Any fad diets for Hobies? Asking for a friend.

I recently went to a PNW HOW event near me.  It was good to meet some new folks and some guys I knew from NWKA.  A 5 year old caught the biggest fish a monster (23+" stocked brooder).  I got skunked but wasn't worried about it.  I hadn't done much to get ready other than throw things in the truck.  I always thought my Stealth was bulky at 18.2 feet, but manageable.  I helped load the fleet of Hobie's.  Frack those things are overweight pigs compared to a Stealth.  Hobie if you read this, contact Richard Simmons, or any other Hollywood weight loss guru. Your boats need to go on a diet. I about jerked my shoulder out of the socket when I grabbed the back end of Tandem to get it out of the water and back into the trailer.  I know fat shaming isn't cool anymore, but guys when Thule and Yakima are working on fork lifts to get your Yaks up on to their racks, you might have a problem.  I can a see in the racks in the future having ratings that say "not rated for the Hobie Heffer."  Slim down guys, its okay to be thin and svelte!

Yes! Hobies need to go on a starvation diet.

I thought that once all of those other pedal drives came on the market, Hobie would tackle the weight issue which, IMHO, is the last frontier in fishing kayak design. They've made a few gestures in that direction with thermoformed kayaks (Passport), but mostly they've gone in the opposite direction. I have a pre-2015 AI, and it's a lightweight compared to the 2015-and-later models. What's worse, they don't even make the AI anymore, in favor of the truly obese Tandem Island. If you are looking for lightweight, I doubt that Hobie is ever going to be the right choice...

Preach it, Squidder.
My current challenge is to keep overall yak and gear weight down as much as possible.

The trend of bringing massive amounts of gear has got to have reached it's peak now?

I would love to see a niche open for lighter, more spartan boats and rigging in general, but I'm not gonna hold my breath. Maybe when the majority of us are over 65?

My assessment from GS18 was that fishers that still want to do the more remote beach launches are scooping up the no-longer-produced Hobies and OK tridents because the portages are too much with a heavy yak like a newer hobie .

Please add Old Town to this list. I had to go back to the gym to protect my back and shoulder. Once had to pay a high school kid at Rockaway to help me drag that sucker back to my car because the “sand wheels” were too deep in the sand to pull.

Who needs deck space anyway. Revo is the way. Skinny and sexy. 😂

 

They really are heavy. It seems like kayaks in general are getting heavier. I think a huge driver of kayak sales is bass fishing. You need a lot of plastic to support 2 motors, 2 10” screens, and a gillion amp hour battery to run it all. Plus at least a dozen rods and loads of tackle.

good luck. With Hobie being sold to a private investment group.

hilarious! thanks for that.

yah would be nice to get the weight out, but that costs $$$ - rotomold is just too easy and cheap.

You could also take the opposite angle and say most kayak fisherman don’t lift weights and are fat and out of shape. But yes the hobies are heavy and if you don’t know how to lift it properly can get seriously hurt. My brother just hurt his back carrying his hobie.

Hobie Lynx is very light. I've been using it on 80% of my trips due to the ease of handling. But the number of items I've lost off the deck is much higher than my OB.

For the Lynx 2 they should add a small 3" tall side lip to keep small items from going over, built-in side handles, Pereguard protection pre-installed on the edges and bow, and a few more attachment options.

I just bought a 2019 Revo 11 & 13 and they are really easy to carry around…the weight was a big factor why I wanted another Revo. They’re pretty light compared to most of my other kayaks.
Also, I’m gonna need to sell some yaks to make room now…probably the OT Predator 13 and OK Prowler 13.

Hobie Revolution 13 has a hull weight of about 70 pounds. Only around 12 pounds heavier than the ProFisha 475. The option for a pedal drive on the Revo makes carrying the extra 12 pounds worth it IMO.

But the Outback and Pro Angler models are pretty heavy. Same can be said for most new fishing kayaks on the market nowadays. I agree with 3$J's assessment: the market is now geared towards the black bass industrial complex. Big platforms built to accomodate motors, FFS, all the bells n whistles. I will share some of the blame for that, given that I'm still pedaling around in a 2015 model Revo 13 with the V2 drive fishing for everything except black bass. I'm not making the kayak industry any money  .

I was happy throwing my two light little Hobie Sports on top of my Prius for 7 years.  In 2018 I upgraded to get more deck space.  After a few years of schlepping that thing on top of my Prius, I now understand why they call it an Out Back.   

My Outback is maneuverable. I can shuffle side walk it out of my cramped garage if needed.  It’s heavy yes, but for me the danger is the bulk/size.  If I hurt myself it will because I tried something dumb. I do yoga stretches now regularly.

I’ll never buy a pro-angler.  I pretend I’m deaf when my friend asks for help.

I wouldn’t want it lighter, because it’s bet that make our hulls crack even more. I’m okay with my chubby Outback.

Hobie Revolution 13 has a hull weight of about 70 pounds. Only around 12 pounds heavier than the ProFisha 475. The option for a pedal drive on the Revo makes carrying the extra 12 pounds worth it IMO.

But the Outback and Pro Angler models are pretty heavy. Same can be said for most new fishing kayaks on the market nowadays. I agree with 3$J's assessment: the market is now geared towards the black bass industrial complex. Big platforms built to accomodate motors, FFS, all the bells n whistles. I will share some of the blame for that, given that I'm still pedaling around in a 2015 model Revo 13 with the V2 drive fishing for everything except black bass. I'm not making the kayak industry any money  .

A Stealth Triple nickel at 18 feet in fiberglass is 65 pounds, mine is in carbon and I am guessing (as it is not listed on Stealths website) around 60 lbs.  I had a Hobie Quest (Paddle Yak), and felt like it weighed more but I think I recall the quest was around 60 lbs.  Hard to say as one was 13 feet the other being over 18ft.  My difficulty is loading and unloading on top of the truck with ripping the venturis off the hull (done it once, when I didn't pay attention).  Stealth has some other models I would love to explore: the Profisha 575 (61lbs, almost 19 feet long, 23.8 " wide which would make a fast yak to get out to fish with) and the Elite would be another one I would love to paddle (17.4 feet long, 23.8" wide, and 57 pounds reminds of kayaks 10-15 years ago guys used to carry on their shoulders at the launch, those days are gone.