2015 Hobie Adventure Island (AI) – Maiden voyage

I recently took delivery of a new 2015 model Hobie Adventure Island. I’d never really been attracted to the earlier version of the AI, the ride looked too wet, the seating too low and it lacked a little buoyancy if I wanted to take a passenger with ease. I’m sure some people will disagree with this, just my personal opinion.

However, the latest model from Hobie seemed to address all of my misgivings and it became a highly attractive proposition overnight!. I decided to treat myself and placed an order last August, though problems with supply and shipping delayed its arrival considerably. That said, it arrived a couple of weeks ago and quite simply, it looked the dogs danglies!..

It’s been sat gathering dust since it arrived due to work and family commitments, though after a little frantic preparation I managed to get it afloat. I’d been busy the night before fitting my Lowrance HDS7 GPS/FF combo to the AI. I really wanted to be able to know what depth I was operating in as well as the speed of the kayak. Depth probably more than anything else as I really didn’t want to inadvertently remove the centre board, etc!

The first trip was all about finding out how well my new trailer system was going to work as well as getting comfortable with rigging the kayak and operating it whilst afloat. I decided to launch at Daedalus slipway in Lee-on-Solent, it’s local to work and is a relatively clean launch area (though busy at weekends!).

I was a little concerned about parking due to the trailer, though I was fortunate as there were two spots back to back, so I drove straight in and parked without fuss. I don’t have the new trailer cradles yet so the main hull is sitting on two 110mm waste pipes with the amas supported on foam pieces. The hull is fully rigged on the trailer to minimise rigging time as well as making loading/unloading as simple as possible. The latter is aided by having the trailer bed low, to the point that I can pull the AI back a metre, slip the cart into the scupper holes and roll it straight onto the road. That was the theory and the reality was pretty good!. All that was left to do was to fit the seat, sail, battery and electronics unit and I was good to go. It probably took longer to get dressed!.

Trolleying the AI down to the waters edge was simple enough, reversing it into the water until it floated. It was simply then a case of wading alongside and pulling out the trolley. I was concerned that fitting/removing the trolley in the water was going to be a real pain. With the ‘heavy duty’ wheels it’s absolutely no problem at all, though I’d certainly not like to to attempt the same evolution with the much larger flotation tyres!. With the trolley removed it was just a case of extending the amas and locking them into position, hopping aboard, dropping in the Mirage Drive and heading out to sea.

Conditions were perfect, no doubt it’d be a little more challenging some wind and swell. Talking of wind, there was almost none!. The original forecast had been for 10-16mph wind, the reality was 2-3mph, gusting to 5mph. Ok, so I wasn’t going to be setting any speed records, though the first trip was not really about that. With the sail unfurled I manoeuvred to catch a little wind and headed off seawards. Furling and unfurling is a simple enough procedure, no different to sailing my Outback. The rudder control is excellent and I really like the optional vertical extension on the rudder handle, it feels far more natural being able to wrap your fingers around the handle as opposed to holding the top of it.

Deploying and raising the rudder is a simple affair, pulling on a control line and cleating it into the raised/lowered position as required. It’s just like any other Hobie kayak to be honest, just a lot bigger in all respects!. There was no real need to use the deployable centreboard, something that is raised and lowered with the trough of a lever. Though it was all very smooth and efficient, nothing further to mention there.

Despite the almost total lack of wind I was still pushing along at a steady 3.8-4.2mph, on a couple of runs I managed 5mph. What was impressive it that I was achieving this in such little wind, it was certainly demonstrating a good wind to speed conversion ratio. Rudder control and tracking was excellent. With the sail furled, standing up and moving around posed no issue, stability as you’d expect is huge.

I was making leisurely progress and this provided me with some time to fine tune my Lowrance HDS7. The Navionics Gold works extremely well on this unit, options such as tides and currents are accessed with a couple of touches to the screen. Clarity and brightness are very good with no reflection from the screen. I was also recording a sonar log so I could upload the data to Insight Genesis later.

