Walt, great spot, great pics! Lot's of detail, I will ask my boss for a bigger screen!
And I agree, the large "easy to use" wind range is another great advantage of the AI.
I prefer to sit on the rear aka instead of on the tramp for a number of reasons:
- when I sit on the tramp, my bottom is catching waves / chop all the time. Not so when sitting on the aka. This issue can (partly) be prevented by pulling the tramps very tight, but I want to be able to easily install them or furl them on the water and then I would have to adjust the straps each time. You sit a bit higher and more dry there too.
- When sitting on the aka, you can have one foot in the rear cargo well and the other in the seat well. This makes for a firm seat across the boat, like in other sailboats (which I like).
- Especially on broad reaches it is great to lift the bow up a little to prevent nose diving by sitting a bit more to the rear.
It works also without the tramps, although that feels a bit less secure. It would be a great set up for higher winds, but higher wave / chop action could make it a bit "too much". Also nice for (less extreme) hiking, is to sit on the edge of the hull, for instance on the rear cup holder.
In all occasions, a tiller extension is great for this, although it is not needed for all positions. Look here:
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