I got my Island last week-end (5:00PM on Sunday) so this week-end was the first opportunity to get on the warter!
Unfortunately, the wind didn't show up so it was a very leisurely day on the water. Here is a picture of my son beaching the boat on the Columbia.
The boat behaves beautifully. It is rock stable as can be expected with the large amas. The boat is very easy to set up prior to launching, and there's lots of room to store "stuff" (but you need to make sure your bags are not too small or they'll move around and get lodge in places where it may be difficult to retrieve them.
The large rudder is amazingly efficient and I was surprised at how easily the boat turned despite the three hulls! One thing I noticed was that at certain speeds, the rudder vibrates, and this gets transmitted to the cables that run inside the hull to the controls. The vibration of the cables against the plastic is annoying, and I'll have to place some small pieces of foam to prevent the noise.
The furling main is great. It's very easy to furl and unfurl as you launch or get back to shore, or when the wind dies. And if you forget to unhook the line that keeps the sail rolled, you can simply stand up in the yak and unhook it! I'll try to rig a line going between the two amas right behind the seat so that I can move the sheeting angle out when going downwind.
The boat moves very easily in the water probably due to the narrow hull (compared to my son's Mirage). Yet the "throw" of the pedal is still the same (i.e. quite short for my 6'2" frame), and I'll be glad to get the turbo fins, so that I don't feel that I have to pump at such a high rate.
The one thing that feels like a backward step from the older boar is the new seat. The support is lower than in the old seats, and I had a back ache at the end of the day. I just got a new seat for my son's Mirage after I busted the stitching on his old one. I think I'll try and get the old one repaired if only to confirm my impression that the old design was better. Has anyone else had the same experience?
I had been concerned that the rudder control would be awkward as it isn't in a fore-aft poition when the boat goes straight, but I didn't have any problem adjusting to it. I love the many storage compartments too!