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 Post subject: Finally!
PostPosted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 10:15 am 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 11:11 am
Posts: 17
Location: Muskoka, Ontario, CA
Hi all, you are now reading a post from a very proud and new tandem island owner. I can"t say enough of good things about this boat and I have many trips to start planning. I bought a 2011 model and have a new sail, new mirage drives, new paddles, new seats and tramps. With the new mirage drives I had to cut the alignment pins of the one set and the other set is a different model and I was able to push the pin out. I have lots of mods to do after spending numerous hours on this forum and so far I'm planning on the double bungee, third aka, low friction line, gudgeon mod, extending the furling line for rear seat sailing and tiller extension.

I've been out six times and have noticed a few things that I want to share. When sailing upwind it seems that you can point better with the drives in the vertical postion rather than up against the hull. I have a wind finder on the top of my mast and it has been a great addition. So far I've had the boat hit a little over 9mph and it's been a blast and my four year old daughter can second that :) The efficiency of the mirage drives is amazing and I'm constantly asked about them because they aren't very common where I live. On that note, I live in Muskoka which is in Ontario, Canada and very close to the 30,000 island area of Georgian Bay where most of my trips will be. So that's basically it and I hope to help on this forum but I do have a question. Is there a rigging manual? The steering line has been twisted around the pull up line a couple of times and I wondering the best way to solve it.

Adam


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 Post subject: Re: Finally!
PostPosted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 11:23 am 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Tue Jun 19, 2007 6:14 pm
Posts: 3323
Location: South Florida
Sounds like you are doing great, Adam. Fusioneng is the "expert" on internal Tandem lines and problems.

So it is easy for us to see where you are, please add "Muskoka, Ontario, CA" to your profile in "location." It will show up in the side bar under your forum name.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon


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 Post subject: Re: Finally!
PostPosted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 7:54 pm 
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Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Sun May 04, 2014 11:08 am
Posts: 89
Location: Rochester NY
Congratulations on your purchase, you and your daughter will love the boat. I also bring my daughter along and so far she loves it, shes 10, lets see what happens when she becomes a teenager (wanting to hang with her friends instead of poor ol dad).

I live in Rochester and I sail on Lake Ontario, so I am guessing we are in the same boat, get out and sail while you can because winter is always coming.....


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 Post subject: Re: Finally!
PostPosted: Thu Jul 03, 2014 8:33 pm 
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Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
Posts: 3058
Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
Adam:
It's a small world, fellow Canadian expat here from Toronto originally, and my wives parents were French Canadian from Montreal, we still have relatives up there that we visit when we can. I know the area and spent many summers at Severn Falls growing up (right near you) absolutely beautiful area. (I swear there's more Canadian expats here in Sarasota, Florida, than any other group). My story is I started out in Canada , 'way too cold', moved to Minneapolis, still too cold, then moved to Wisconsin/ Illinois border, ' still too cold', now I live in South Florida 'just right'.

Typically the rudder up line is supposed to stay taught, with no sagging, and whether the rudder is up or down it should snap all the way in every time, if not then it is catching someplace and snagging. It's actually two lines next to each other (one bungy and one rope tied together to make the tension, if they are hanging up anywhere (probably on the flotation foam inside the hull near the rod holders) then the line is allowed to sag, once the up line starts to sag and wander around inside the hull it gets tangled up in the rudder mechanism, and anything else that may be inside the hull (the main culprit for binding is usually the flotation foam inside the hull wandering around, (or a lost tennis shoe).

