I am curious about adding a sail to my new to me kayak but would like to see it it might be worth the expense.
This in preparation to possibly make the jump to an adventure Island someday. Sadly they have announced that they will no longer make the single seat version and that makes me sad a little.
How many of you have sailed your kayak?
Who has taken the leap to an Adventure Island and do you have any regrets or advice?
Thanks in advance.
I hope there are a few left to reply.
RoxnDox:
I have done a bit of sailing in my Native Slayer 13. There is no factory sail rig for it, so I made my own. Version 3 sorta worked ok, but it still needs a lot of tweaking. From what I have watched on YouTube, youse guys with Hobies have a much better option that works nicely.
Shin09:
I have the Tandem Island and for sure it is a unique but extremely versatile boat. It is easy to sail, even if you are a novice. While not the fastest boat out there, it scratches my sailing itch while also providing an excellent multi purpose platform for pedaling, fishing, and just hanging out. They are great for being a multi purpose vessel, but if you are looking for an sailing experience similar to a monohull dinghy (laser, sunfish, etc) or a full blown catamaran (Hobie 16, etc), the AI/TI won't be fulfilling. Its more of a cruiser, its not nearly as physically challenging as sailing those other boats either.
Unless you know 100% for sure that you will never ever have anyone come with you, get the Tandem. While it is slightly heavier, you really want a trailer with either boat (you can cartop an AI, but it looks like a total pain). On the water, the TI is easy to handle single handed and I would say I single hand it 75% of the time.
IIf you are in Oregon, I believe West Coast sailing still does a demos of the TI if you are serious about getting one.
RoxnDox:
Adventure
Tandem
Shin09:
Although I have not used the sail kit on the regular hobie kayaks, all the videos I have watched of it look like its something you would use to just dink around for fun near shore. If you are trying to cover ground with it I think you would be disappointed as it seems like you can pedal faster than the sail will push you.