previously owned a 10' TI thinking about an 11' TI

I owned a 2010 TI (first one in my area) for 3 months of good use last summer, and was fortunate enough to return it after our second near coast guard rescue (no coast guard actually involved). Well, now its warm again and i wish i still had it, however i need to know if anything has changed in the last year on it.

When i owned it the aka arms kept coming out of the sheath thing (making it just about capsize each time), the aka pins kept snapping, the rudder line snapped, after the rudder line was fixed the 2 rudder steering controls had a bunch of slack in them and made it very hard to steer, the entire boat ended up getting a big crease in it cuz of it sitting on the kayak cart for a few days at a time between uses (eventually i was told to store it on the sand and not on the cart on the sand,, this made it a lot more difficult and time consuming to get it into and out of action).

i had some awesome times on it in the few short months i owned it and would love to have one without these issues listed above. did i just get a lemon or have there been real solid fixes for it. my impression during the 3 months i owned it was that it would be great for a lake but not anything with wind and waves,, and yes i saw the videos of owners in hawaii,, not sure how theirs held up to that abuse when mines kept breaking with lesser abuse.

i saw some pics and read some stuff about new amas and new rudders. when is any of this stuff going to be implemented. should i reconsider or just wait till a better product is out??? thanks all,

I think each one of the issues you encountered has since been addressed and fixed. the very first TI's had an issues with the akas and they would not fully lock in as they were designed to. We sent out a retrofit kit with new aka clips soon after and they have not been an issue since.

I'm guessing the aka pins were fatigued or snapped when the aka came out of the crossbar. They are designed to break upon impact and have not changed.

The left steering lines saw some issues where they rubbed on the hollow bolt that they pass though. It was causing wear on the line adn eventually snapping in some cases. This was addressed with a second retrofit kit which included a new smoother bolt, new line, and a rungee loop to help hold the rudder down and lessen the chance of the rudder twisting up in high winds.

Loose rudder lines are just an adjustment issue and can be tightened in the rear on the rudder assembly.

Since this last retrofit kit, we have designed and upgraded the rudder system to a new, much simpler system that does away with each one of the areas we had problems with before. We have shipped new rudders at no charge to all owners who have registered their boats and are currently shipping kits to the dealers for everyone else. There are a few posts and photos of the new rudder around on the forum if you have not yet seen it.

The cart problem is still with us and we're working to develope a new cart to better support the Tandem Island. The plug in cart works great for quick transports, but any length of time on it can lead to dents or even cracks on the boat.

Hopefully this answered yor questions. I'd say go for it.

Brendan

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Brendan Castile

Try the 2011 with the new rudder. Perhaps they will let you go for a test sail.
Since you were able to return the 2010, if you can, purchase from the same retailer. They sound like a good store and deserve the business.

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@Bcastile: i had the boat/kayak back at the retailer x2 times for the various fixes and even after the 2nd fix (of many issues) the akas were still coming out under medium winds/pressure. this combined with the cart issue and rudder was just too much to take for a brand new $5500 ish boat.

are there not any new issues with the TI? I had since stopped following the forums after august last summer. if there are no more issues with the akas coming out and the rudder has supposedly been fixed, if the cart creasing was no longer an issue i would be very inclined to order another TI.

ADDITIONALLY, any new word on a jib??

@Fly4v: they were a wonderful retailer and i hope to do business with them again in the future, if they would allow me as a return customer after such a generous refund last summer.

@myself: i really want another one of these things but i may hold off till next summer now,, i can't seem to get the TI out of my mind though since every time i look out my window i see boats sailing by,, well there is not much wind at the moment but you get the point

They should be happy to have you as a return customer. My AI sells itself and I am sure that TI owners also draw a crowd when heading out.
The first question is what is it followed by where can I get one.
You would be free advertising for an already good store.
The only true unknown is scupper carts. You may get a poorly molded hull but people have reinforced the holes with PVC pipe if you want that type of cart.
Some where on here is a cart made with the Hobie cradles that Matt said looks like the prototype for the future TI cart.
If it wasn't for the trailer/no trailer debate and already owning a '10 adventure and a '11 AI, both Dune. I would be on the waiting list for a TI.
Just get on the water so we can outnumber the jet skis this summer.

edit: And Yes Hobie any news on the jib.

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I got a picture showing the new rudder when I went to see the start of the 2011 Everglades Challenge.



That's "Chekika" from this forum examining the new rudder.

I hope I am not hijacking this thread but it so similar to the question I had that I did not want to start a new one. What were the changes made to the TI from 2010 to 2011? I am getting ready to pull the trigger on a used 2010 TI that already has the new rudder installed. Is there anything else that I should look out for?

travt, I do not know the answer to your question, but it seems like Hobie supplies free retrofit kits to existing owners whenever they change anything important. Just make sure you're on the list!

Thanks Tom. My main concern was if they made some major change in the hull configuration (thickness or something like that). Something that couldn't be upgraded.

A hull that was not quite thick enough CAN be upgraded. Look for my thread on my cracked Mirage Drive well.

Hobie gave me a new hull.

Tom Ray,
I searched and found your post about the hull replacement. Nice to see Hobie standing behind their products like that.

is the TI not supposed to be stored on the cart? is there a way to keep the TI on the cart and be able to support it by adding something else to it so one would not have to keep it laying flat on the ground and could leave it on the cart without the fear of the hull creasing or bending???

I made a wooden bench, a couple of inches higher than the TI on the cart and when I need to use my trailer I back the TI off the trailer and onto it's cart. I then back the TI (on the cart) to the bench and place it one of the stronger points on the hull (scupper holes, seat drain holes, Mirage Drive well). The bench is over 4' wide and about 1' deep. I then lift the bow onto a homemade portable kayak stand that cradles the bow, which raises the TI about an inch off the cart.

When I need to move the TI back it's easy to remove the front stand and lower the bow which rests the boat back on the cart and slowly roll forward till the rear of the TI clears the bench. As long as you support the TI at stronger parts of the hull, and spread the load on any one point of the hull, it should do fine.

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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006