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PostPosted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 7:37 am 
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Because of this thread length, I have made a Table of Contents. This Table is on P. 22, http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=70&t=7276&start=315


Hi Stringy & Slaughter,

Thanks for your compliments. Slaughter, I have no idea how many times we've gone to Pavilion--been doing it since about 1993. It is considered the "gem of the Everglades." I would like to go out to Cape Sable at the south end of the Everglades, but most of the people are closer to the north end, so it is easier to go out Chokoloskee/Everglades City to Pavilion. Plus, Pavilion is kind of a beginner's trip, IF you have someone guide you around the oyster bars, sand bars, and through the passes. Since I had a rank beginner in the reporter, Susan Cocking, Pavilion was the place to go...again.

It is interesting that there seem to be fewer people going camping there. 10 yrs ago, this time of the year, it was difficult to get a permit for the place because it was always filled (max: 24 people or 5 groups, whichever fills first.) It can fill up with groups (1 solo person represents a group), but seldom people. Why? I think it is because people have been frightened away with all the talk of pythons in the Everglades. I doubt the Park Service would admit to that--that might add to the problem, but I think it is real, the fear, that is.

Any case, as Fusioneng would say, that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"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


Last edited by Chekika on Thu Jan 29, 2015 4:28 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Sun Jan 25, 2015 5:21 pm 
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And whatever you do Keith, keep writing those great reports! I am in hospital for at least the next month, so reports like yours really help to compensate til I can get back out on the water.

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2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 4:19 pm 
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Hi Tony, sorry to be so slow responding. I've been very busy trying to get the main trip of the season organized. In any case, what are you doing in the hospital? I know you have serious back problems. What is going on?

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"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: Wed Jan 28, 2015 5:38 pm 
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Chekika wrote:
Hi Tony, sorry to be so slow responding. I've been very busy trying to get the main trip of the season organized. In any case, what are you doing in the hospital? I know you have serious back problems. What is going on?

Keith

Long story Keith, but summarised by a violent allergic reaction to ant-biotics, which has required close treatment for all of January, and then I see the surgeon for an op to fix my back, which should see most of Febuary pass by. I also discovered that the operation will take place 200 miles away in a capital city hospital, so I will get transferred by air ambulance both ways..

Without buying into your "Obamacare" issue, it might be interesting to know that all the costs of the above (surgery, accommodation and transport, rough estimate over $50k) will be fully covered by a combination of private health cover (costs me $20 a week), and "Medicare" Australia's universal heath scheme. I couldn't imagine managing without some form of nationalised health cover

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2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 28, 2015 7:35 pm 
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Great to hear you'll be taken care of Tony. I can't get into the can of worms know as "Health Care" in the USA (easy to lose friends, too.)

Best wishes & keep us posted.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"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: Wed Jan 28, 2015 7:39 pm 
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Wow! I wish my health insurance was $80/month. It's more like $500 for me + family and I still have co-pays on top of that.

Good luck with the surgery and a speedy recovery.

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"Third Normal Form"

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PostPosted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:38 pm 
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Stuffed on an Everglades beach.

During last week’s week-long trek in the Everglades along the Gulf coast, we had fierce winds for 3 days. The worse was when we traveled from Hog Key to Highland Beach. My estimate of those broadside winds was about 18-22 kts (21-25 mph) with higher gusts. Going into our favorite site on HiLand, I furled the sail, took the pedals out, and allowed the strong wind to carry me directly onto the beach. The rudder controlled the boat nicely. The beach slanted to the water at gentle 10-15 deg angle. As I neared the beach, a wave lifted the back of my boat up and stuffed me, bow first, straight into the beach. BAM! Dead-stop! I was shocked. As the wave receded, I coasted onto the beach, jumped off, and pulled the boat up. Fortunately, I was going straight in and did not broach, otherwise, the akas might have suffered serious damage. Not surprisingly, the rudder pin was broken—light damage for a potentially catastrophic landing. HiLand is about 40 miles from the nearest marina and help. I’ve been in higher winds, but those were the roughest seas I’ve ever sailed my AI. It should have dawned on me that I was about to do a surf landing, but we all know that one does not have to worry about surf landings along the Everglades Gulf coast. The following picture was taken after the landing. No one was there to take my picture so I had to make up my boat portion, but I think it is a pretty good likeness of my landing. My friends, Royd Whedon and Debbie and Tom Turner, arrived shortly. Their landings were quite normal and without incident.

Image

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"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


Last edited by Chekika on Fri Feb 27, 2015 1:52 am, edited 2 times in total.

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PostPosted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 12:57 pm 
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That's great you stuck the landing (lol) (I'm referencing gymnasts landings, ( sorry my dry English humor)). Could have been a lot worse, you never know in those conditions
Bob


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PostPosted: Mon Feb 09, 2015 1:10 pm 
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Isn't it cool that nobody was there to witness your shenanigans! :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

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2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 10, 2015 9:42 am 
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Well, Tony, there was a witness. Here is a quote from an email message.
Royd Whedon wrote:
Keith, I was watching the whole thing from directly behind you on the water. And, I must say, that that is a very good representation of the event. You did, in fact, STICK that landing. What a hoot. Royd

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"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: Wed Feb 11, 2015 6:23 pm 
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Just shows how it's so easy for us to get a bit complacent about the conditions and situation.

It's 'tit bits' like this that make this forum so valuable for other sailors Keith.
Hopefully I only have to read about them and don't have to write about them.

