Hobie Island - Solo or Tandem - Questions

Hi all,

I have started eying a Hobie Tandem Island.  I have been reading up on them and they look like a blast.  Most of the info I see is people using them down in Florida or some other fair weather area and would like to get a little more feedback on how people use them around here.  For those that own an adventure (solo) island or tandem island:

1 - Do you only use it for sailing/play, or do you fish it?

2 - If you fish it, do you usually find it easier to just pedal it or will you try to sail it and troll, etc.

3 - Any pictures of how people rig it for fishing would be awesome!

4 - How is using it as just a kayak (no ama's on)?

5 - For those that have a tandem, how is solo sailing or pedaling?

6 - How are people transporting and storing? Trailer? Storage on a trailer?

7 - I know the placard on the hull says only 2 people, but Hobie shows 3+ with someone riding on the tramps.  Have you had more than 2 people on the boat and been hassled?

Thanks!!!

I used to own a solo hobie adventure island. It is a great kayak that I used in salt and freshwater. I only sailed it on the saltwater once and had a blast . . . until I had to tack back to my campsite and it took 8 hours. Sailing is incredibly fun, I reached 25mph, but you need to be extra careful. I mainly used it without the sail and it worked great. With the pontoons it makes it a little awkward for fishing. Mine was virtually unflipable. I accidently took a five minute nap on it in Resurrection Bay. On freshwater I took the pontoons off and the kayak was still pretty stable. I ended up selling it because I do a lot of solo kayaking and it is a bear to move by yourself fully fitted.

Hi Shin09,

I have been having a blast with my TI and am glad to give my impression of the craft.

1. I use it for both!

2. I use the sail when I am covering distance to my fishing spot, then pedal when trolling, casting.  I find the sail to be inconsistent with speed over water when trolling, and too many hands needed to cast and retrieve lures when out solo.

3. Still working on perfecting the rigging, there is a lot of room with a wide variety of rail or ama mounts to pick from.

4.  The TI makes a great tandem yak, and is fast!  Two mirage drives can really get you moving without the amas. It is the fastest kayak in hobies' lineup with two strong peddlers and no amas, 6+ miles per hour.  Stability is good, but it is 30" wide... and I have really gotten to like the stability of an ama when fishing!  With tramps installed there is so much room to work with, crab pots are a snap.

5.  I solo most of the time in my TI, it sails easily solo and is set up to work the lines from either cockpit position.  Peddling, you notice it is a BIG kayak... takes a bit more of a boost to get up to speed, then I can cruise comfortably just under 4 miles per hour. With the daggerboard, tracking is outstanding.

6.  My Ti is on a custom trailer put together by Waxer's in Coos Bay.  It has the Hobie cradles and I use it to transport and store.  It is heavy, and would be a bit of work to wrestle it onto a stand in the garage etc. on a regular basis.  Fully rigged, I am glad to have a good winch on my trailer for loading after a trip!  I do use the scupper hole mount wheels on occasion to launch out of the creek behind my house to access Winchester Bay, there are a couple of steep (but short, thankfully) hills on the way and I would really think about how badly I wanted to drag it on a long trek down a steep trail. 

7.  Crew capacity...  Party boat time!  I have had a maximum of 6 on board with no trouble and still riding high in the water.  (Myself and 5 10-12 year old boys out sailing on Eel Lake)  It still handled well with that load which was right about the rated limit of 600 lbs.  The tramps make a great diving and swimming platform!  Never been hassled... but then again I have been hassled for no reason before... you never know, it really comes down to the LEO on the scene and their decision making process.  I try to always stay on the good side of LEO on the water, and appreciate what they do.  But... they may not understand the nuances of kayaking and the laws can be a bit vague and open to interpretation in our sport.

If you have a family, a TI is a good solid investment all can enjoy...  that is a big part of why I went with one.  I still get lots of solo fishing time in, but can also have company when they want to come pull crab pots, etc!

Glad to answer other questions if they come up

Thanks for the awesome feedback!  I was thinking along the same lines of being able to get somewhere quick under sail power then troll slow with the pedals.