Other than that (lines and stuff getting caught up in the mechanisms) , the rudder control lines and rudder system in the TI is pretty rock solid. There are basically to lines, (both steering controls are attached to one of the lines) with very heavy line (1000 lb test), that should never give you problems. There is a return pulley up at the very front (about a foot or so in front of the forward steering control), I have had problems in the past with that pulley twisting the lines on themselves way up there near the front but that was on my first TI back in early 2010, and I think they have improved the design to prevent that from happening now.
Near the rearmost hatch there are a couple guides that hold the steering cables up and tight against the underside of the deck (on each side of the rear hatch (inside the hull), check to make sure the lines are not twisted into each other back there also. Make sure those lines stay in those guides (they get knocked loose from the guides sometimes when loading gear), this can affect steering, and also can cause water to come in the rudder guide tubes (If the tubes aren't strapped up against the underside of the deck, water can come in).

Actually I have a lot more trouble with the rudder down line on the right side of the boat, the down line is a double purchase (2/1 ratio) and there is a pulley just behind the front pull down lever that constantly gets spun around on itself tangling the down rope around itself until the down line just doesn't pull the rudder down any longer. You know this is happening when you release the rudder down line from the cleat and the line doesn't return into the hull . I have to untangle mine every few weeks. One of the results of this is you pull the line tight then cleat it thinking the rudder is tight down in the back of the boat. But if you go back and try and lift the rudder it is still loose, this makes the steering very difficult and hard to turn the rudder when the rudder is not down and locked tight. You actually have to pull that down line tighter than you would think, then cleat it in order for the rudder to operate easily.
Actually I often pull the rudder down and lock it, then just for piece of mind go back to the back of the boat and try to lift it (I guess I'm gun shy now).
Another thing that can cause steering issues is if the rudder steering lines are too tight, this puts strain on everything, Most of us have placed stainless washers under the screws back on the rudder (where you adjust the rudder lines), the washers give you more gripping surface, and also prevents shredding the rudder lines.
I suspect 9 out 10 of the rudder problems we have seen people complaining about really hard steering, are the result of them not cleating the rudder down strong enough, or not at all in some cases.
Hope this helps (sorry for the rambling)
Bob


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 Post subject: Re: Finally!
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 12:06 am 
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Joined: Sat Nov 05, 2011 1:58 am
Posts: 2893
Location: Forster, NSW, Australia
No apology needed at all Bob, you have given more detail than I knew, and I am sure I am not alone. I plan to check my up/down lines first thing tomorrow!

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


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 Post subject: Re: Finally!
PostPosted: Fri Jul 04, 2014 5:50 am 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 11:11 am
Posts: 17
Location: Muskoka, Ontario, CA
Thanks Bob, the rumours are true that you are an expert and you're right about sailing when I can. Probably 3 months of good sailing before the water gets to cold but obvioiusly it"s weather dependent, fingers crossed. I had a look again last night and the lines are twisted at the back before the plastic guides around the pull up line. Also I should note that the pull up line doesn't retract the rudder all the way (only a little past horizontal), but works perfectly for down and stays down. I plan on having a few cold drinks tonight and take another look.
Thanks again and it's always nice to hear from a fellow Canadian and a happy 4th of July to everyone.
Adam


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 Post subject: Re: Finally!
PostPosted: Wed Jul 09, 2014 10:07 pm 
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Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Mon Mar 26, 2012 10:37 pm
Posts: 95
Location: Puget Sound, Washington USA
Adam,

Enjoy the TI! I drool over maps of Georgian Bay. Someday perhaps.



Bob,

Thank you for that excellent summary of internal lines and their care. Have not had problems yet, but I now I know more about how to avoid them.

Brian


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 Post subject: Re: Finally!
PostPosted: Thu Jul 10, 2014 9:40 am 
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Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Thu Mar 29, 2012 11:11 am
Posts: 17
Location: Muskoka, Ontario, CA
Thanks Brian, it's sure to be an adventure sailing around out there. Bob you were indeed right about the forward pulley, it was wrapped around once. The steering line was also twisted around the pull up line several times at the back so I had to untie at the splice and untwist. Everything is back together now and working great but for some reason I'm not getting full right rudder now, any suggestions? I'll do a quick seach on the forum as well.
Adam


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