How well does TI point?

How high does the TI point? What is the closest angle off the wind you can sail it?

Does adding a jib improve its pointing ability?

What is the fastest point of sail and how fast can it reliably go in 10 knot winds, for instance?

The TI doesn't point as well as some other sail boats, but points enough.
The mirage drives are so efficient, it isn't so important.

A jib does improve pointing, have a look at some articles by FusionEng.

As for most sail boats, a narrow reach seems to be fastest. In 10 knots
I would comfortably do something like 4 or 5 knots. Others sail faster
but I tend to reef earlier and don't bury the amas, especially when out
with the Mrs.

If you want the fastest sailing boat around get something like the Corsair Dash
below. If you are looking for the best value and most versatile cruising craft,
look at a TI. And no, I'm not connected to Hobie, just another happy TI owner.

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Cheers, Brian in South Australia
Tandem Island -

matthewwhill:
I totally missed your post the first time thru. I'm probably one of the biggest TI fans out there, and have owned three of them now since 2010, I'm out there every single weekend pedaling/sailing my TI at least ten to fifteen miles every week all year round (pedaling my TI is my exercise program).
You can follow my escapades by reading thru The ultimate Tandem Island (hydrofoils, Spinnaker, jib, etc) thread : viewtopic.php?f=69&t=33720

If you do a search on google for 'Tandem Island' you will find a gazzilian youtube videos of people using their TI's.

I think the main selling point on the boat is that it is not just a sailboat (like a sunfish, laser, or hobie cat), and it's not just a kayak with a sail on it. The boat is in my opinion the best family boat on the market today and can be used for anything you can possibly imagine, it's truly an SUV for the water.
One saying about the TI is : "There are no conditions you can't take your TI out and have a good time, no winds, no problem, high winds, no problem. On top of everything else it is the ultimate off shore fishing platform, there is nothing on the market or on the drawing boards that can hold a candle to the TI.
I don't want to bore you with details, so I'll get right to your answers.

How close can you point to the wind:
That's a complicated answer because the TI has the mirage pedal drives, the pedal drives give the TI an edge over pretty much anything out there. I will answer on 4 different variations of the TI.
1. Stock TI straight out of the factory with no mods, and mirage drives removed. Typically you can point about 40-45 degrees off the wind and still make good headway. (about .4 to .5 times wind speed average)
2. Stock TI with mirage drives installed and being pedaled. If you pedal the boat goes faster, and is able to point to 30-35 degrees off the wind and still make pretty good headway (typically about 2 mph faster than without the mirage drives, if you have two people pedaling 4mph faster) (about .5 to .6 times windspeed (higher with two strong peddlers))
3. TI equipped with jib, and being pedaled. You can point 20-30 degrees off the wind (closer if you pedal faster), (about .6 to .7 windspeed), however if you stop pedaling the boat will round up into the wind and stop. (very close to a lasers capability wise upwind as long as your willing to pedal some)
4. TI equipped with wing jib, being pedaled, and hybrid propulsion (basically my TI). I can point 5-10 degrees off the wind. In low winds (4-6mph) my TI sails 1.5 to 2.0 times windspeed (BTW that's almost directly into the wind).
Here is a video of my TI sailing almost directly into the wind at 2x windspeed
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1OjgyqBsXk
[youtube2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a1OjgyqBsXk[/youtube2]

Basically you can use these boats for anything you can imagine, and modify them till the cows come home (most everybody does modify their boats to suit the things they like to use the boats for (ie.. fish finders, haka's, trampolines, fishing gear, motors, extra sails, etc). Heck we take ours out all the time with 3-4 adults on board and go snorkeling just off shore down in Key West, we even scuba dive off of our TI all the time.
We love ours and are out on it every weekend having a blast.

Hope this helps
Bob

Matthew, according to my GPS plotter, a TI has a minimum tacking angle of 95-100 degrees without tidal influence. Of course you can tighten the angle slightly by pedalling, and I often prolong the tack by pedalling directly upwind rather than immediately falling onto the other tack. This gains height "for free". Remember that "pointing angle" means nothing compared to "course made good", which takes leeway into account. Hence my reference to GPS plotting, which is the true course made good.

While fusioneng and others have added a jib and/or other complications, the vast majority of TI (and AI) owners are entirely happy with the standard single boomless sail for its simplicity, and ability to be furled to still work well in much stronger winds (the fastest I have ever gone was with half the sail area furled!). Fastest point of sail is a close reach, although of course, in swells it is possible to intermittently gain speed down the face of the waves. I have seen 10 knots momentarily.. Downwind in flat water, I have seen about 9 knots, but at that speed, the bow is under water back to the mast, and the front cockpit is mostly full of water...

As for the speed attainable in 10 knots of wind, I have not measured it, as speed is very much dependant on surface smoothness. I tend to find it possible to average about 4 1/2 knots on 20+ mile trips (involving different points of sail), without busting a gut pedalling frantically.

The Hobie Islands truly are the SUVs of the sea, and there is nothing else on the market with the versatility. If you really do have a need for speed, there are other choices available (such as Triyak and Weta etc) but Tom Kirkman here owns all three, and prefers the all round handiness of the Hobie Island.

Go for it, you won't be disappointed in the least!

_________________
Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

I can get within 50 degrees of the wind without pedaling. If I pedal, even slowly, I can get closer to 45. Pedaling more quickly, I can get to 40. That's all because of the fact that the drive unit creates more apparent wind across the sail allowing you to get closer and closer to the true wind.

Now you can pedal directly into the true wind, but the sail won't be aiding you at that point, nor even anything close to it. But the drive unit really does give you a leg up on anything else if you want take the most direct route to your destination.

10 knots of wind (11.8 MPH I think) is enough to move the Island boats at a brisk clip. And they'll handle a lot more. The only poor point of sail for this boat, in my opinion, is dead downwind. There's only so much you can do with a boomless sail. Typically I try to sail at some angle downwind, finding it faster even though I travel further. Velocity Made Good is the term sailors use. A Weta won't sail DDW either, although it does have an asymetrical spinnaker that allows for some spirited speeds at reasonable downwind sailing angles.

A beam reach is the fastest point of sail on the Islands, with close hauled next in line. Running on any point downwind is slower because of that boomless sail. In that direction it's just a "bag" catching whatever wind it can. Some here have rigged barber haulers, and slotted their paddles to help hold the sail clew further out. No doubt these help.

What kind of sailing are you planning on doing?

"The Hobie Islands truly are the SUVs of the sea, and there is nothing else on the market with the versatility. If you really do have a need for speed, there are other choices available (such as Triyak and Weta etc) but Tom Kirkman here owns all three, and prefers the all round handiness of the Hobie Island."

..........


I can't argue with that. Although the Islands are not the best at any one thing, they are very good at most everything, making them the most capable all around small sailboats out there. You seem to concerned with speed, so here are three short videos that compare speed, or the sensation of speed relative to the boat sizes.

Weta: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zuI8fr69lg

Windrider 17: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5hQ0xvpQqM

Adventure Island: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFKxn4bBJdg

And... the Islands can be set up and launched, or landed and retired, in about 1/4 the time of either of the others.

It doesn't point that well. I would say 80 degrees of the wind is about a tight as you would want to go. It will round up if you pinch closer than that. It's really meant for broad reaching as an assist to peddling.

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2007 AI - starting to fall apart