I’ve still to fit the Structure Scan to the AI as I was a little concerned as to whether it’d be usable at higher speeds. Though Lowrance quote a useable speed on up to 10mph so it should be ok in that respect. The kayak will lean when underway so this would impact the coverage either side of the kayak, though I wont know by how much until I try it I guess. I’d like to make a more sturdy mount for the Structure Scan transducer, I’m not fully convinced by the effective of the RAM transducer arm that I recently purchased. Watch this space.

I spent a couple of hours soaking up the suns rays (yup, I forgot to apply sun block!) whilst tacking along the bay. I eventually headed back towards the slipway with a view to calling it a day. I really needed to think about beaching as the last thing I needed was a costly mistake at the end of the trip. It’s going to be important to get myself into the routine of retracting the centre board, raising the rudder, etc. More so that the Outback, everything is much bigger, therefore more expensive to replace or repair!.

When I was in 50cm of water I hopped out adjacent to the submerged slipway. Inserting the trolley was extremely quick and simple. Despite being about 150m from shore I could see the submerged slipway so I pulled the AI onto it and started walking to shore.

It must have been a James bond moment for those folks watching from the beach. A floating Hobie AI leaves the water and continues to roll up the slipway, how did that happen!.

The trolley system works well. I certainly noticed the weight on the AI when I hit the slipway incline, partly covered in places by shingle, which didn’t exactly help matters.

With the sail removed I just positioned the nose of the trolley on the rear on the trailer, pushed it onto the trailer from the rear of the yak, pausing for a moment to remove the trolley. It worked really well, no complaints!. Once home the AI was freshwater rinsed on the trailer and allowed to dry before being stored in the garage.

I’m hoping to hit the water again in a couple of days as the wind is due to pick up. It’ll also allow me to try a couple of evolutions that I forgot. One being retracting an ama with the sailed furled to check the stability, a configuration that I envisage using for fishing.

I really enjoyed myself and I can see the AI getting a lot of use during all four seasons. Yup, I really like it, some may say a little smug!, what does my face say ?

Cornwall – Fish & sail

I’d fitted the sail to the Hobie Outback quite some time ago, and as much as I’ve sailed the kayak on several occasions, I’d yet to combine it with fishing. To use the sail whilst fishing was always a big attraction to me, so the time to test out this combination had arrived. The wind this day was a steady offshore breeze of 5-15mph. That was pretty much ideal as it would permit me to sail up or down the coast with maximum efficiency from the sail.

I’d chosen to launch again from Porthoustock as it’s not just a relatively easy launch site, but it also provides access to multiple fishing marks. The Manacles are located just to the south, with various marks off Porthkerris and Porthallow to the north.

Rigging the kayak to sail is a simple case of fitting the sail, clipping on the rigging and fitting the Sidekicks. This adds about five minutes to the rigging process, the question was would it be worthwhile or too much hassle whilst trying to fish?

I peddled out of Porthoustock and turned north to fish a mark towards Porthallow. I’d bumped into a friend who was diving in the area and he’d mentioned that this particular mark was holding some good sized Pollack. This is what we kayak fisherman need, send in the divers to recce some marks before we actually fish them!.

Once I was out of the bay I unfurled the sail and began sailing north. Once clear of the land the light breeze was a little stiffer than expected and I was sailing along at a steady 4.5-5.5mph.

Within fifteen minutes I was coming up on the mark so the sail was furled away. It literally take 10-15 seconds to stow the sail and the control lines. The breeze had continued to pick up so I made note of my drift before positioning myself for the first drift of the day. Again, I was jigging, using a 4oz jig head and an eel tail. Halfway through the first drift the lure was hit hard and I claimed my first Pollack of the session.

I was only getting 3-4 minutes drift time over what was a rather small mark, the fast drift wasn’t helping matters. That said, on the first four drifts I managed four nice sized Pollack, a fish a drift!. I continued to fish the mark until it eventually stopped producing hits, though it’d accounted for eight fish, all of a similar sort of size. I did hook into a good sized fish, though it was off within seconds, another frustrating moment. I really seem to be having difficulty in staying hooked up to the big fish. They’re either shaking the lure loose or I’m getting broken off. The latter it concerning me somewhat as the line has now broken twice on the mainline, not the weaker leader or the knots as you’d expect.

I didn’t even swear!

