Hobie Cat Forums

Lots of times I have been thinking to make a short ride with whole family on board (wife, daughter and myself). I know AI limits and I'm sure for safety reasons and performance it's a bad idea... but….finally, last weekend I tried!

Our gear and combined weight was over 195kg (430lbs)… We grossly exceeded the weight limit but it was a very occasional short trip, no more than 3 miles and close to the beach. Very good sea and low wind…

AI worked fine, we were able to sail but it was a very wet ride and I ended up with lots of water in the hull.

I know that we can't do it again if I want to conserve the AI but It was a very nice morning!!!

Nice ! It's quite amazing how much you can overload an AI and it still functions very well. It looks like your whole family had a nice day. Good stuff !

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Jim

Carried out some experiments today, and discovered that a single AI ama can support 100kg, while a single TI ama can support 150kg. This is the weight which will fully submerge them, but settle just below the surface.

I have had 300kg on my TI. This was 3 adults and 1 teen and it was great. I even did this with the old rudder

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Paul, Rebecca & Stephanie

Very interesting experiments, thanks Tonystott!!!

Wow.....I didn't know an AI could actually take that much weight. Don't you think it's a little risky though. But I will definitely try this sometime. Somewhere close by maybe..

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Luxury Yachts | Charters

I am not suggesting it for a moment, just pointing out that in a survival situation, the buoyancy available from the amas is significant indeed. Clearly you couldn't really safely use an Island with the amas submerged, but you could keep a few extra people afloat after an emergency