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PostPosted: Mon Aug 17, 2015 7:33 am 
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Location: Paoli Pennsylvania - East Coast USA
I'm getting close to buying an AI. A guy wrote me a check yesterday for all of my windsurfing equipment.

And I finally found a more-or-less local dealer that has AIs in stock... driving up there today to confirm the leg length situation.

Not wanting my survivors to have too much fun, I am starting to lean towards buying a new 2015 and resigning myself to taking a bath if it does not work out.

One thing, though, I paddle a surf ski and have to wonder if I have become too jaded to enjoy something like the AI.

Only time will tell, but thought I would ask if anybody in the forum both paddles a surf ski and sails an AI....and, if so, what your impressions are.

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PostPosted: Mon Aug 17, 2015 8:42 am 
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PeteCress wrote:
...A guy wrote me a check yesterday for all of my windsurfing equipment.

One thing, though, I paddle a surf ski and have to wonder if I have become too jaded to enjoy something like the AI.

Only time will tell, but thought I would ask if anybody in the forum both paddles a surf ski and sails an AI....and, if so, what your impressions are.

I sea kayaked many years, and I knew when I got my first AI back in 2007, that probably was the end of my sea kayaking. Except for a few paddles, it was. You will miss it, of course, but buying an AI is making a pretty clear decision.

Keith

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 1:39 pm 
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There are plenty OCl-1 paddlers out here who would love to have an island in their toychest. A couple are on this forum.

No reason that you can't enjoy both.

Repeat after me - "The wind is your friend"... :mrgreen:

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 2:27 pm 
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NOHUHU wrote:
There are plenty OCl-1 paddlers out here who would love to have an island in their toychest. A couple are on this forum.

No reason that you can't enjoy both.

NOHUHU, haven't you ever heard of Gresham's law: "Bad money drives out good."

The AI/TI/sea kayak analogy is: "The easier, more versatile boat will put the pure paddle boat out to pasture." This law becomes more and more demanding as you get older.

Keith

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"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 3:41 pm 
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Location: Bethany, OK
Chekika wrote:
The AI/TI/sea kayak analogy is: "The easier, more versatile boat will put the pure paddle boat out to pasture." This law becomes more and more demanding as you get older.


(I'll preface this with "but then I know I'm not normal anyway so..." :mrgreen: )

Funny thing is, I've used my paddle kayak (a Pungo 140 - not even a rudder!) more since getting the TI than I did when I just had the Outback.

The Outback is pretty close to the same amount of time to set up - maybe a couple minutes more - as the Pungo, and it's pretty straightforward.

The TI - as much fun as it is - is *involved*! It takes much longer to set up / tear down. There are a lot more bits and pieces that go in/on it. When it's windy enough it can be a real handful at the boat ramp. It's just plain a LOT of BOAT when compared to regular kayaks!

I've gotten to where after I take the TI out a few times I'm ready for SIMPLE! I can lift the Pungo on top of the truck rack in one easy lift, toss a paddle, PFD and my "safety bag" (bilge pump, paddle float, etc) in the truck, and I'm off. Less than 5 minutes after I arrive at my put-in point I'm paddling my way across the water... 8)

(The Outback isn't neglected either - it still sees the most use, actually.)


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 4:25 pm 
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RandomJoe wrote:
Chekika wrote:
The AI/TI/sea kayak analogy is: "The easier, more versatile boat will put the pure paddle boat out to pasture." This law becomes more and more demanding as you get older.

The TI - as much fun as it is - is *involved*! It takes much longer to set up / tear down. There are a lot more bits and pieces that go in/on it. When it's windy enough it can be a real handful at the boat ramp. It's just plain a LOT of BOAT when compared to regular kayaks!

I've gotten to where after I take the TI out a few times I'm ready for SIMPLE! I can lift the Pungo on top of the truck rack in one easy lift, toss a paddle, PFD and my "safety bag" (bilge pump, paddle float, etc) in the truck, and I'm off. Less than 5 minutes after I arrive at my put-in point I'm paddling my way across the water... 8)

(The Outback isn't neglected either - it still sees the most use, actually.)

Joe, you've just outlined all the reasons why I have stuck with an AI, and now an AI 2, over the years. The TI is a huge boat to handle for a single person. I'm going to buy a TI this year, but I will NEVER take it out alone--just too big for me, way too big.

