Surf Launching and Landing a Hobie Island

Not sure if this is a safety question or fishing question:

Any other Hobie Adventure Island or Tandem Island owners have experience in launching and landing in surf conditions? With the amas extended it's a very wide and stabile craft but if you get whacked sideways I'm thinking the akas are gonna get bent and things will get ugly fast.

Also, if the mast is raised it's a candidate for decapitation.

This is what I've found so far on the Hobie Forum, the crash is painful to watch:

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=36564

One cool idea in that link is using an anchor or sea anchor off the bow to control landing in surf. Even using a stern line and jumping out and swimming or walking the yak back to the beach stern first.

Up for suggestions.

After watching that, I'm thinking the best plan of action would be to go have some cold adult beverages, if your co-pilot/gunner looked like that. Then, much later, cry quietly to yourself before calling around for replacement parts.

That TI looked brand new too. The left ama still had a UPC sticker on it. Ouch.


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I've thought about this and I think it should only be attempted on the smallest of surf days. The cost of the boat + possibilities of what could go haneously wrong make me say it's not worth rolling the dice.

I have put some thought into this as I'd like to see you get out there and honestly I would suggest if you plan to sail that you sail out of places like Depoe Bay where the surf is not an issue.   If you were launching into the surf in places like PC I would suggest that you remove one ama/auka and the sail.  I know sailing is a big part of it for you but in anything short of really small waves I could see it getting real ugly.  Think of what would happen if you got caught in a sneaker wave like Insayn did.  You could have a rigged sailing yak upside down in the surf zone which would tear it apart in minutes.  With just one ama and auka and a tramp you have plenty of stability and storage and with tandem drives you have plenty of power and should be able to move through the surf zone much easier (with the ama either opened or closed).

No way guys, Ihop can do this!   



Don't try it, unless you have another $6k burning a hole in your pocket.

I like the guys description of his "near death experience."

"The temperature dropped 10 degrees." 😰 85 to 75, and the windchill made it feel like 72.

His gal was a trooper, she didn't even bark at him when she almost lost her shades. Too bad he bent up his rigging.

iHop, If you take your baby out there I would say less is more. Coming in to somewhere like PC in a 16 foot long kayak and the surf is >3 foot, I'd say the likelihood of burying the bow is pretty high. You are probably better off on your Coosa.

I've read about using a drogue to get some inexperience paddlers in though some unexpectedly heavy surf in HI, but I have not tried it (yet).

 The drogue should slow you down enuf to prevent the broach and keep you nose-to (stern-to?), but it seems as though it would hold you in the impact zone for an excessively long time as well. Sounds like an expensive experiment in a full on AI.

Lee may be on to something though. Have you checked the Hobie cat forums for thier surf launch/landing technique/procedure?

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=36564

I just read that thread on the Hobie board and the anchor idea sounds down right doable assuming you have good solid rigged ground tackle. If not, it sounds like a great way to rip a hole in your boat. 

The "jump off and swim it in backwards" works okay in a kayak (be the drogue) but sounds a like a really bad idea with that much boat.

I dunno It all still sounds expensive.

Wow. Those waves in the vid weren't even "surf." They were just small locally generated wind waves. Real ocean waves can really trash stuff. I saw a 32' wooden sailboat get stuck on a reef on Oahu once (right after leaving Ala Moana boat basin), and only 3' waves broke it up in matter of hours.
I don't think I'd try to take an AI through the surf with amas 'n akas and the sail.

So Ron you want to be my test pilot? Or I can just be the crash dummy!

Thanks for the comments, I'll continue to research it before field trials.


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As has been stated above: Near-death experience?! Really?!? For the kayak maybe...

As has been stated above: Near-death experience?! Really?!? For the kayak maybe...

Come on, lighten up!  Their from Florida. They don't even go fishing here if it's raining.

Besides the hyperbole about being "near death" it was an interesting thread no doubt. Maybe the author meant "near huli" instead of "near death" 

Ihop, I think that I am going to sit this one out. Not sure that I want to be the one to make a Calder mobile out of your AI.  I think that the Koosa may be the ticket.

Just my thoughts.

SteveHawk

I'll try it with you iHop if you wait until the ORC.