Summary - 2007,2008,2009,2010,2011 Models?!

Yes, The furling line does tangle in the drive.

Thankfully, I have yet to hit anything with the rudder. Normally, the dagger board hits first but I did have a turbo fin strike. Only a minor scuff but not a pleasant feeling.

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Thanks for the reply and summary of the models. I am looking at an Adventure Island which is 18 months old and has been described as a 2009 model but it doesn't have the snap and go drive clips. The clip system is described to be a twist and lock. Is this likley to be an earlier model based on this alone, or was the clip phased in?

Its in "Ivory Dune", which reading posts seems more unusual for earlier boats.

Any advice / tips to consider when viewing the boat would be appreciated. IF it is an earlier model than 2009 is it still worth considering? How essential are the modifications.

If anyone is retired and has the time! , or is so inclined to help a newbie searching for his first Adventure Island I'd find a summary of the mods in photos really helpful!

Thanks to everyone including trippingwet who was a legend and let me have a look at his 2010 adventure and share some of the stoke of owning one!

Like a glove.

The '09 models should all have the Click N Go as far as I know. I think it's a significant improvement -- cannot be upgraded on older models. The last 2 numbers on the serial # denote the year model so you can verify the actual year of this boat by examination. The earlier Dune colors were actually sold as an Adventure and had an AI kit installed -- not factory assembled. The quality of the installation depends on who did it. If the boat is actually a different year model than represented, take everything else the seller says with a grain of salt.

There was an important upgrade to the Mirage Drive drums in '09 also. Look for the Mickey Mouse ears (see below, right), but keep in mind the older Drives can also be updated.


It is quite likely the boat is an '08. Check out the condition, look at the bottom of the hull. Whether the akas are loose or tight in the crossbars is a good indication of sailing time/wear and tear. Ask for a demo ride if everything looks good beforehand -- this will verify the completeness and proper functioning and fitting of the rigging. A neighbor bought a used AI from a nearby dealer -- it had some broken/bent/missing parts. He was not familiar with the boat and found out only after he bought it and went sailing. I'm surprised that dealer sold a boat in such condition.

RR -This is a TI pictured? I am curious about the AI tramps on the 2011 AI.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

RE the drives- To ME:
V1 looks like a frog.
V2 looks like a butterfly

What you see depends a lot on your personality.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Looks like an AI to me. Sorry I didn't have better pictures on such short notice. Fins sticking out the (narrower) side above and the short amas here are subtle giveaways -- otherwise hard to tell.

Gotta be an AI with those Amas. Thanks Mate.

For a moment, I thought the drive well looked deep for an AI.

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The Wind Is Your Friend...

Thanks for all the help! 2010

I took a demo ride in a 2010 and then bought a 2006 AI. Big mistake. I saved a bundle but got a somewhat inferior boat. So I bought the turbo upgrade and the large rudder. I was new and in Sarasota Bay and kept running aground. I finally realized you could bolt down the rudder but I ran hard aground with it and it popped up. I was used to sailing in Maine waters and finally realized I could just get out of the kayak and fix the rudder. It was twilight by the time I got the rudder fixed the second time and I got home at dark. It seems that the water rushes in through the mirage drive on the 06 much more than it did in the 2010.

Today I tied the end of the roller furling cord to the main sheet and it solved a lot of problems. Also, I put a loop in the bow line and fasten it around the cleat on the left of the hull. This keeps it from streaming out into the water. I took out the rubber plug for the skeg hole and run the bungi cord on the skeg through the eye the plug was fastened to and back to the starboard cleat. After sailing for three months in the AI I am much more aware of shallow water and have not had any grounding out problems in the past month.

There have been several kayak thefts in our area so I put a galvanized cleat on the dock and glued the bolts with gorilla glue and ground out the screw driver slot and then ran a cable through the mirage drive opening and used a big lock to lock it to the galvanized cleat.

Do you have the Drive Seal (rubber seal) on the rear of your Mirage Drive? If not, $9.95 will fix that.

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006

I didn't see it mentioned anywhere else, but IMHO the best update was a new rudder up/down pulley system added in 2008--"free from Hobie".

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Polecat
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Hobie AI & WS Tempest 180 Pro
SW Gulf Coast: Sarasota to Keys

I'm not completely useless. I can always serve as a bad example.

I own both an 2009 AI and 2010 TI. I noticed the announcement and photos of the new larger TI-type rudder for the 2011 AI (with its bungee cord).

You have mentioned several times, coming sometime in 2011, a replacement of the TI's troublesome rudder system.
So my question is...if Hobie is going to retro-fit a lot of TIs...why did Hobie go and install the same troublesome large rudder on the 2011 AIs?
Or is Hobie hoping that we, TI owners, are going to accept the bungee cord on the rudder as 'the fix'?

I'm not Matt, but I think I can guess why.
The new rudder is coming and Hobie wants it on the AI and tha TI, so they're preparing for that.
-IIRC, the new rudder needed a transom redesign on the AI to make it fit. The new '11 AI hulls have the new TI-like transom to get the new rudder assembly (some day).
-so in the meantime it gets the TI temporary rudder fix until the new rudder design is released for both boats because the old AI rudder won't fit on the new transom.
-So, they're probably not hoping you'll accept the interim design, just making sure everybody from '11 on gets it eventually.