"just my 2 cents" as Fusioneng would say.

Keith

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"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 4:51 pm 
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RandomJoe wrote:
...When it's windy enough it can be a real handful at the boat ramp.
Boat ramps make my crazy and I am surprised to see AI`s being launched on boat ramps.

Ever since my Hobie 16 days one of my litmus tests for any boat has been that I can wheel or carry it down to water's edge.

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 6:01 pm 
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Location: Bethany, OK
PeteCress wrote:
Boat ramps make my crazy and I am surprised to see AI`s being launched on boat ramps.

Ever since my Hobie 16 days one of my litmus tests for any boat has been that I can wheel or carry it down to water's edge.


My problem is having a suitable place to wheel it down to the water. I'm in central Oklahoma and we have MUD for shoreline! There are a couple of sandier places I could probably wheel the TI down but most lakes have shorelines where you either sink ankle-deep in the mud or have to clamber over a bunch of rip-rap (very large rocks) piled along the shore to prevent erosion.

Next month I'm renting a cabin at a lake near the eastern border of the state, where they have much rockier soil. Supposedly the shoreline is a decent slope to the water so I'm hoping I can finally make use of my beach dolly! At the very least, if I can launch it from a boat ramp and just park it on the shoreline out front of the cabin I'll be happy! Two other lakes I've visited the cabins were atop 30 foot cliffs so I had to drive around to the boat ramp every time I wanted to go out - so I didn't go out as I had planned.


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 7:26 pm 
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Location: Forster, NSW, Australia
Maybe, as my only kayak purchased is my 2012 YI, I don't realise that I have any problems (LOL). I take my trailer to the assembly point next to the ramp, and set up the TI for launching, amas out, mast in, sprayskirts on etc. I even get my Caddis waders and PFD on, so when I back down the ramp, I just need to walk the TI to the adjoining beach, and go park the car. I then step in and go. I find the set-up a relaxing precursor to sailing. Similarly, after a trip, I enjoy the relaxed washdown and pack-up process as part of the experience.

Are people having difficulty switching off from their busy lives, perhaps? I can't think of any activity involving my TI which I don't enjoy.

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 8:17 pm 
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I agree Tony, all aspects of the Island experience can be enjoyable.
That includes chatting to all the people showing an interest as you setup, launch, retrieve and wash down.

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PostPosted: Tue Aug 18, 2015 8:43 pm 
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I agree with Changeman. I quite enjoy showing off my TI at the boat ramp.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

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PostPosted: Wed Aug 19, 2015 1:16 pm 
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tonystott wrote:
Are people having difficulty switching off from their busy lives, perhaps? I can't think of any activity involving my TI which I don't enjoy.


Busy life? :lol: I can hardly be accused of having a busy life. I rarely put in a full 40 hrs/wk at work. I have no wife, no kids, no bills... Yeah... :mrgreen: The only stress I have is keeping my tryannical tabbies satisfied! :P

I don't *mind* the setup and teardown of the TI, it's just not what I'm going out to do. I want to be on the water! Especially when it's 100F outside, the last thing I care to do is spend more time than necessary standing in a parking lot. I'm not particularly keen on visitors either, I'm just not the outgoing type who likes talking to a bunch of strangers.

So some days I happily go through the motions with the TI because it's a blast to sail, but other days I just want something simple and uncomplicated - and less noticeable!


