I have to say I hadn't paddled anything for around 20 years, so my technique on the Splash was probably a little rusty, to say the least! I was expecting to end up in the drink within seconds of placing my feet in the footwells, but no, it was more stable than I expected. Far more tippy than my ex-Revo, but I never felt like I'd go over. The sea conditions were very favourable though: light offshore breeze, with no chop or swell to speak of, so that probably played a part...
With TFM leading the way in his A.I. (under sail and pedal) I did my best to keep up. I wasn't doing too badly until a slight increase in the breeze kicked in and the A.I. left me in its wake... I was only on the water around 10-15 minute total, but when I made it back to the beach, my shoulders were already feeling the 'benefits' of paddling. One impression I did get from the glass-yak is that you actually feel like you're floating right on-top of the water, rather than sitting in it , which is the feeling I get in my usual tupperware-type vessel (if you know what I mean). I guess the lightness of the Splash has something to do with this- it was nice, nevertheless...
Having said that, since my last two yaks were Hobie pedal-mobiles I'd never go back to hand-cranking, which brings my nicely to the A.I...
The A.I. is almost a meter longer than my ex-Revo, but a bit narrower and with (possibly?) less draft. I was keen to lift it down from the roof of Mark's (TFM) car just to see if it was much heavier. It was! So much so that I didn't dare try my usual 'lift-above-the-head' technique to unload it. My Revo weighed about 28kg (empty/bare), but the A.I. hull felt MUCH heavier than that - maybe over 35kg? I guess the AKA cross-bars and the other hardware for the sail mounting adds up...
Anyway, the A.I. was soon down on the beach and Mark zipped around attaching this, unpacking that and fitting the whole jigsaw together. It certainly looks impressive, even just sitting on the beach. It also looks big and boy is it heavy when fully rigged! Not sure of the actual weight, but it must be getting well over 50kgs. I could lift it (with the front carrying handle), but that's about it. However once there was a bit of water under the hull, it wasn't too difficult to move around.
Mark (TFM) was kind enough to let me loose on the blatmobile for a couple of quick spins around the Cleeland Bight foreshore. At first I was slightly intimidated by the various (actually, only two!) ropes and things to control the sail, but in a minute or two I was set. Even with the sail furled I was able to pedal the A.I. at least as quickly as my old Revo. It feels fast, full-stop!
The stability was amazing and very confidence-inspiring. I was able to stand without any fear of tipping or falling. It felt great to be able to stand up and move around when on the water - something I never really dared to try on my Sport or Revo.
With the sail out, it changes character completely. I've never been on any boat with a sail in my life (I always thought they'd be a nightmare to control and trim) but it was just so easy to furl and unfurl the sail and turn into (or away from) the wind to get things moving. When the wind would gust there was an almost immediate 'shove in the back' as the sail filled and the pace picked up. We didn't have any really testing wind conditions (probably about 10-15km/h max), but even with this I was able to go faster than I ever could in the Revo.
I can easily see how yak fishers with A.I.s would spend more time sailing that fishing. It really is addictive...
From my short time on the A.I. I came up with a short list of things I liked (and disliked) and without sounding too much like a fanboi, here they are...
Pros:
- Faaaast!
- The most stable yak there is (beat that Hobie P.A.!)
- Exciting and addictive
- Inspires the confidence to go out further in conditions that would really test a 'normal' yak
- Three modes of propulsion (sail, pedals, paddle)
- Loads of 'deck' space (with tramps)
Cons:
- big, heavy and cumbersome
- lots of ropes, poles and masts to deal with
- I haven't got one!
As you might've gathered, I'm well-impressed with the A.I. I'd heard a lot of hype about it, but I have to say most of it was all true!
Question is - do I dare spend almost $5K on a tupperware sailing boat?
Cheers,
Mike.
