Review: Travis from Detroit, Michigan

I am Travis, and I live in Detroit, Michigan.

Which Tiwal model do you have?

I have the Tiwal 3 sailboat, and I’ve had it for just over one year.

Where do you sail?

I sail in a lot of inland lakes and the Great Lakes. I prefer the fast days, anywhere from 20 to 25 knots, really pushing it. I like to be leaning over.

But that’s inland lakes. Once you get into the Great Lakes, it’s hard to go back.

What was your experience before Tiwal?

I had a little bit. I grew up sailing with my dad. He had a Pintail 14, a little dinghy that was made here in Michigan back in the ’80s, so it’s kind of a nostalgic boat in the area. And so I loved doing that.

I really like this boat, ’cause I feel like it’s almost like a hybrid of a windsurfer and a sailboat, where you really feel the wind. You really feel like one with the wind and nature as you’re gliding. And you’re so close to the water, so it’s just a different feeling.

If you like to really feel the wind and feel the whole movement, this is the boat.

How do you use your Tiwal?

The majority of the time I’m by myself. But I love taking people out too. I like to take friends, and I have four little kids, so I like to take two of them out at a time. It’s fun to be with the family and take friends. But when it’s really windy and I really wanna push it and go fast, I like to go by myself.

Surprisingly, it’s pretty comfortable. I mean, you gotta be a little bit flexible if you have a hard time sitting down, but for the most part, there’s a lot of room. It’s surprisingly comfortable, just the material, and it’s very enjoyable.

How was the first handling with your Tiwal?

I’ll never forget the first time I took my littlest out. He was having a ball, hanging out the edge of it, and then we flipped. I have that swivel jammer, and I didn’t realize that it was hooked. So every time I’d flip it back over, it would roll over again. After the sixth or seventh time, my son lost confidence in me that I knew what I was doing, so that kinda scared him. But then I figured it out and we got back up.

It’s amazing how, if you know what you’re doing, it flips back up so easy. It’s not really a problem. And I think that’s such a great feature: if you flip it, who cares? You just flip it back up and fly.

How is it going so far?

I’m super happy with the way it responds. It’s very smooth. Like I already said, when you’re on the water, you really feel it.

What characteristics surprised you?

It was surprisingly easier to put together than I thought it would be. I was a little hesitant at first, thinking, “Okay, this thing is gonna lose parts, and how am I gonna keep this thing intact?” But the way that it’s set up, it’s really a great portable setup.

The way that it comes together, and you learn some tricks to put it together faster, I’m in the water in 20 minutes or less. But now I have a truck, so I leave it inflated, the sail already ready to go, and I’m out in the water in five minutes if I’m not driving far.

What I think was even more exciting to me is that I could leave it almost intact, ready to go, and still travel and be ready to rock.

How do you transport your Tiwal?

I use my truck, which is nice. When I went with the family on our family vacation, I had the two bags tied to the top of the vehicle, and that worked great.

But most of the time, if I’m not traveling far, I just literally throw it in the back of the truck and I can just be out there in five minutes. Or if I have them in the bag still, then I’m out in less than 20.

What is your best memory with your Tiwal?

My goal is to sail in as many different lakes as possible, and I’m trying to track them all. I was able to sail all five Great Lakes in less than five months because of the Tiwal. I wouldn’t have been able to do that with any other type of sailboat.

My favorite sail probably was going from St. Ignace, up in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and sailing over to Mackinac Island, to the Grand Hotel. The only way you can get to the island is by plane or a ferry, and there I am on my little Tiwal, flying in there. It was so spectacular to go through the Straits of Mackinac. I’ll never forget that.

And then I recently had the opportunity to go to Japan and connect with the Tiwal community. To sail in the ocean for the first time, in the Pacific Ocean, it was just a dream. It was so special. So super grateful.