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2015 5:58 am 
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
When we first moved to Florida permanently in 2007 (I had spent most of my life in the midwest nowhere near any water). Previous to that we had a house here, and a 24ft Sea Ray that we kept down here in dry storage ($350/mo). But we found our selves never coming down here so we sold all that stuff before 2006 (not having a clue we were going to sell everything else and move here at the time.
Long story short, when we moved here permanently we didn't have the powerboat anymore and wanted to get out on the water (wife is native Floridian from Sarasota, spent most of her life here). We started out kayaking by renting paddle kayaks, we discovered quickly the area is huge and with paddle kayaks we never felt comfortable going more than a few hundred feet from shore or going more than a mile or so from launch. We would also usually come back in a couple hrs later pretty used up ( the sun and heat is intense here FYI, sitting in a kayak with no breeze is like sitting in a frying pan and I'm the yoke).
There was no way for us to go to all the sand bars and beaches we used to visit and hang out at previously with our powerboat and meet our powerboat friends, and there was no way we would ever risk going offshore.
In 2008 we bought an Oasis and a revolution (both with the sail kits). Now we wre able to quadruple our comfortable range and quickly found ourselves going on excursions (at times pedaling and sailing as long as 10 hrs on day trips). Perhaps if we had graduated into the pro sea kayak/surfski world our story would be probably be different.
Then in 2010 when the TI came out we felt that with such a boat we could finally go meet our powerboat friends and hang out at the beaches and sandbars again like we used to do with our powerboat (the closest beach, south Lido is about 4-5 miles from launch, and our favorites sand bars and islands are 15-25 miles away). We finally found a replacement family boat for our beloved Sea Ray we thought. Well we thought so anyway, until we discovered that the typical winds here on most weekends (when we want to go out) are only 3-6 mph ten months out of the year. And who would ever want to go out in 2-3 ft chop which was very unpleasant even on our 24 ft Sea Ray. We quickly discovered the sail area on our stock TI was very disappointing to us (mostly because of the typical low winds) and traveling at 3mph for hours at a time in the hot Florida sun was very unpleasant for us personally (in both Sarasota and Key West). Right away I added a whole bunch of extra sail area (actually only sailed the TI with just the stock sail I think 3 times back in spring 2010 (first 3 times out), and have never attempted it again since). At the time I got my TI I read several reviews in March 2010, and they promised an optional jib was in development and would be released shortly after product launch in April (when I got mine). I waited and I waited, and I waited, and it never came. So I finally had to design and build all my own stuff. I'll be perfectly honest here, I would have never bought the darn boat in the first place if I had known this was going to happen, you can't imagine how mad and frustrated I was. Especially since I walked into the Hobie dealer cash in hand expecting to buy a brand spanking new Hobie 16, and the dealer convinced me this new TI was much better ( I bought one of the first ones). Don't get me wrong, as it turns out the TI is a much more versatile boat, and can be used for almost anything you can imagine (and we can imagine a lot of uses, and use them all), so in the end we are much happier with our TI , but we are happy with our TI with the mods we made (more sail area and outboard engines), without those mods we would have likely got rid of it a long time ago. Obviously we are not hard core man vs sea sailers and never will be. However we are no longer in the position to go buy another $80k powerboat, spend $400/mo for dry storage, and have to fill up that 80 gallon fuel tank every weekend with uber expensive marine fuel (usually 30% higher than car gas). Instead I spend between $.75 cents and a buck in fuel each weekend and we are able to travel pretty much anywhere we used to travel with our old Sea Ray and are able to do all the same stuff (things like diving and snorkeling). The coolest part is it costs us zero in ongoing maintenance and storage ( previously $6k to 10k/yr with our Sea Ray, we store in our garage (for free). Launch and recovery is less than 15 minutes even with all our mods (a stock TI is around ten minutes typically (from trailers according to most).

So bottom line yea it cost me a couple grand for all my mods (mostly the Twin Honda 2.3 engines which were a thousand ea (but the engines have a 5 yrs warranty, and are the most reliable motors out there that I know of and only weigh 27 lbs ea), To be perfectly honest 3/4 of the mods we have done were all done 5 yrs ago (during the first 3 months we owned our first TI), and I've been simply just been using the stuff since then (all exactly the same parts, when we get a new TI each time (we are on our third TI now), we just transfer all the junk to the new one (takes about 2 hours). We have never made any physical modifications of any kind to any of our TI's, all are 100% stock (ie.... no drilled holes, no permanent mounted crap, etc, etc, etc). I guess we fall into Keiths former powerboats bucket.
Bob


Last edited by fusioneng on Thu Aug 20, 2015 9:21 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2015 8:00 am 
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It is interesting here, that the view of a TI and its simplicity or complexity seems to break down into 2 groups: (1) previous large boat owners who see the TI as easy and simple, and (2) the small boat, kayak owners who view the TI as a large, somewhat complicated boat. I intend to buy a TI this year. I only sailed on one once as guest fishing partner. I know I will think a TI as a very large boat (I've always thought that), and I may think of it as "complicated," although I have 8 yrs experience with an AI.

Keith

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"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 20, 2015 10:11 am 
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Even with just AI or TI owners, there is a division between people who often pedal or wont use the pedals except to get off the dock.


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