Anyone fish in a tandem?

Thanks for the help everyone! I'm pretty much sold on a Hobie now just trying to find one at the right price. Do I get a newer one like 2022 oasis or compass with 1/2 180 drives from 2-2.5k or there's someone selling a really old Hobie mirage outfitter tandem. Similar seats like the craigslist one someone posted. How are the seats? Do you get really wet? Are the newer seats worth it? They're selling the mirage outfitter tandem for 600 dollars. So it is quite a bit cheaper

I would steer away from those older pedals simply bc the parts are harder to find ...

I would respectfully disagree with that. I have multiple GT drives and have rebuilt some of them fairly recently. It's easy to find non-Hobie cables and chains (which are cheaper than Hobie parts and, IMHO, better than the Hobie originals) and those are the parts that are by far the most likely to break. I make my own crank arms, so I can't comment on those (other than to say that I have a bunch of official Hobie crank arms, if anybody want to get one for cheap, not to mention pre-GT drums...). The only part that I've been unable to find is the spine, and the chance that you'll ever need a new one of those is extremely remote.

You'll be fine on the hobie compass.  I've fished many, many times out of both pedal and paddle tandems, both with others aboard and solo. 

Some things to consider when tandem fishing are:

• coordinating portage, because tandems tend to be longer and heavier than you may be able to yield yourself
• OTW time, you may want to still fish after she's done reading
• fitness disparity, be prepared to be sole actuator
• assuming you sit in rear, wacking her in head or face as you fight a big fish that runs across your bow
• surf launch/landing coordination, tricky enough in a solo, sometimes sketchy getting two aboard and underway

As for fishing solo off of a tandem, done that plenty of times, including 10+ mile days for salmon trolling.  If you can only buy one, then get the tandem, and simply spreadload the boat to mitigate hull slap at the bow.

Hobie's tend to retain resale value on secondary market so just buy it, get in your few/several years of blissful yakfishing with your lady, then sell it again when you're ready or want to up your game to a kitted out single boat.

Paddle or peddle, there is ample opportunity to talk things out with a significant other. Hobie makes better boats in the peddle realm. they will track better, keep you drier, and will be fairly durable. My wife and I have fished out of a tandem Oasis for the last decade, and been in all sorts of water, and it is a lovely ride. MalibuTwo XL is a great all around boat, but the Zest by ocean kayak tracks like a dream.

https://sfbay.craigslist.org/scz/spo/d/gilroy-hobie-oasis-kayak/7766264991.html

we started out in this version of oasis, and it is a super worthy boat. I like that it has more space than the compass.

good luck,

Aloha,

Isao

You'll be fine on the hobie compass.  I've fished many, many times out of both pedal and paddle tandems, both with others aboard and solo. 

Some things to consider when tandem fishing are:

• coordinating portage, because tandems tend to be longer and heavier than you may be able to yield yourself
• OTW time, you may want to still fish after she's done reading
• fitness disparity, be prepared to be sole actuator
• assuming you sit in rear, wacking her in head or face as you fight a big fish that runs across your bow
• surf launch/landing coordination, tricky enough in a solo, sometimes sketchy getting two aboard and underway

As for fishing solo off of a tandem, done that plenty of times, including 10+ mile days for salmon trolling.  If you can only buy one, then get the tandem, and simply spreadload the boat to mitigate hull slap at the bow.

Hobie's tend to retain resale value on secondary market so just buy it, get in your few/several years of blissful yakfishing with your lady, then sell it again when you're ready or want to up your game to a kitted out single boat.

Based on 3 Hobie Oasis I owned, I recommend one with a Vantage seat, which is much more comfortable and keeps you dry.  You should be able to find an Oasis or Compass kayak for 2-2.5k.
You should visit a Hobie dealer to check out Oasis and Compass, as they have not changed for many years.

Paul

I enjoyed the old model hobie mirage tandem that I fished out of for a few years.  I upgraded one set of drive fins to the "turbo" fins that were available for the 1st gen drives and it made a difference.  The rudder on that model offered marginal control given its size.  The other consideration is how you wish to use it.  With two people it trucks along just fine but at times could feel a bit unstable (that said, I haven't been in other tandems with two people).  I did find that when using it solo, it did offer a lot of extra room up front for stuff which was great.  The downside was that with the weight in the back the front would rise up enough to both get slapped around a lot with any kind of chop, and with any cross wind would cause the boat to want to spin around a lot.  Without a drift sock or something, I was more relegated to having to troll more than being able to drift fish.  Of course, that could have been attributed to it being my first yak and I didn't play with it enough to figure out how to fish better out of it before I upgraded to an adventure island which worked out to be a way better platform for me given the kind of water therapy that is close to me.

Good luck with whatever you decide to do.  I kept my old hobie (which I bought used) for a few extra years for friends and kin to use, and sold it for what I paid for it, so it worked out pretty well for me.

The downside was that with the weight in the back the front would rise up enough to both get slapped around a lot with any kind of chop, and with any cross wind would cause the boat to want to spin around a lot.

I've read that some people add weight inside the front hatch when soloing in a Tandem Island (from the rear seat)...

My son and I fished off from the Oasis when he was younger.  Vantage seats are very important.  I also highly recommend getting the sidekick outrigger.  They are essentially inflatable buoys which makes a big difference in the stability of the yak.  It is pretty easy to installed.

I have been fishing out of a glass tandem since the ‘80’s.  Hard to beat this one.  Necky Tofino - Fast, dry and stable.

My son and I fished off from the Oasis when he was younger.  Vantage seats are very important.  I also highly recommend getting the sidekick outrigger.  They are essentially inflatable buoys which makes a big difference in the stability of the yak.  It is pretty easy to installed.

I agree with all these important points.

Paul

My 2 cents, the outfitter would work if both people were under 150, and sub 5’6. It isn’t the most spacious boat. Compass has a better layout than the outfitter, but the oasis is amazing. Personally don’t think the 180 drive is worth it, just more things to break, and not a function that I want anyways. Vantage seats are amazing, but I’m fishing a 2015 oasis, and it still works great.