TI solo from the rear seat

I’ve had this 2015 TI since January (used it first Feb 7 in Colorado wearing a dry suit) and have already put a lot of miles on it. It’s been interesting seeing the opinions on the front or back seat when solo sailing and seems a lot of people like the front better. I have settled in on the rear seat and can’t find anything wrong with this position from a sailing perspective and its a lot dryer. I did have to modify the furler to work from the rear seat. I initially had some issue with the rear steering (mechanical) but its resolved and seems to work well now. I also put an outboard motor mount on the TI for a certain application which I got to try out about two weeks ago at Lake Havasu Az, here is some video of that trip

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWkM0BL ... load_owner

One thing I can definitely say about the rear seat is that the TI really makes a fine down wind machine!!

I also made some spray skirts and during the video collapsed an ama with the skirt still attached.. Ouch... turned one side into a "floppy" spray skirt but it still worked fine.

I’m really enjoying this unique boat!!!

Back seat guy..

I like soloing in the rear seat but it doesn't like me! It's just my weight. I can run things just fine from the back if someone else is on with me but solo the bow rises up so high the wind pushes me all over the place and the rudder can't compensate below 3.5-4 MPH. I did manage a reasonable run from the back seat and also found the hull slapped the face of every wave - very annoying!

Adding some ballast up front should do the trick too, of course, but I haven't tried it yet.

What did you modify on the furler? I've always just tied the end of the furling line to the end of the main sheet at whichever position I used and it works just fine. Have to give the line a fairly good upward "pop" at times to get it to uncleat but otherwise no trouble for me.

I kind of wish I'd settle on one seat - front or back - because I'm really tempted to do the 3:1 conversion on the main. Sometimes it gets mighty tough pulling on that rope!

I did the 3to1 conversion of the mainsheet and can operate it from either the front or rear seat. Same with the furling line. I sail from the rear seat 99% of the time and keep a little gear; i.e. cooler, etc, in the front seat which helps trim the boat.

Tom did you just set it up 3:1 for the front seat and make sure the lines are long enough to reach / be used from the rear?

No, you don't need two separate sets of control lines - the same sheet can pass by both seats. I've never understood the Hobie set up for this. It's not necessary. I only have one set of control lines - it is easily accessed from front or rear seat. Passes by both.

Tom, I thought te Hobie manual says that if you go to the 3:1 system, you have to choose which seat the line goes to. Have you fitted a longer mainsheet line?

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

I think one of us is misunderstanding the other... (Not hard for me! )

My guess is that your mainsheet runs to the cleat at the front seat, alongside the furling rope/cleat. Both lines are long enough to be used from the back seat.

That's what I meant by "lines" plural - the mainsheet and furling line.

Joe, it might be a three way misunderstanding! Tom had mentioned that he had converted his mainsheet system to 3 to 1 and could still operate it from either seat, but my understanding is that the standard mainsheet is not long enough to reach both cleats while offering 3 to 1 reduction ratio. I didn't take your comments to mean that you thought there were two separate mainsheets, just a cleat for each end.

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

Doh! I just realized what Tom (probably) meant. Amazing what a little sleep will do for my befuddled mind...

The mainsheet is long enough to do the 3:1 and be used from the front seat. Which means it runs *right past* the rear seat - of course! So, if you want to use the rear seat simply remove the sheet from the front cleat / turning block then thread it through the rear turning block / cleat. Reverse to move back to the front.

Simple!

Im a little over 200 pounds. I got the TI thinking my wife would go out with me more.. well.. she will eventually go making it all worth while but 99% of the time I will be going solo. I also dont really mind, still very much enjoy sailing by myself. The AI is probably better balanced for just one person but Im becoming real comfortable sailing from the rear. That rear position does handle down wind in big swell very well. I had done the same down wind run in that video on my AI and the front hatch was underwater half the time..

Im used to the old AI (what do we call it now.. Classic AI?) and the sail sheet was easier to control but I think that is partly just because it is a smaller sail. Regardless.. I have messed with the control. I got some ideas here for the rear furler control viewtopic.php?f=69&t=37136&p=163258&hilit=rear+furling#p163258

and then modfied it a little for the blocks I had on hand. I have also moved both the furler cleat and the sheet cleat back a little trying to both get them a little closer to me and also improve the drag from bad angles. I also had somewhat of a hard time releasing the main sheet from the cleat mounted on the cross bar. The new furler cleat position works very well. The sheet mostly works well but if I have a water bottle on the holder, its a little in the way of trying to cleat the sheet but still easy to manage (and why the cleat is raised a little). I can still furl from the front by rigging the original line (all the original cleats are still in place) but I cant have it set up to furl from the front and back at the same time.

I did the 3:1 conversion on my TI this afternoon before heading for the lake. A remarkably quick and easy change, and it'd be a piece of cake to run the sheet through whichever block and cleat I wanted to use - even on the water if I just gotta switch mid-sail.

My right hand greatly appreciated the easier effort, especially as the wind built up! (Darn weather guys... YET AGAIN they forecast a 10-11 MPH day - nice and easy. At least the wind didn't DIE this time - but whitecapping was a bit more than I had planned on!)