Hobie Cat Forums

We credit the Polynesians.

It is probably non-PC to say "Screw the supermodels", but I would rather see THIS any day! This was inspired by kbob's winning photo
http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=cq ... gdata_plaJ
I reckon this has got to be one of the all-time great vids around! That dog really controls the boards!

OK folks, so as I mentioned, Kayaking Bob accepted our invitation to come to Oahu recently to see what the TI3 buzz was all about. Bob is Hawaii's Hobie Guru. We've looked forward to sailing with him and having someone of his calibre evaluate our little TI3 experiment and other secret projects.


(It also was a crafty way to have a few pairs of sprayskirts delivered and installed free )


We started off reviewing the TI3 structural mods and some of the recent tweaks we did to the front crossbar, sheet and furling systems. (The boys all wore our best puka-puka shirts for this work).


Recent work included replacing the crossbar and resolving this mast contact issue (V-brace adjustment)


Installing extreme angle fairleads (to improve sheeting from the Hakas)


and experimenting with a raised cheekblock in front of the furling line. Cool huh?


Yes -it's a "one of a kind" solution that only a mother could love, but it has been completely successful in easing those nasty furling issues most people experience with the TI. I recall Bob complaining about this too...

The plan was to replace this prototype with a starport-mounted block, but I think we're going to just spray this pimple red and keep sailing.

We also "Railblazed" the TI3 Akas to hold a variety of new toys (fishing rods, cameras, electronics, adult beverages).





After all that hotrodding, the "finishing" touch was adding KBob sprayskirts, installed by the creator himself.


I gotta say, they look and fit much better than I imagined from their pictures. Real quality items.
After my last high-speed snorkel ride, I couldn't wait to try them out!


We sailed the TI3 close to the Honolulu Airport Runway, and we got some real speed up as the day went on and winds started topping 20mph.

I believe they increased speed marginally by reducing drag. Another nice perk- they allowed us to operate in "Stealth" mode, confusing the local authorities.


The skirts kept me nice and dry in the front and on the Hakas too. (Well, "drier" would be more accurate - wait for the picts).


I'll have to grab some video frames to show Bob and I riding the windward Hakas and later I will post shots of us testing the rear-only Ama position, that we call "Sidekick mode". There seems to be quite a bit of interest in this.


Over the week, we shared some great Oahu weather and great sail days on both the TI3 and hybrid Batboat. Back at the Batcave, during happy hour, we rehydrated and reviewed the reams of HD footage we captured. Dee (Mrs. KBob) cooked for us - another great perk.

Bob can fill some of the blanks and give his impressions of the TI3 when he has time. Meanwhile, I will gather some shots and clips of our supermodel sails.

Aloha - and Stay Tuned.

The TI3 may not sail "faster than the wind" but it's about as fast as a TI can go, when you ride out on the double Hakas.

Kayaking Bob and I had the chance to experience this on our tandem TI3 test sails. I hope he has time before his trip to share his experience.

Here's some of the fun action shots from that videos that day, showing a few of the possible seating combinations. Bob got the hang of things fast.






The trick, as many Haka users have learned, is to balance the hull and rudder at speed, raise the Amas, raise the bow, and wring some extra lift out of the fully loaded sail.

Most of the time, one person hiking out will keep the boat well trimmed, but on a reach in gusts, it takes 2 to keep her level.





We also sailed in the "missionary position" at times, for comparison. The Hobie came up to speed well, but once the Amas buried, the "speed limiter" effect was obvious.

In any case, it's an improvement to be able to move around freely on the boat, adapt quickly to changing conditions and try some new tricks.




Bob had the tiller much of the day and I picked up a few new tricks from him.

I'm not sure what our GPS tracks that day reveal, but to my senses, it felt as though we were traveleing a couple knots faster, for longer times and still enjoyed a very civilized ride, while reaching the limits of the boat. The new spray skirts made it even better.




On our 2nd run, we transferred the whole stock Ama setup to the rear Aka set and ran the TI3 in what we call "Super Sidekick" mode. We'll share those results with you later.

Here's a clip of Capt Kayaking Bob, bringing the TI3 up to ramming speed...using the infamous NOHUHU as ballast. (Available in HD)



Average speed this day was ~6 mph with top speeds of 10-14 mph. This turned into an 10 mph run,

Great pics and video clip Nohuhu.
Looks like Bob's hanging on for dear life!
The boat is beautifully balanced and travelling very fast. What a difference the haka make!

Thanks Chum. And there's a quality to the ride you have to feel to really appreciate.