No family yet, but my wife and I go on our paddle yaks quite a bit, having a floating base would be pretty nice (tramps and what not).  Plus hopefully I could get her out fishing too.

Sure,

the dealer I bought from let me take a demo model out on the bay for a trial before I bought.  With that much investment, I was glad to be able to really get a feel for what I was buying.

I have been talking to the dealers around here in PDX. Looks like I could get one if I get more serious about this.  Got to convince the wife it's a good idea....

"I accidently took a five minute nap on it in Resurrection Bay."
LOL Has to read twice to make sure I was reading it right.

if i may...i don`t have one never plan too but ya never know. when i did get my hobies i almost went for a a.i.. .... they are an awesome yak like or more so than any of the hobies. not sure but i believe they are a little quicker , especially sailing, no comparison. i know from one or two that have asked how they like there a.i and was told they are less stable without the ama`s and yet are just fine in the ocean without them. heavy, most use a trailer to haul. the turning radius is big, with the reverse drive`s that maybe a no issue.  revo 13`s...... for the $$ of a a.i you could almost get 2 revo 13`s, any thought on that? take urself and the wife and demo i wonder if u don`t end up with the revo`s.  buy a sail kit and u and the wife could sail too. easier to cartop, most do.

I don't have any input to add to the AI or TI discussion but I just wanted to let you know I just saw Next Adventure had a used AI for sale on Craigslist...
Ok, back to the regularly scheduled programming...

Sent from my SM-G930P using Tapatalk

I was in there yesterday and saw it on display. It's new actually and the price is ridiculous. It's real tempting. I am wanting a tandem though I think if I do this. But that solo is reaaaaaal  tempting

I wasn't in the market for any new Hobies or a kayak when I got my AI from Zee, but glad I did. 

Most of the time I use just the hull without amas or akas to fish from. I usually remove the rear aka brace from behind the seat to gain full use of the tank well and be able to stow my wheel cart back there.  It is a tad tippier than my Revo when used this way, but not an issue. You do sit much lower in the water and get wet butt from it, however again not an issue with a dry suit or warm freshwater. 

Having the option to sail it is wild as hell!  It gets up and goes.  Haven't sailed it in the ocean yet, but its on my bucket list. With the added tramps, crabbing in the bay is a lot easier to do, as I just aim the kayak to straddle the buoy float between the hull and an ama, then grab the float as it drifts under. Then hop out of the seat and kneel on the tramp facing towards the back of the kayak and pull the trap up and flop it into the tank well where I can sort the crab.

Get it and don't look back. Its hell of a lot of fun to sail.  We went salmon fishing at sellwood and wasn't catching anything, so we opened the sails and enjoyed the rest of our day catching the wind in downtown Portland.   I took the AI with 1 ama with the tramp to depoe bay with the square cage style crab traps. Dropped traps and went fishing. After fishing I sat on the tramp and pulled up the traps. 

To me it is the most versatile kayak Hobie has. It peddles fast even with both amas out. I raced Lil Insayn at Depoe against the Revo 13 and kicked his butt.  It is less stable side to side than the Revo13 or Outback, but you can always use the amas.  Carry a butt ton of stuff on the tramps. Sail in lakes, Rivers, or Ocean (still need to try this).  I put the hull and mast on my roof racks. Amas and akas in the bed of the truck with all the fishing gear.

Here is a little taste of sailing on a lake.

Man that looks like a blast! That's really not much wind and looks like it got up and going pretty fast!

We were there too early. Afternoon wind picked up

I have a 2015 AI and it's awesome.  The hull alone is way more stable than the previous models of the addy.  I also have a revo 16 so the direct comparison is legit.  But the trade off is that the newer versions are not realistically car top friendly.  Well over a hundred pounds with no side handles.  Lots more volume than my revo.  It's a really versatile fishing/family fun platform though.

I fish the open ocean often with the one ama configuration.  Great for fishing and as mentioned you can't find a better platform than it for crabbing.

I took my 11 yr old out with me to pick up the pots at PC recently.

Get in touch with DJ at Nestucca Adventures if you are serious about buying one.  He's all about the TI/ AI and sails the ocean frequently.  He may take you out there.