Hobie AI discontinued...

I don't recall seeing this posted here on NCKA, but Hobie is discontinuing the AI. They'll keep making the TI, but no more AI. Major bummer!

https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=71&t=69044

The AI is an icon, a marquee product that everybody eventually strives to acquire as their dream hull.   You dont stop making the Mustang or Camaro because they are low volume sales, they are there so people are looking up to the brand.  I know somewhere within Hobie, the fucking number crunchers say, "Well, it doesnt make sense and we expect some blow back."  Well, fuck you.  Hobie is a premium brand, charges premium prices.  So, horseshit to the new owners who think this doesnt make sense, that doesnt make sense.  What happen to the Hobie founders?  Stand up and speak.  Hobie is a legend because the line up is legendary.  Now you are taking out the legendary AI?  Fuck you Hobie, your fucking number crunchers open up the gate for the faithful to look elsewhere.  You should fire them.

Dang, that is a bummer.  +1 to yakyakyak's sentiments.

I saw that too! It didn't dawn on me that they were actually discontinuing the AI. I wonder if they have plans to eventually discontinue the TI as well, if maybe sales from these big boats just aren't that great? (We all know the sails are great, though!)

I know the TI is bigger and more cumbersome, but as someone who has owned both, I think the TI is vastly superior. It is quite manageable solo (okay, I have the pre-2015 version), and it gives you the option of bringing out friends, kids, and lots more gear. When I had the AI, my brother and I would fish together and he'd take the T13. It made no sense, setting up two boats, and then I was rangebound because we wanted to fish together.

Of course I guess the TI doesn't make a lot of sense if you always fish solo.

I saw that too! It didn't dawn on me that they were actually discontinuing the AI. I wonder if they have plans to eventually discontinue the TI as well, if maybe sales from these big boats just aren't that great? (We all know the sails are great, though!)

I suspect they make a lot more money on each TI sold, and my guess is that they'll keep selling them. They probably figure that AIs are cannibalizing some percentage of their TI market, and that TI sales will increase, and hence overall profits.

While I can see where Y^3 is coming from, I'm a little more sanguine. I would not be surprised if Hobie eventually comes out with a scaled-down AI-like model, that offers a little less sailing performance, but is a lot less of a beast out of the water. And if they don't, I'm going to start my own sailing kayak company, NowhereMan Kayaks, and I'll shamelessly rip off the AI design (just kidding...). In any case, I'm sure other manufacturers will be thinking about producing sailing models now that Hobie has abandoned the AI.

I would love to see another mfg fill this niche with their own version of an AI. Or anything long & skinny for that matter…and buck the trend of shorter, heavier, un-paddleable kayaks.

I saw that too! It didn't dawn on me that they were actually discontinuing the AI. I wonder if they have plans to eventually discontinue the TI as well, if maybe sales from these big boats just aren't that great? (We all know the sails are great, though!)

I suspect they make a lot more money on each TI sold, and my guess is that they'll keep selling them. They probably figure that AIs are cannibalizing some percentage of their TI market, and that TI sales will increase, and hence overall profits.

While I can see where Y^3 is coming from, I'm a little more sanguine. I would not be surprised if Hobie eventually comes out with a scaled-down AI-like model, that offers a little less sailing performance, but is a lot less of a beast out of the water. And if they don't, I'm going to start my own sailing kayak company, NowhereMan Kayaks, and I'll shamelessly rip off the AI design (just kidding...). In any case, I'm sure other manufacturers will be thinking about producing sailing models now that Hobie has abandoned the AI.

I would buy your 1st hull, although I suggest we need to find another name for the brand    



The AIs were selling for a very long time, so the suggestion that they dont make or losing money on that line is weak.  The design is already there, the parts are small equation of the money.  Most of the cost of support supply chain are already built-in and paid for.  I suspect its about margin and profitability.  But if you just crunch the numbers, how do you quantify brand loyalty?  Hobie is what it is today because of excellent product line up and choices.  That builds loyalty (I mean most Hobies recommend Hobies, rite?).  They command premium brand kayak market and what they do is working.  Now they are going to test that boundaries by fucking around product line ups that are already true to the loyalists?  Some of these line ups are older than the longetivity of the number crunchers. 





I would say people that are looking for AI are not looking for TI, they are all coming up from Revo/Outback lines, most of them are hard core fishers looking for safety and range.  My guess is that TI crowds are mostly pleasure hobbyist (not all, but majority).  The AIs are being used hard core, so the replacement cycle are shorter than the TIs.




The AI has no competition in the market, it's the King. Companies dream about having a leading product in the market.  This one is killing the leading product of the market.  I hope they have something up their sleeve, cuz they lost a lot of goodwill with this action.

I would love to see another mfg fill this niche with their own version of an AI. Or anything long & skinny for that matter…and buck the trend of shorter, heavier, un-paddleable kayaks.

My understanding of the plastic jon boat trend is that most of the US market is landlocked & relegated to small water.... so there's little appetite for long, light, and skinny. There are some neat boats coming out of South Africa (and now Bellingham WA), but they aren't peddle drive. Yet....

I would say people that are looking for AI are not looking for TI, they are all coming up from Revo/Outback lines, most of them are hard core fishers looking for safety and range. ...

That's true, and there is the cost factor--I've got 1 complete AI and another that I'm piecing together, and a nice aluminum trailer, all for less than it would have cost me to get a TI. But, if cost is not a factor...

Anyways, I think we get a somewhat distorted view here, as there are so many AI owners on this forum. The boat is great for our type of fishing, and I'm the world's biggest fan of the AI. But, my brother lives in the midwest and mostly fishes for bass. He's never seen an AI on any of the lakes he fishes (including the big Missouri River lakes in South Dakota), and he thinks it's the dorkiest thing ever invented. If I tried to give him one for free, he probably wouldn't take it.

I’m also bumped out about this rumor turned into a reality. Frankly, I was really hoping Hobie could come out a new AI hull with larger lowrance ready (like the new OB hull)…but now Hobie stops making it all together.

Hopefully they will realize this is a mistake in the near future…

Was hoping that (one of these years) I would finally be able to add an AI to the fleet. 

I helped a friend haul around his new BEAST of a Pro Angler, and that boat is so wide/heavy/slow.  I don't need to stand up on my kayak.

Guess I'll keep ridin' the T13 until it falls apart, maybe add a Torqueedo at some point...

Resale value on AIs just went up though...

Resale value on AIs just went up though...

I’m using mines until it dies or I die first. I couldn’t agree more with yakayakyak; Fuck you Hobie for ending the AI.