This gentleman in Danville had two and I bought one on Tuesday.  The other person who committed to the second has flaked on him.  I told him that I would post it here.

If interested call Joe at (925) 866-0460.  I paid his full asking price of $995.  I know he has turned down $800.

I took the 'ivory dune (tan) one.  This one is the 'moss green' color.  There was no real difference in condition I just wanted the lighter one.

He bought them from CCK in '06 and paddled them around Del Valle '4 times'.  4 times or not he hasn't used them much or in quite in a while and doesn't even own a vehicle now that could transport them.

They show no signs of wear.  Drive wells are clear and no cracks.  Scuppers where the wheels plug in are sound, no cracks.

Drive needs a good lube but chains are tight and no signs of wear or corrosion.  

Includes, stock Hobie seat, paddle, wheels.  He also threw in a hobie anchor, line and bag and a rod holder still in the original packaging.  

The most obvious difference from the older model is the rudder.  It is deployed and retreived by a lever not the lines they have now.  It doesn't do the twist and stow move it just projects straight out the back.  So its a little funky but workable.

Less obvious is that the dirve systems and drive well has been strengthened since this model year since some developed cracks.  There are some posts on the Hobie forum from the factory rep about this: http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=21&t=12571&sid=a470fab56cad352491c6eaead7230352  Maybe some of the Hobie guys can add to this if I missed something.

Net of it is I bought a used one so I could spend a few months deciding if I liked the Mirage drive and outback platform before I went whole hog a dropped a couple grand on a new one.  

I just picked up a used Outback.  1st add on will be a combo FF/GPS.  In looking around the site it sounds like the favorites are Humminbird, Eagle Cuda then Lowrance.

I use Lowrance on my big boats and like them but then I've got a motor charging the batteries.

I assume BW is easier on battery life than color.  I see a few gelpacks and a lot of rechargeable AA battery packs here.  

I've got a surplus in my WAF account currently and a few spare bucks.  What are your recommendations?

Attached is my highly scientific detailed analysis   comparing yaks, specs, list prices, etc.  It only covers 8 models: 4 OKs, 2 Hobies and 2 WS.  Its worth every penny you paid for it.

I have to confess I comparison shop tent stakes and it drives my wife nuts.  But I rarely suffer from buyers remorse.

The net of it is put some miles on each to try and be objective about a subjective decision. Its all about tradeoffs.

Then after all of that throw it out and jump on a used yak deal on CraigsList.

Pretty amusing stuff.

Sold to a Coastsider with seats and paddles for $400.  Just left it here as a market value reference point.

It is a Necky Cruiser II.  Necky 'retired' this model some years ago but they have a picture of it here: http://www.neckykayaks.com/kayaks/retired/

It's a tandem with a seat in the middle so you can easily solo it.  It has hatches fore, in the middle and aft and a rudder with foot controls that can adjust to work from the rear or the middle seat if you're solo.  I generally go out by myself to dive from this boat.

It's about 14 1/2 ft long, 36" beam and a little over 70 lbs. It can carry quite a load.

What I can tell you is that I bought this yak barely used about 7-8 years ago.  This is a used boat so it has plenty of scratches from landing on rock beaches like Reef campground.  But it is not abused.

I assume you guys all have seats and paddles.  If not we can negotiate a couple of each into the deal.

Jeff
(650) 575-9255
jeff@jwrichards.com