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PostPosted: Sat Feb 14, 2015 10:09 pm 
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Your absolutely right, Slaughter. I'm going to get back to that trip we did--it was really an adventure, a little scary, but lots of fun with terrific friends. When I got home, I realized my 2015 AI was going to be delivered in a couple days. Of course, after it did arrive, it has taken up much of my time. Most people would be out sailing in it by now, but, I'm in no hurry. After all, I've been waiting for over 4 months. I am very interested in scoping it out, i.e., seeing all the changes and, in some cases, wondering why the changes were made. I've got lots of great pictures from that trip, but for now, I'm concentrating on my 2015 AI.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"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: Sat Feb 14, 2015 11:06 pm 
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2015 Mirage Adventure Island—What’s in a name?

Where to start, that is the question. Everything I’ve seen seems to be a logical improvement over the pre-2015 AI model. So, if you ask, “what are the deficiencies, the tradeoffs?” There are a large number of improvements; only time and user experiences will suggest further improvements. My purpose here is to give some of the physical comparisons of the AI (2006-2014) and the 2015 AI. Some things like the centerboard vs the daggerboard, are like comparing apples and oranges. Personally, I like the idea of a centerboard, but it depends on the type of sailing you do. If the 2015 AI is the first AI you have owned, the question cb vs db will never come up.

First, however, the name—now there is a point I could argue. My wife and I have a place in the mountains of Northern New Mexico—we are at 9600’ (ca 3200 m). Our street was never named, simply called “switchback 1” to distinguish it from “switchback 2” and several other “switchbacks” in the area. In 1989, when my wife, Nancy, was President of the American Dietetic Association, we spent the whole year there, and our street needed a name. We chose, “Coyote Lane.” We even had a nice, engraved street sign made, and I bolted it on the corner telephone pole. The sign was stolen within a few years, but the name stuck. Our area is now a small, incorporated city in NM, and our street has an official street sign. It bears the name, “Coyote Lane.”

That is a long story, but it may explain why I think the 2015 AI needs a name to distinguish it from everything that went before—I think it is that different. If you simply saw the progression of names, 2006 AI, 2007 AI….2010 AI….2014 AI, 2015 AI, etc., you would think not much that happened to the AI over those years. Frankly, in my mind, the only significant change from 2006 to 2014, was the change from the Rube Goldberg rudder to the vertical rudder in the 2011 AI. So, with the AI looking rather stagnated, I was beginning to look around at alternative boats. The Tandem Island was not one of them because it is too heavy for your average senior citizen, of which I am reluctantly a long-time member. Fortunately, along came the 2015 AI—it has changes, lots of them, big and small. They are everywhere: dramatic new amas, sleeker hull with more free board, a 3-batten sail which will clear your head, centerboard in place of a daggerboard, “glide” technology in the Mirage Drive, and a spectacular, new elevated seat. Of course, there are small changes, the akas are spaced and sized the same as the Tandem Island, the mast is 15-18” longer (depends on where you start your measurement), amas which fold in parallel to the hull (rather than angle outward in the pre-2015 AI—I almost picked off a tourist along the Tamiami Trail here in south Florida with an ama, which stuck out much further than the side of my car. I’ll bet he won’t be standing on the edge of the pavement anymore. Good lesson for him—maybe save his life from a future accident.) In any case, a folded, parallel ama is good, even if we all have to buy a new set of cradles—it may save lives and prevent lawsuits.

Bottom line, the 2015 AI is VERY different from everything that went before. No problem calling it an “Adventure Island” to indicate its heritage. But, there has to be more, because it is so much more. I’ve given it a name, like we named our street, Coyote Lane. These are simple boats, a simple name will suffice. The 2015 AI should be known as the "Adventure Island 2" or simply “AI 2,” and that is the designation I will use.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"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: Sun Feb 15, 2015 6:56 am 
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Keith:
Wow I considered you to be the last holdout on the 2006 AI design. My opinion has always been hobie took the hard knocks lessons learned from the 2006 design and applied them toward the 2010 TI design. In my opinion making the TI the better of the two boats (I was never a fan of the 2006 AI design), I suspect this attributed to the floor dropping out on pre 2015 AI sales vs TI sales.
Of course the TI is a much larger boat and more oriented toward a family type boat with multiple passengers (we have 3-4 on ours quite often), and I understand completely your argument as a solo expedition guy you simply don't need that extra capacity and the size and weight increases that go along with a tandem boat that in your case would never be used.
I agree that the new AI-2 (2015 AI) opens up a new world for AI owners with all the benefits of a better more up to date design (not just an old kayak design with a sail and pontoons added), but now the new AI is a carefully designed sailing machine from the ground up. I have to admit I am now a big fan of the new AI 2. I agree it's a completely different (and better) boat based on everything I'm seeing.
Bob


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PostPosted: Sun Feb 15, 2015 7:06 am 
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Hi Bob,

All good points and basically I agree. I agree strongly with your statement, "...now the new AI is a carefully designed sailing machine from the ground up." Amen. I certainly agree that Hobie "took the hard knocks lessons learned from the 2006 design and applied them toward the 2010 TI design."

We will have to see how it, the AI 2, sails. No one has commented on that yet. I'm not enough of a sailor to make meaningful comments--unless it blows me away, literally.

Thanks for your always valuable comments. I'm looking forward to more from you as you see the boat in action.

BTW, you certainly noticed from my comments that I was NOT holding out for the 2006 AI design. I was just opposed to the TI for solo sailing. Many of my friends (much younger) do sail the TI as a solo boat. It is certainly the more versatile boat. It is just not the boat for me. Until now and the AI 2, there really was nothing but the old, tired "2006 design AI." Now, just so you and others are not surprised, I am keeping my 2011 AI. Nancy will use it, and, when doing solo trips, i.e., no one else is with me, I will probably still used my 2011. Old habits are hard to break, besides there is that little item of hauling my partially loaded AI or AI 2 up a 5-6' vertical beach. Arithmetic says my AI will be easier.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"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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