sat on the new Hobie

I believe it's called the Angler Pro. It's huge. It looked close to 40 inches wide. It has a lawn chair type seat with all kinds of features. The salesman said it was 88 pounds with nothing on it. He said IT'S OVER 100 FULLY Rigged. The hull shape ate up a bunch of storage space. It had 6 semi internal rod holders. I liked the idea but they felt flimsy. I would love to take it out on the water. Price was 2200.

How much was it to sit in it and feel like a fat old bass fisherman? It does look comfy

Merv,

I'm sooo, sooo very glad you did not use the K* word to describe the new Hobie.



















*Kayak

I don't get it.The industry should be producing sleeker,lighter and performance NOT couch/barge! 

And bombproof instead of flimsy add-on gimmicks.OK rant off (for now)

I've given the Prangler (boat/yak/whatever) a few tests fishing and was pretty pleasantly surprised. Yep it's a pig, no doubt about that. Not the funnest to put on top of the car but surprisingly not that hard either. But those points disappear when you take it on the water. It's relatively fast (on par w/ the Outback) and turns on a dime. Really, really cool for tight spaces. Sight fishing on this thing is awesome. Standing is really easy even while fighting a fish. Might as well be in a bass boat. If I fished lakes most of the time I'd get it for sure. But I fish the salt so I doubt I'd ever have one in my quiver.

I don't get it.The industry should be producing sleeker,lighter and performance NOT couch/barge!  

The industry is definitely going in a new direction. I never thought I'd see the day OK would go electric.

BTW I didn't get the impression that there was anything flimsy about the Prangler. If anything it was too stout.

Z

Not to beat up on Hobie in particular, but this latest offering follows a trend taken up by several manufacturers of wider, heavier molds loaded with plenty of add-ons that provide more places for  water to leak in. Plus, five years from now rotomolded plastic is going to be history.

How about producing simple, clean-lined, minimalist, performance oriented kayaks using hightech, bombproof polymers (the technology may be cost prohibitive now, but it exists) for the PRO FISHERMAN? Not pigs for midwest farm ponds. Some of us fish salt, know how to brace and don't need primary stability to be the dominant design characteristic.

Those paid by the manufacture will always find ways to put makeup on the pigs, but this is another glorified bathtub with camp chairs in it IMO.

The OK motorboat is a joke too.If I didn't want to paddle and wanted to spend that on a boat I'd buy a used Boston Whaler. 

How about producing simple, clean-lined, minimalist, performance oriented kayaks using hightech, bombproof polymers (the technology may be cost prohibitive now, but it exists) for the PRO FISHERMAN? Not pigs for midwest farm ponds. Some of us fish salt, know how to brace and don't need primary stability to be the dominant design characteristic.

I totally agree (& also don't mean to bash the manufacturers) but GEEZ when will they give me a 14-15 foot yak with a tank well, a hatch big enough for the wheeleze sand cart frame, made with some cool crash-helmet polymer that would take a beating and weigh (unloaded) in the 45lb range???
Well, a man can dream......

when will they give me a 14-15 foot yak with a tank well, a hatch big enough for the wheeleze sand cart frame, made with some cool crash-helmet polymer that would take a beating and weigh (unloaded) in the 45lb range???
Well, a man can dream......

You said it! Looking forward to that day as well.

Z

How about producing simple, clean-lined, minimalist, performance oriented kayaks using hightech, bombproof polymers (the technology may be cost prohibitive now, but it exists) for the PRO FISHERMAN? Not pigs for midwest farm ponds. Some of us fish salt, know how to brace and don't need primary stability to be the dominant design characteristic.

I totally agree (& also don't mean to bash the manufacturers) but GEEZ when will they give me a 14-15 foot yak with a tank well, a hatch big enough for the wheeleze sand cart frame, made with some cool crash-helmet polymer that would take a beating and weigh (unloaded) in the 45lb range???
Well, a man can dream......

The weight you cite is going to be really difficult to hit in a recreational (vs racing) hull. Look at what Kevlar/Carbon/Glass SIKs weigh, and you'll see that getting below 50 lbs costs $$$$. 

Personally, I want an ocean fishing kayak in the British style. A boat that emphasizes performance in the hands of an accomplished paddler at the expense of newbie friendliness. Long, sleek, fast. A true joy to paddle. I do like my T160DH as a fishing platform. A lot, even. But there's no comparison between it and a sweet SIK when it comes to putting a smile on your face just from paddling. But even I admit it's probably going to weigh over 50 lbs. Maybe closer to 55.

Scott

I like the idea of the big barge for when I go out to both fish and dive on the same run. It gets crowded quickly on my Adventure. I didn't think the boat was flimsy but the rod holder setup was. It came with turbo fins. I don't mind a slower hull in the pedal boats because I can just sit back and cruise. I have a bad neck so paddling a big boat is painful. I have a Cobra Triple also and that thing goes into wind lake a spread out bed sheet.

My two biggest complaints were the hugeboat/limited internal storage combo and the rodholder feel. The pros were The huge deck space and the extra deck space on top of that.