I sailed over to a couple more marks that looked as though they had some potential, though apart from a few plucks to the lure they weren’t producing any fish. There’s a Naval dive centre situated at Porthkerris and whilst sailing close by I was spotted by a friend and beckoned me over for a cup of tea… well, it’s be rude not to!. With the kayak tied off I enjoyed a hot brew and a stretch of my legs.

Once suitably refreshed I re-boarded the kayak and continued to sail south towards the Manacles. I enjoyed a couple of long drifts, though the action was rather slow. I did manage a couple of Pollack, though not the Bass that I’d been hoping for. Still, there’s no point in complaining when the scenery is stunning and the fish are biting!. It was rather choppy out there and it was important to keep a close eye for dangerous rocks throughout the drifts.

I decided to get out of the chop and move closer inshore, more for a spot of sightseeing to be honest. It really is a pretty area and I do enjoy nosing around the inlets and jagged rocks that are along this part of the coastline.

After a spot of feathering which only produced small Pollack, I decided to sail back up to Porthoustock and call it a day. I managed about a dozen nice sized Pollack whilst losing a couple of much bigger fish. I really want to bag myself a double figure Pollack, so I intend to persevere in the hope of achieving that goal.

So what my thought about combining sailing the Outback with fishing?. I’m totally sold on it, it really does transform the fishing experience. I clocked up just under ten miles during the session and 60-70% of that was under sail, maybe more. With a suitable wind I actually found myself not wanting to even peddle. Why bother when I can be under sail within ten seconds!. The Sidekicks and sail don’t get in the way at all, and it’s easy to control and re-direct your drift as required using the Mirage Drive.

The plan for tomorrow is to fish another venue in the hope of a large Bass or Pollack, surely it’s only a matter of time!

Sidekick AMA problem

I do spend way too many hours surfing kayaking forums around the world. I’ve recently spent most of that time reading up on sail rigging, sailing techniques and related problems. I have the Sidekicks fitted to my Outback for sailing purposes and I’d read on several forums about a problem with the plastic insert on the stabiliser arms. This plastic insert permits the arms of the Sidekicks to locate and lock into the main bar that is secured to the kayak. These inserts are glued in place, though the inner surface of the Sidekick bars is finished so smoothly that the resultant bond is somewhat inadequate. This can result, especially in colder temperatures, in the plastic insert pulling out from the sidekick outer arms. This generally occurs when they are being removed after a sailing trip, however, I experienced the issue whilst sailing yesterday.

I was about to raise the Sidekicks into their highest position when I noticed the outer arm on one side had moved outboard about half a centimetre whilst the plastic insert still remained locked in place. It was slowly working its way off the insert, so I pushed it back on, monitored the situation and kept on sailing.

Once back ashore it quickly became apparent that the inserts on both arms had worked loose. Having read about the problem I wasn’t overly concerned and set about carrying out a quick repair today.

The standard insert in the correct position (Above)

Loose insert

Insert removed – glue is smooth and has not bonded

There’s little point in attempting to remove the original glue are it’s particularly hard. I roughed up the surface of the old glue on each insert as well as the inside of each Sidekick arm to a depth of about 3”. I found two large stainless steel self tapping screws in my rigging box and drilled a hole about 1” from the end of the Sidekick bar to permit the screw to pass cleanly through. With the insert in position a guide hole for the screw itself was drilled into the insert.

NOTE – Take care to correctly orientate the insert so that the bar achieves it’s three adjustable height settings. This will depend on how you have fitted the fixed bar to your kayak. Take a few minutes to ensure you have the insert correctly positioned before you drill the guide hole into the insert itself.

Inner and outer holes drilled

The insert was then removed, a light coating of Marine Goop (or similar adhesive) was applied to the insert before being re-fitted, taking car to correctly position the two holes correctly. With the any excess glue quickly wiped away the self tapping screw can be fitted.

Glued & screwed

That’s the job completed, takes about thirty minutes, leave them to dry for a day and they’re good to go and the insert is unable to rotate or pull clear of the Sidekick bar.

