Hobie Cat Forums

The aka support is only bolted to the top of the hull. The mast goes through the aka support, and down into the mast base support structure inside the hull. Think about it, where is all the drive force applied on any sailboat? The mast, of course.

- Jim L

The aka brace is attached to the bottom of the hull because it is bolted to the V-brace.

I wouldn't tie to the mast to tow. I'd remove the mast when towing. It doesn't need to be slapping around up there.

I am sure both securing positions would work a treat. I personally would leave the mast in place simply because it shouldn't do any harm being there unless the windage factor drives in into the back of the towing boat under bare poll though you probably should have reconcidered the whole venture if the wind is blowing that hard. The mast and sail shouldn't get damaged whilst under town in its rightful keeper and you dont have to store it anywhere else less convenient on the towing vessel...Pirate

When pedaling through boat wakes with the sail furled the other day, my mast was slapping around quite a bit. I tightened the mainsheet to make it stop. (My mainsheet usually is held down on the port side on a little hook, keeping it out of my way.) I would make sure mainsheet and furling line are tight if towing mast-up.

I agree with you Tom after being out in on a wild lake yesterday and whilst completly furled at some time, I found there was quite a bit of 'slapping around' going on. It would be wise to use the main sheet to tension the rig and so stop the movement when being towed...Pirate

All good suggestions guys, thanks.

Note to Pirate & MM. I was on the Cunningham Arm on Friday night for a few hours. Great weather. Got approached by a bloke from Lakes who was watching with interest. He was picking his AI up Saturday.

That makes 5...

Dave

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Hobie Adventure Island's - Papaya & Hibiscus - I couldn't make up my mind so like I usually end up doing with lures I bought both and hid the credit card statement

As Colonel Klink would say -
(I think Maxwell Smart said something similar)
Do you know which dealer he bought it from?
I assume he is a local - so that means our little club is growing fast.
Given that we live in the largest inland waterway in the southern hemisphere, I'm not surprised and don't think we've seen anything yet.
As someone used to say (was it Bud Abbott???) "Hey, you ain't seen nothin' yet"
I know every time we go out we seem to gather a small group of interested onlookers who want to know more about it.

Mickey

Tried rafting the AI to the side of my little houseboat today.
It worked OK running a line from the front support and the rear support.
However I could not get it to track straight - it is running at an angle towards the houseboat hull and makes slight contact at the forward tip of the ama. I found a fender secured as far forward as possible to the side of the ama will fix this. I think I may be able to improve the tracking by using a larger fender which will help to compensate for the weird angle that the amas are set at when folded in.
At this stage I haven't tried rafting it with the amas extended as it will significantly increase my beam. That's not a big deal so maybe I should try that. It will certainly fix the tracking problem and have the additional benefit of making the AI more stable and therefore better suited to travelling with the mast raised.
I had decided that if I was going to keep the amas in, it would be better to lower the mast and secure it to the AI.

I know I could simply tow it but that creates a number of problems not dissimilar to towing a trailer and can be a real pain when you want to land somewhere.




Mickey

Ok - I have finally taken the AI out completely rigged and rafted alongside my little houseboat.
Basicaslly I used JimL's configuration.
Here's some photos:




I towed it like this for two days over a distance of 60 kms.
It worked OK but takes a bit of a battering in heavy wash etc.

In future I plan to prepare my ropes in a similar fashion that will easily and quickly enable me to raft it alongside the boat. However when I am cruising in open water, I plan on simply towing it behind as I believe this will be a lot less stressful for the AI. In addition, I think I will remove the mirage drive. I also found it necessary to have the rudder secured with the bungy - thereby avoiding it dropping down into the water. FYI my houseboat cruises at a speed that approximates the AI going at maximum sprint with turbo fins.

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Mickey
2011 AI Golden Papaya
2011 TI Golden Papaya

I forgot to mention that after two days of towing the AI alongside the boat there was virtually NO WATER INSIDE THE HULL!!!
I must say I was truly surprised - but pleased

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Mickey
2011 AI Golden Papaya
2011 TI Golden Papaya

Mickey, have you got your GPS yet and if so, is that magnifier thingy any good?

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I know it sounds unbelievable, but after more than a month since I purchased it from Anaconda Penrith, I am still waiting for it!!
I rang the store manager as recently as yesterday and he assured me that their order from Garmin would be arriving within the next day or two. I have previously rung every week or so. Fortunately I have downloaded and installed free Garmin compatible maps into my old Street Pilot - which will get me by for our trip to NZ soon.
This has certainly been a bad experience and reflects very poorly on Anaconda
Chris, I'll let you know about the magnifyer when I get this thing

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Mickey
2011 AI Golden Papaya
2011 TI Golden Papaya

A 150 cm boom with a turning block attached laid out to the side from the bow would be a great asset to tow off Mickey, and you could give the AI more bow rope allowing it tow behind the houseboat when underway. When approaching land, simply retrieve some of the bow line so the AI is nicely beside the hull, not behind it making it easier to dock.
I feel sure your metal man up the road could come up with a removable boom arrangement made out of stainless....Pirate

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Master of the galleon 'Pirates Lot'

Maybe if I did it often enough this might be worth rigging up - but it's actually simple to stop prior to docking and manually shorten the tow rope which will extend rearwards from the bow. I plan on having another shortish rope tied to the AI from the stern aka support that will function as a means of drag whilst towing, and be used to secure it to the stern of the houseboat when I raft it.

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Mickey
2011 AI Golden Papaya
2011 TI Golden Papaya

It's an older post but I'll share our success with towing both of our '09 AIs from the stern of our 26' Hunter(sailboat). I always keep a stout bow line on the AIs that I'll run through a SS shackle on the AI bow and back to the Mast/aka cross brace. Using the bow line we'll pull them about 6kts with the drive well blank in place, the centerboard and drive out and rudder up . Occasionally I'll run with the mast out & tramps rolled up if I'm traveling more than 20mi.

If you ease out the tow line about 15-18' so the boat rides on the face of the stern swell they'll track like they're on a rail. Our boat is beamy enough so we can tow both AIs side by side even with the akas fully extended. Inclement weather could cause complications but every captain will need to readjust his eqt and agenda to allow for safety in prevailing conditions.

Here's a pic from a weekend raftup last season with Kelli guarding them from a few other sailors who were all wanting one of their own.

Fairwinds, Mike and kelli

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Sarasota, Fl
s/v BonaFide