wiseleyb:
We have our TI hardened for offshore use, and I made a short video describing some of the mods I did to help the boat survive offshore a little better (the TI from the factory only has a CE 'D' rating and is not certified for offshore use). The main necessary mod is converting the bungy's to double redundant bungy's so if one bungy fails the second bungy will still hold the AMA's on, you also need to be able to prevent the AMA's from folding while out in the ocean. In addition to the double bungy I also added a piece of spectra string to the bungy so the AMA can only drop an inch or so before bottoming out. The spectra string is the same grey thin line they use for steering on all Hobie kayaks and can be picked up at any Hobie dealer or from places like Austin Kayak mail order (
http://www.austinkayak.com/products/632 ... ?k=spectra rudd ). the stuff is 700 lbs test and costs about $.30 cents a foot typically, the stuff is very useful and I use it for everything, however you mostly need to use cinch type knots to hold it (the stuff is very slippery).
I belong to the Watertribe (
www.watertribe.com) and they have similar races, last year I think there were about a dozen AI/TI's entered in the everglades challenge 300 mile race from Ft Desoto to Key Largo, and I believe the Hobie Adventure boats did well.
I looked at the Race to Alaska web site, but didn't see any different classifications for different types of crafts, it would be nice if they had a class for experimental electric or specialty hybrid propulsion systems (like mine).
Here is the video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BcdE0137Xk[youtube2]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BcdE0137Xk[/youtube2]
Hope this gives you some ideas, I'm Jealous about that race, it sounds like a blast, but I'm pretty sure it would be way beyond my own capabilities.
Bob
Login
Register
FAQ