More sailing trials

I really needed to get to grips with using the sail if it’s to become a serious fishing tool over the summer months. The forecast looked good yesterday with winds of 10-15mph predicted. I packed what was needed (not a lot compared to a fishing trip!) and drove the short distance to the beach. I couldn’t believe it when I arrived, it was flat calm with barely a breathe of wind. I drove straight home, somewhat disappointed, hoping that the wind would pick up as the day progressed.

I drove down again late in the afternoon and things we ‘marginally’ better. To be honest it was still very flat, though the low clouds were moving along at a good pace which gave me a little hope. I decided an hour on the water was better than doing nothing, so I rigged up and headed down to the waterline.

The outriggers were fitted as I was hopeful that the wind would pick up, plus when I do go fishing with the sail for a day long or overnight trip, I’d be fitting them for sure. Once on the water I made sail and was immediately pushing along at a steady 3mph, surprising considering the apparent lack of wind. I messed around for a while, sailing with, against and across the wind.

The wind began to increase, that bought higher speeds and the fun factor increased no end!. I found myself sailing along at a steady 4-5mph, occasionally pushing a little faster. Even against the wind, close hauled, I was maintaining 2-3mph, better than I’d expected.

I sailed well over 6 miles in 2.5 hours, some of that time was spent on the drift messing around with my new Lowrance 4x DSI fish finder, getting to grips with that. I had a play furling and unfurling the sail in the higher wind, again, just to get a feel how it felt in different conditions. It proved quick and easy regardless, turning the kayak into the stronger wind minimised any potential of things going wrong.

I did notice towards the end of the trip that the insert on one of the Sidekicks was showing signs of coming loose. It’s apparently quite a common fault and is apparently easily remedied with some better glue, or a self tapping screw to keep it locked in place. I’ll have a look today and decide how best to address the issue. It’s minor stuff, keeps me busy!

Right at the end of the trip, as I approached the slipway, I was keeping a close eye on the depth to avoid grounding out the Mirage Drive fins. I was still in a comfortable one metre of water, when about 50m from the beach when I suddenly grounded out!. The depth has dropped to 20cm and the drive was hung up. I managed to free it and pull it out, not cursing… not much anyway. It turns out that the slips runs flat for a good 60-70m underwater, something I then recalled from a trip there 3 years ago. Oh well, a slightly frustrating moment right at the end of the trip, nothing is ever perfect!

Below is a short video, a little slow to begin with due to the light winds, though as the wind picked up so did the fun.

Video – sail installation & early trials

I’ve put together a short video to compliment the original article, comprised of photos and some video footage. It covers the modified sail installation and the initial sea trials – more to follow soon.

Hobie Outback–sail rigging and sea trials

Rigging the Outback for sailing

The Hobie Outback is designed from the outset to allow the fitment of Hobie’s own Sailing Kit. I’m certainly not a big fan of sailing, though I really like the idea of being able to utilise a sail to enable me to travel further with ease and to perhaps fish marks that I’d not previously considered. The Hobie Sail Kit is a fairly basic affair and consists of a two piece aluminium sail mast, the sail itself and a control line. The complete setup breaks down and stores in the durable bag that is comes with. The sail is available in four colours, red, white, blue and yellow. I opted for the red to match the colour of my Outback.

Rigging the kayak for sailing is a simple enough affair. The sail slides onto the extended mast and the mast is then inserted into the sail mount just behind the front hatch.

Officially the control line is passed through the pad eye at the rear of the kayak (lifting handle location), back through the seat buckle(either side of the seat) to provide the kayaker with hand control. The sail itself is quite large, achieving a height of 2.6m (3.1m if you include the mast) with a sail area of just under 2 square metres.

  I

Having tried the suggested rigging method, as mentioned earlier, and I didn’t find it particularly ideal for a few reasons. The rear pad eye created a lot of friction on the control line and added additional effort when adjusting the sail. The control line crossed the rear tank well due to it passing through the seat buckle, hardly ideal when you have a crate or dry box fitted for fishing purposes. The other point I disliked was that the control line needed to be pulled forward to tighten the sail, whereas it would feel more natural to pull it back towards you.

The other potential downside is that the sail cannot be easily stowed (furled) when fitted to the kayak. A couple of years ago I’d seen some videos on You Tube showing a homemade furling device for the sail, this was something that I was going to copy to make the sail more user friendly.

