Profile

As a long time sea kayaker, I was interested in trying out something different. I had always been interested in surf skis and the Epic brand. I bought a used V6 as sort of a hybrid model to start out. I immediately loved it. It has great stability, good storage capacity, it's fast and it's comfortable for long paddles. There was no learning curve for me at all. This quickly became my daily boat -- and it still is. This is basically a fast SOT kayak with enough storage for overnight trips if you pack light and smartly. It's easy enough to outpace most sea kayaks and have the ease of a SOT. No need for rolling or difficult recovery techniques -- very simple to remount if you need to. I was also surprised at the comfort of the seating area even without a pad. You will get wet in this kayak, waves will come over the side, but it can handle it with ease. The bailer system works, but it can take a bit of time to drain it. That can make this a tough boat for colder seas, but in Florida, it's perfect. And, like any fiberglass boat, you need to be careful with handling, beach landings, etc -- but I think the boat is pretty durable. And, always watch out for the rudder system -- it isn't as durable as the rest of the boat IMO. To sum it up, if you are looking for a unique, fast SOT with decent storage capacity -- this is a great choice. Hard to find them on the used market, but it's worth checking.

Yes, production was late (very late). Yes, the communication wasn't always good (in some cases non-existent). Yes, I wondered if I was ever going to get it (purchased through Kickstarter). But, when I did receive the kayak late in 2019, it was everything I expected it to be. The Trak 2.0 is actually much more stable and sturdy than I expected, it tracks well and is pretty rigid. I am new to skin on frame kayaks and it takes a bit of getting used to -- especially when you can feel the waves and water hit the side in new ways, but that doesn't mean the boat isn't capable or strong. That being said, I won't be using the boat much for paddles near my home in Florida -- I will use my Epic, Hobie, etc. But I do travel quite a bit and look forward to taking this with me on expeditions far from home. I will not worry about taking this kayak on overnight trips, far from civilization and solo. It's more than capable and is a quality build for sure. The reason I won't use it more regularly is that is does take longer to assemble and disassemble/clean than I would like. If I didn't have other kayaks available, it would be fine, but since I do, I won't use it as often because of that. It's not a major drawback, but it does take a bit longer than a normal kayak -- say 10 mins on assembly and more on disassembly as you need to wash the components down asap. So, if you don't have the space for sea kayaks or you travel quite a bit -- this is an ideal and capable kayak that won't seem flimsy or cheaply made. I am every bit as confident in it as I am my other kayaks. Also, please don't ever take this kayak out without the float bags and sea sock too. Just don't do it. It will sink without them if you have a problem. It should be a no-brainer, but it is worth repeating here. They are pretty easy to install and use. All in all, I am very impressed with this kayak for it's portability, weight and performance. Definitely consider it if you are looking for a portable kayak. I don't know of a better one on the market.

I should have bought this sooner -- this may be my favorite "toy" now! I had been researching and thinking about getting a Tandem Island for a while and finally pulled the trigger on a used one last year. I am an experienced kayaker, but have never sailed anything before -- and this is an ideal boat to start with. We figured it out pretty quickly after research and just getting it out on the water. Here are some thoughts after having owned the TI for about 8 months -- I wish I would have known all of this when starting out: -Learning this boat takes time -- read the forums, read the manual, test it on land. It's way more complicated than a kayak -- but you will be rewarded with a fun boat. -It's big and heavy -- yes, you can car top it, but do yourself a favor and get a trailer and cradles for it if you can. We have launched it from the beach a few times, but usually just end up using a boat ramp for ease. -It requires maintenance -- this will require more work than kayaks, of course, but it's not all that much, really. -It is customizable and upgradeable -- Hobie does a great job with making parts available and you really do have the freedom to make some great upgrades to make the boat even better. You have so many options as there is no single way to make it work, rig the sails, etc. The forums will help you a lot. -Buy spare parts -- make sure you have spare parts and tools for your kit. This is critical as there are a lot of things that can and will break (rudder lines, rudder pin, aka bolts, shock cord, etc). Again, look at the forums for this. -Add some additional safety lines -- check the forums for idea on this, but there are some things that you need as backups (other than parts). This especially applies to the akas/amas as failure on these parts when you are sailing at speed or in heavy seas could be a BIG problem. Also think about a trailing line in case someone falls overboard. -Know your limits -- yes, the same applies with any boat or kayak, but really watch the wind and sea conditions as you can get into a tough situation pretty quickly. I have taken this out in 15-18 mph winds and gotten up to 10 mph, but that felt like that's the outer edge of it's safe performance zone for me. -It's great for overnights -- we use this for camping and can carry A LOT of cargo on the trampolines. -Think about the setup -- this boat can be sailed by one person, but also think about how you want to have it set up for two people (who does what, etc). Mine is set up for me to sit in the back and I can do 90% of the work to sail it -- which is easier for me and better for my companions. -Mount a GPS and watch your depth -- depth is a bigger concern vs kayaks -- especially with the dagger board, rudder and mirage drives. This can quickly ruin your day. Bottom line: This really is a fun boat if you take the time to really learn it and make sure you are prepared. We have sailed this in a lot of different sea conditions and have even been far offshore with it. I am challenged by the boat and have been rewarded with a lot of fun, fast speeds and new discoveries. I can't recommend this boat enough.

Great boat, but not for me. I wanted to get into surf skis after sea kayaking for many years and found a nice used Sport. The build of the boat is great, it looks great and it's fast. On flat water, I absolutely loved it. Would use in the waterways around Florida for fitness and that part was fun for me. When I would take it into confused seas or deal with lots of boat wake in an inlet, etc, I never got as comfortable as I would have liked. This limited how much I would use it -- and that was probably my issue. More time in the seat would have helped a lot, but I found myself paddling my other boats more. I eventually sold it and haven't missed it once. Not to say it is a bad boat -- that's not the case at all! It just wasn't for me. I may try out a V8 in the future, but I love my V6 for everyday paddling and overnights.