted: Mon Sep 01, 2014 3:56 pm 
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It is sorta cool, but part of me asks the question "why disable the AI's excellent performance as a sailing trimaran?" Not only do you lose the stability, but probably more importantly, you lose the ability to easily reef the sail.

Just intrigued..

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2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker


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PostPosted: Mon Sep 01, 2014 6:35 pm 
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Location: Singapore
Hi Tony,
To answer your question
1. There's usually no wind at all or very little until around 2 where I am, so I usually peddle out= less work in a monohull - I may yet bend the akas up to keep the amas out of the water instead, but see 4.
2. From what I read the AI is slow in light airs anyway so I don't think I'm losing out much in he 10 to 15 knot max afternoon gusts we get here (often only 5 to 7)
3. I really enjoy the challenge of balancing a skinny hull agsinst the wind in the sail
4. I have very limited storage space (a kayak rack in a narrow corridor) at te marina where I keep it
5. The Solway Dory rig has a furling mast - you just have to uncleat the outhaul from the boom first

:-)

Once I get fitter and more skilled I'm really tempted to add a boom to the hobie rig and try it out in light airs as a monohull, especially as the wind can drop a lot here after the summer

Now about those better knots for the rudder lines.....

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PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 5:32 pm 
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Looks like a brilliant light-wind rig. Well done indeed!


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PostPosted: Thu Oct 09, 2014 8:37 pm 
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
I put my 33 sq ft jib onto my TI in kayak mode but ran into problems with too much weight aloft (the sail is 17 ft tall). Everything worked fine in low winds up to around 7mph but I found the secondary stability to be not enough, if the boat tilted to the side more than about 20 or 25 degrees there wasn't anything I could do to prevent the boat from continuing to flip over. Of course in kayak mode there is no way to hike out, your shortened aka bars are a very good idea. But even if I had those bars I still think my sail is way too tall and way too much weight aloft to be practical. Next cut will be a 30 sq ft wing jib no higher than 12 ft tall with a square cut top.
Do you know how many sqft your sail is.
Anymore I prefer wing sails over conventional sails, they just seem so much simpler to me.
My only suggestion is to watch how much weight you have aloft, and shorter fatter sq top sails appears to work better than taller pointed sails, for me anyway.
Unfortunately the TI (in kayak mode) is a little large for a standard 20sq ft Hobie kayak sail, wish Hobie supplied something a little larger for the bigger boats like the AI/TI when using them in kayak mode.
Good luck
Bob


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PostPosted: Fri Oct 10, 2014 12:15 am 
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Thanks for the comments guys

I'd love a shorter square topped 35 - 40 sq ft sail with a suitable carbon mast and boom for less weight aloft and less heeling, of course, but couldn't find a suitable one. One day I hope to try a wing sail :-)

My sail is only 35 square feet and furls down to about 4 square feet before you have to unclip it to furl it completely. Mast is around 14 ft but only 38 mm aluminium so quite light. Stability is fine as long as there is some wind. As the mainsheet is only a 2:1 reduction, it's easy to balance the sail against the wind, and I actually find the secondary stability really good, but am used to relatively sensitive sea kayaks.
With no wind, I only notice the inertia high up in bad boat wakes coming from the rear quarter, where you need to use body English. Having said that, I've never capsized it due to boat wakes - in light winds I've got the Mirage Drive down and the faster you go the more stable it is, like all kayaks. (I've said it before, but I'm not crazy about the behaviour of the AI in kayak mode even without a sail in waves from the rear quarter, as it has a tendency to broach quite badly without peddling harder or rudder correction and leaning back)

Actually Bob, you can hike out, just not so much when you're peddling. I sit where the rear cross bar used to be and put my feet under that strap you can see just in front of the seat base. It's not ideal as you lean back and out rather than straight out, but works for me in up to 15 knot gusts, when I've even dipped my head in the water a couple of times.

I've since removed the seat base pad as it scrunched up all the time under my bum, and surprisingly noticed it was no less comfortable when peddling. It makes moving around the boat easier too.

If I had a TI I'd be really tempted to try it in kayak mode with the AI mast and sail :D

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