After visiting the garage several times over a two day period I decided on a plan of action. The sail control line would be re-routed using low fiction pulleys ensuring that it was sufficiently clear of the tank well and whilst permitting a more ‘logical’ control. I visited the local chandlers and picked up some initial supplies.

A simple furling system would be constructed as per existing ideas available on the internet. A quick visit to the local plumbers supplies saw me return home with some 1.5” downpipe and appropriately sized end connectors. I decided to tweak the existing YouTube design by inserting a narrower tube within the PVC pipe. I thought it may be better at spreading any potential loading and wear.

The photograph below shows the basic parts that make up the furling device. Two modified end caps, the PVC pipe and the fibreglass inner guide. Marine Goop was used to glue the parts together. I’m not going to cover this in any detail as there are already a couple of very good videos on You Tube that show the construction and operation of the furling device.

 

   

What I will say that it’s very cheap and simple to make whilst being highly effective. Having the ability to furl the sail whilst afloat is highly advantageous making this a must have modification. The photo above of the furling device is an early trial setup. The finished product had a longer rope fitted enabling the sail to be locked off using the zigzag cleat that was originally fitted for the anchor setup. The furling device was also connected to the sail using a small carbine.

 

To furl the sail it’s a simple case of pulling on the furling rope whilst maintaining a little tension on the main sail control rope. The sail will, with a little practice, furl up tightly and can be easily locked into place to prevent the sail unfurling whilst afloat as required.

 

With the furling line completed and functionally tested I turned my attention to sorting out the routing of the control line for the sail. I wanted a sailing system that would attach and detach from the kayak very quickly, one that was effectively one piece and did not consist of any loose parts. To alleviate the friction issue of the control line passing through the rear pad eye, I fitted a Harken block to the pad eye using a carbine.

The difference was enormous, with very little effort being required to move the sail. The next issue was the routing of the control line around the tank well area. I’d previously fitted two small pieces of GearTrac 175 on either side of tank well to act as mounting points for my navigation light, monopod camera mount, etc. As it happened the GearTrac was ideally placed to overcome the routing problem. I mounted another Harken pulley onto the GearTrac using a YakAttack T-Bolt and knob. It turned out to be a very simple and effective solution.

Note that both the Harken pulleys used to date and of the ‘closed’ variety, i.e the rope cannot jump off the block, the rope runs through the blocks. This has a couple of advantages, the obvious one being that the rope will remain on the pulleys at all times. This not only ensures that the rope remains in place during normal operation, it also means that the pulleys will remain attached to the rope when the pulleys are disconnected from the kayak.. all part of the plan.

The final issue was the routing of the control line to the cockpit of the kayak. I wanted to be able to reverse the direction of the control line as mentioned earlier to produce a more natural operation, I also wanted to be able to lock off the control line as required.

After some head scratching I found myself looking at my box of YakAttack bits. I already had some GearTrac mounted either side of the cockpit to permit the mounting of a fish finder/GPS, cameras, etc. The YakAttack Mighty Mount is designed to fit onto the GearTrac and can be locked in place using a T-bolt and knob. I was able to mount another Harken block onto the Mighty Mount by passing the T-Bolt through the mount and block. There was still sufficient thread on the T-bolt the permit the setup to be secured to the GearTrac. Steve at HobieCat in Poole kindly supplied me with a small cleat that was perfect for the job!

Below are photos showing the parts required for the control line reversal and lock-off modification as well as the finished product.

 

 

That effectively completed the routing of the control and furling lines, the photos above and below showing the finished routing results (the furling line below is shown in the earlier design phase with a short rope)

 

On refection, I’d wanted to create a modified system that provided less friction and better routing of the control ropes. I’m really pleased with the improvement in those areas, it works a treat. The furling system is superb, a must have.

The other requirement was that the sail system could be removed complete with pulleys and be fitted again in a couple of minutes. The furling device takes seconds to fit/remove and all pulleys remain attached to the control lines once removed. It’s a really neat setup and works well.

The complete setup slides straight into the original bag, perfect!

I’ve already been sailing with the Outback and despite the winds being light it was fun and the modified sailing system worked extremely well. More details and video of that first sailing experience to follow soon!