Ok ... getting back on topic!
(and thanks, good to hear from you CGM)
After the success of my solo AI trip, my wife Kathy warmed to the idea of sleeping onboard the TI. She could see the advantages for exploring Cowan Creek, where there are no official campsites. We went looking for a suitable tent that might fit under the bimini. I wanted a freestanding tent with 2 side entry doors, good bug protection/ventilation and easy pitching. We settled on this:
http://www.raysoutdoors.com.au/online-s ... 1921#CrossWith one week to go of my annual leave I spent a couple of days adapting the bimini and haka I already had into a suitable TI platform for the tent, adding foam sections to level off the floor. A tryout in the carport worked so we packed for a 4 day trip.
There is a lot more gear needed for 2 people sleeping onboard. To make a wide enough platform I had to use all 5 haka. To make it comfortable we took 2 thermarests as well as 2 yoga mats. The TI handled the extra gear really well and had plenty of freeboard. The black drybag at the stern contains all our cooking gear. The gray drybag all our sleeping gear and tent.
The cooler sits in the front drivewell when sailing and is moved to a haka if we need to pedal.
We stopped for afternoon tea in a sheltered bay. The haka make stops like this easy and comfortable.
Arriving at our destination we repositioned the haka to set the platforms up:
The yoga mats are positioned over the outer haka under the tent to fill in any gaps:
With two people assembling the tent, the mesh inner went up easily, though one of us had to get wet. It's not really possible to stay dry putting all this together on the TI.
The alloy tent poles drop into holes in the haka at the front:
...and into an alloy pole at the rear:
Last step, throw over the fly and clip it on:
The view from inside the tent:
We had a great 4 days camping trip. We stayed moored in the one place and cooked on a rock platform near the TI. We spent the time exploring the creek, swimming, snorkelling and bushwalking. It was great returning to a very comfortable bed each night on the water. We had visited the area 2 years ago and roughed it, sleeping in bivvy's under an overhang. Kathy commented how much more comfortable she was this time.
It rained on the third night but the bimini gave us good rain protection. It made packing up easy in the rain and later having breakfast under the shelter was a real bonus.
The trip home was into a 20 knot headwind at times, with heavy rain but we made it back OK, thanks to the assistance of the awesome mirage drives!
A great end to my holidays!