Hobie Revo 16!

IMO 350lb weight capacity sucks as does the weight of the hull itself.

Uh yeah, it weighs a half pound more than your outback but is four feet longer.

Matt Miller from Hobie says "No more Island inserts, no more daggerboard slot, but the new Revo16 will be Lowrance ready!"

Nice!

Hobie lists the Revo 16 as 1 lb. lighter than the Adventure in terms of hull weight. It may be a difference in rounding of the weight. The new seat is nice though it will make the boat a little tippier. Hard to see with the same level of buoyancy as the Revo 13 and same width, and 5 lbs. heavier overall, how the extra 2.5 feet of length is going to translate into a faster boat.

Longer boats tend to be faster because they are also narrower while still able to support the same amount of load as a shorter and broader boat. That is not the situation with the Revo 16. In theory the maximum speed of a boat with a displacement hull is 1.34 times the square root of the waterline length. And this is the "waterline" length and not the hull length overall. One would need to put a 200# person into each boat and then measure the waterline for that portion of the boat in contact with the water.

If for grins we assume that the 13'5" Revo 13 has 12'5" of "waterline" and the Revo 16 has 15' of waterline, the maximum hull speed for the Revo 13 would be 4.7 knots and for the Revo 16 it would be 5.2 knots. In theory and given an electric drive unit the Revo 16 would be about 10% faster. This does not equate to 10% greater efficiency. It will still take more energy to move the longer and heavier boat through the water. With the same amount of power applied by the person at the pedals or from a Hobie sail there is not likely to be an appreciable difference in speed.

It is too bad that Hobie did not upgrade the round storage hatch with a rectangular one. They failed to do this even with the new Outback and this would have been trivial to do with this model and it is a common owner upgrade to take the PA12 hatch and install it one the Outback, making it possible to stow regular Plano tackle boxes inside. Even the "boat of the year" Old Town Predator XL is pathetic when it comes to convenient access to stored tackle out on the water.

Length is one factor along with width & (maybe) most importantly is hull shape.  Those factors, I don't think, take into account for hull shape.

Hobie lists the Revo 16 as 1 lb. lighter than the Adventure in terms of hull weight. It may be a difference in rounding of the weight. The new seat is nice though it will make the boat a little tippier. Hard to see with the same level of buoyancy as the Revo 13 and same width, and 5 lbs. heavier overall, how the extra 2.5 feet of length is going to translate into a faster boat.

Longer boats tend to be faster because they are also narrower while still able to support the same amount of load as a shorter and broader boat. That is not the situation with the Revo 16. In theory the maximum speed of a boat with a displacement hull is 1.34 times the square root of the waterline length. And this is the "waterline" length and not the hull length overall. One would need to put a 200# person into each boat and then measure the waterline for that portion of the boat in contact with the water.

If for grins we assume that the 13'5" Revo 13 has 12'5" of "waterline" and the Revo 16 has 15' of waterline, the maximum hull speed for the Revo 13 would be 4.7 knots and for the Revo 16 it would be 5.2 knots. In theory and given an electric drive unit the Revo 16 would be about 10% faster. This does not equate to 10% greater efficiency. It will still take more energy to move the longer and heavier boat through the water. With the same amount of power applied by the person at the pedals or from a Hobie sail there is not likely to be an appreciable difference in speed.

It is too bad that Hobie did not upgrade the round storage hatch with a rectangular one. They failed to do this even with the new Outback and this would have been trivial to do with this model and it is a common owner upgrade to take the PA12 hatch and install it one the Outback, making it possible to stow regular Plano tackle boxes inside. Even the "boat of the year" Old Town Predator XL is pathetic when it comes to convenient access to stored tackle out on the water.

I think the Adventure is 27.5 inches wide and the Revo is 28.5 wide. Believe me, you can take an Adventure faster than "maximum" hull speed of 5.2 knots. The biggest advantage of the extra length in the Adventure is the ability to pierce incoming chop and go through rather than float over and slap. Even a one or two percent difference in energy use would be noticeable in an all day race or hard pedal.

Waiting to see how this shakes out... , then I'll decide...

It is too bad that Hobie did not upgrade the round storage hatch with a rectangular one. They failed to do this even with the new Outback and this would have been trivial to do with this model and it is a common owner upgrade to take the PA12 hatch and install it one the Outback, making it possible to stow regular Plano tackle boxes inside. Even the "boat of the year" Old Town Predator XL is pathetic when it comes to convenient access to stored tackle out on the water.

There are a few things to consider:

Will the larger rectangular hatch cover hit your legs if its open.
What about shorter people, will they need to take their feet of the pedals or sit side saddle to get access.

I'm sold. This will be my next yak.

Hard to see with the same level of buoyancy as the Revo 13 and same width, and 5 lbs. heavier overall, how the extra 2.5 feet of length is going to translate into a faster boat.

Longer boats tend to be faster because they are also narrower while still able to support the same amount of load as a shorter and broader boat. That is not the situation with the Revo 16.

It will still take more energy to move the longer and heavier boat through the water. With the same amount of power applied by the person at the pedals or from a Hobie sail there is not likely to be an appreciable difference in speed.

I guess you are assuming that Hobie changed the hull below the waterline to be more like the Revo13? I doubt that. If they had done that they would be promoting some increased primary stability over the Adventure kayak that the Revo16 is replacing. As long as Hobie left the hull alone, except adding the Lowrance ready & deleting the daggerboard hole, I can tell you from lots & lots of experience with both the Adventure & Revo13 that the former is significantly easier to achieve & maintain speed than a Revo13. I found that to be the case while pedaling, paddling, & sailing. Yes it is a few pounds heavier than the 13 but it is also narrower, three feet longer, & the hull design itself favors speed & better tracking compared to the 13.

I do miss the 13's easier loading/unloading with 3 less feet & the larger/closer to the cockpit forward hatch. But the on the water performance of the Addy is a worthwhile trade off. Anyway, I hope you are wrong. We should be finding out very soon.

Just heard more from Hobie......

"No shape changes for the Revo 16. The reverse bows are only for the Islands."

So other than the addition of the Lowrance scupper ready cavity the hull bottom of the Adventure/Revo16 will remain the same.

& yes it's, still, faster than all the other mirage driven kayaks. One long day OTW will convince those that dare.   

The bad news is they haven't even started production yet. Won't see any until Nov-Dec at the earliest per Hobie.   

I'm sold. This will be my next yak.

Me too!  I'll be placing my order in the next week. 

Josh

Josh on an Adventure = scary thought, for fish!

Josh on an Adventure = scary thought, for fish!

I need something to get me out to the Soquel Hole and back.  Plan on doing it often next year!

Josh

Forgot to say--you're welcome to borrow my Revo 13 if you want to testdrive a Hobie before dropping $ on the new one.

Josh on an Adventure = scary thought, for fish!

I need something to get me out to the Soquel Hole and back.  Plan on doing it often next year!

Josh

Dude if you want some capable company on trip like that please PM me. I have been brainstorming on some longer trolling and one way shuttle trips. Adventures/AI are the only way to go for that sort of thing.