Tool the new adventure island out!

So the new AI arrived! I put it together and rushed right out to a lake to take it for a spin.

Its easy to sail! I have never sailed. But it's pretty much a no brainer with this thing. The wind was pretty mild though so maybe it will get a little sportier when I try bigger winds. I'm guessing today the winds were 5-7 mph. And on a lake that is enough to get you going at a good clip!

Pedaling it was awesome too. It feels so much sleeker and faster than the outback. Course I had to remind myself that I was in a lake and most of the time I'm in the saltwater and currents with the outback.

Couple of things I don't like.

Your butt sits In a puddle of water. That's a serious design flaw. That might fly in Hawaii but in Alaska that's not cool. My "area" feels like i have an icepack on it still and i got off the lake 2 hours ago. First mod will be getting a seat to sit above that water.

Next is that its huge. I'm trailering it. It's heavy and awkward. You have to set it up and break it down.  It's a boat. I guess the micro aspect of the sport was really growing  on me and I didn't realize it!

Definetley going to have to get real creative too with adding gear to it. There  is just no real estate on it, and there is a lot going on while sailing and what not so....

I had a good time though. Sailing is a trip! It's odd to have an unpredictable throttle! One second your just kinda putting along then you get a little gust and your instantly zipping along!

I just sailed my new to me AI yesterday and found the same thing you said. Being in Texas the spray and wet butt felt good. I would have tofind a solution up north tho. Dry suit should help. Kind of cool going out on tramp to land a good fish. Lot to learn before I try the surf here tho. Art

All Addys have a wet butt ride. Personally it doesn't bother me too much and I like the lower center of gravity.

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Try railblaza for AMA Rail mount rod holder base, http://www.railblaza.com/products/view/railmount_32_41/138/59/

I used these on one of my recent trips on the tandem island. They are a little pricey but they are the only out of the package product I could find to mount to the 1.5" AMA Rails. I know exactly what you mean about the unpredictable throttle, one must be prepared to constantly adjust the sail.


-Rodney-

I did one trip in my Addy then added 1" of closed cell foam under the seat to deal with the wet butt issue. Don't really notice any loss in stability by being up an extra inch and it's nice not sitting in that puddle.

I use a Stearns flotation pad, adds 2" of height.


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Good to see that the AI arrived and has been tested successfully.  Looking forward to seeing you zip past me on the water...  Go Matt go.

Nice!!! Can't wait to see it in action and the fishing!!!!


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I raise my seat level about and inch with the basic swim or kickboard.
Cut it to fit and it helps keep one dryer.
Pretty cheap too.

Glad it made it there safe and sound! Can't wait to see some pics!!

Its easy to sail! I have never sailed. But it's pretty much a no brainer with this thing.

If you don't have any sailing experience please - Be Very Careful...! Sailing is a set of quite complex skills. I don't want to run into a comparison of "yachting experience" vs "kayaking experience", but just to give you some idea - it takes full week (6 days) of extensive training to become a crew member, and after that week of training one knows about sailing just a tiny bit more than nothing.

I'm in no way comparing or even thinking that sailing an adventure island is like a yacht.

But with two lines to mess with and one little sail its pretty easy

I'm in no way comparing or even thinking that sailing an adventure island is like a yacht.

It actually does. AI does sail like a yacht, in fact, a very specific subset of yachts - trimarans, which have their very own specifics of handling. I would expect capsizing over bow on an AI. Google for "trimaran capsize" pictures. 

But with two lines to mess with and one little sail its pretty easy

It isn't about number of lines. Freedom 28 Cat Ketch has (I think) 4 lines for 2 sails and this is on an ocean-crossing-capable boat. It is about how you do the stuff.

Yesterday I found a "cheat sheet" on AI sailing. http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=39153.0 I don't know if you went through that post or not, but I think that it shouldn't harm, if I post it here.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=HFFLJ3kCPuA#t=165s 

That was freaky! Watched it several times, looked like a massive wind shift caused him to suddenly jibe and capsize. Never thought a gust would flip an AI. A big following swell with a gust is the closest I came to pitch poling at Depoe Bay. Reefed the sail fast and headed up a bit to regain control. To me the TI is very easy to sail but I raced small sailboats and studied sailing a bit.

Check out this pitch pole:





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