Bob was at the tiller, exceeding the "no-wake" limit most of the time.

As far as stats - Bob has the GPS tracks somewhere,..

Looks like another great run with the TI3.

We are some of the luckiest people in the world able to get out and sail these fun boats in some of the most beautiful places in the world. I'm having my morning coffee and getting ready to head out for a day of sailing myself. Stoked after watching this video and looking at the pictures.

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Jim

CaptainChaos, you are so right! Today I took a friend's 21yo daughter out for her very first sail, on my TI.

Her mum spent her youth on the lake here as the daughter of a fisherman, but they had lived most of the last 20 years overseas on an island in New Zealand, so she had no real affinity with this place other than the stories she had been told.

They plan to buy a TI when a family estate is settled, but we thought it would be good to give her a taste of what lies ahead, so I took her out on the lake. The wind was not particularly cooperative, and I reckon we actually pedalled for about 75% of the time it took to cover about 20 miles, but made up to five knots under sail on occasion to give her the idea, and I started her out on learning to sail 101.

But the very best thing was that she "got it", and I soon heard her enthusing about how she was watching a cormorant with a big fish, the dolphins plus babies who changed direction to accompany us for half an hour, and pointing out the numerous sandy beaches on uninhabited islands where she could picnic in the future. The beauty of the lake her mum grew up on was now more than just words.

Importantly I took her to the local dinghy sailing club (to drop the hint that she would be able to meet people her own age there, especially if she turned up sailing her own TI (LOL), and she was even impressed to see the five foot lizard sunning itself (on cue!) under a palm tree next to the club-house.

I am now confident that she can see a pretty good life around here when they move back, and that having a TI will make her a lot of friends (especially when she becomes a very competent sailor LOL)

If you check the photos carefully, you can see the a couple variations of the RAILBLAZA Aka-mounted Camera Booms and Extensions used for this shoot.

Nice to have your hands and eyes free to concentrate on sailing.

Check out the TI3 GPS tracks from KBob's test sails.

Double Haka Mode (Avg Speed: 5 mph Max Speed: 9.7 mph)
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/209885976

Super Sidekick Mode (Avg Speed: 5.8 mph Max Speed: 14.2 mph)
http://connect.garmin.com/activity/209886291

Love the mystery pic, amaless. I am in the SF bay area and I think I know where you are going with this. With constant strong winds it would be great to have a larger centerboard that would fit in the drive slot. Shape it like a slim curved fin on a surfboard to get it in the slot so that the tandem would point higher. Never thought to turn it into a mini keel with weight...unfortunately this is just in my head. Awesome stuff you are doing.

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Wile-E-Kayak

San Jose, California
TI - AUG- 2010

This stuff is very awesome Nohuhu. I have read through this thread and the haka thread multiple times now. I should be building a set of hakas this weekend. I am doing some additional mods as well.

Question for you on the camcleats.

I am torn between a swivel base w/bullseye or the extreme angle base to replace the stock 150 on the front aka for mainsheet control from the akas.

Obviously I would love for you to tell me the extremes work great from either side as the swivel bases cost roughly $50 more than the extremes.

One other question. I don't have much sailing time logged on my TI yet and have yet to experience issues with the furling line, I'd like to be proactive if possible. I see your cheek block solution there (not sure of the exact issue) but was wondering if you couldn't just mount the extreme angle backwards to fix the issue?

Anyhow, thanks for any info and all of your contributions to the TI community!

Jay

_________________
President - GCKFA

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Thanks for the + feedback, Jay.

The boat is still rigged for 2 man sheeting, so the fairlead really helps from the higher side angle of the Hakas. I still need really good gloves! An angle wedge would not hurt either for locking the line but it's too much to add as it could all overpower the mounting points. The extreme angle fairlead requires a much longer screw going through a thin, round wall of Aka aluminum. For a shorter camcleat, a wedge is fine.

I would love to see a swivel cleat tried instead. We had one, but it would have required new holes and possibly a new baseplate. So we tried the new "exit" fairlead on the existing cleat, which works well. I would recommend it for any AI/TI where Hakas are used. But a swivel cleat would be amazing - so give it a whirl!

The furling line has an existing "entry" fairlead designed to take line on or off the AI drum smoothly, but it's not right for the TI sail in heavy wind. As expressed by others here.

So the raised cheek block is a temporary work in progress, to find a solution. It took awhile, but once it was tweaked just right, it worked great from the front or the back.

I would suggest doing the easy sheeting line mod (or swivel cleat) and holding off on the furling line work, until you have experienced it for yourself..