mirage flippers=shark bait

oh man, i smell a Lexington stage race coming on.   the race of truth.  Who's up for some conditioning races this winter?  We could do a short-track crit; a time trial; and a distance, team "road race"!!  How f'ing awesome would that be?  If there's some interest, i'll organize.  lay this question to rest once and for all (for the day anyway  )

Hobie all the way.  Not just for 300 meter sprint speed, but for sustained paddling efficiency, cornering, and covering ground while fishing.

(I just hate lugging around that bulky 8 lb drive unit!)

Team Hobie, you guys might want to recruit Dan 964 also known as "Shark attack Dan" & "Check out my sexy legs"......he's a cyclist too 

And since I'm a paddler by nature, I'll say Dave (from Ebay) and Scott Thornley will give you Peddlers a run for your money. 

Let's get it on 

*this is what happens to NCKA when the fishing get's slow  I've seen it time and time and again 

Chuck,

Pedal your Adventure/Mirage out from RWC to the sunken ship one fine summer afternoon. I'd be happy to accompany you, but I'll be in a hull that's almost the exact opposite of yours. Skinny, low primary stability, a low center of gravity, and outfitted such that I'm almost glued in place. I'll also use a simple paddle that is at the low end of propulsion efficiency.

Regards,
Scott

Game on, Scott.  I'll take you up on your challenge as long as your kayak is comparable in length and width.  For example -- your new Tarpon 160, is a perfect match in size.

Scott, I guess you missed my point when I said:

Not to brag, but I can go faster and farther in a Hobie Adventure than anyone I know in a similar size kayak.

Just about anybody on a skinny 20' surfski or racing kayak can beat a 16' long, 27" wide Hobie Adventure designed for fishing.

Chuck,

Note that I didn't "challenge" you. I even used the word "accompany". I just proposed what I believe to be an eye opening trip for you. Heck, I promise to not turn it into a race. If you pedal all the way out and back, I'll even declare you to be the victor.

I just want to be in a kayak that I feel comfortable with. It's the Looksha IV skeg model. Certainly not a race boat. Longer over all than an Adventure, but similar if not shorter waterline length. Definitely narrower, but that's a significant part of my point here. I bet third parties would confirm the Adventure to be faster as well. What do you think?

Regards,
Scott

P.S. Another significant part of my point, is that it happen on a "fine summer afternoon", with good weather in the bay area. Call it upper 50s in San Francisco, mid-to-upper 80s in the South bay, and not a cloud in the sky. The kind of day where you'd find dozens, if not hundreds of people using the bay for recreation.

P.P.S. The last significant portion of my point, is that a significant portion of the trip is from the mouth of Redwood Creek, out to the sunken ship.

Scott

...how about the San Mateo bridge - round trip - starting from the West side 

I'd throw in some cross-winds to make it interesting. I'd best you all in my legend with wing paddle.

Sharks bottom line, IMO, will sample a paddler or peddler if it wants to.

There it is.  When your numbers up, your numbers up - whether paddling a T160, peddling a Hobie adventure, or turtlebacking in a camo wetsuit back to shore after a day of cherrypicking abs.

i'll bet anybody 100 bucks that they cannot beat chucke and his hobie with a paddle-yak. that dude can haul-ass. i once saw him paddle out into a very strong head wind at muir beach and he blew past me like i was standing still. in fact that wind was so strong that i was standing still. those boats are amazingly efficient.

Cha-ching I see a couple of pigeons on this board. I'll take your money kayakjack. I smoke hobies annually at our local racing events.

Heres the race Venue-A ten mile stretch of the Eel river from Scotia to Fortuna. It's a straight away with few bends. It has head and crosswinds. The distance would demonstrate not only your ability to paddle fast but your endurance also. (Ten river miles goes quick)

Who can enter-Anyone with $20 and a people powered craft (no racing shells or surfskis)

Salmon/steelhead fishing the rest of the weekend-

Camping in the redwoods at Burlington campground, avenue of the giants

LET'S GET IT ON!!

I see whitey as a big fish and like fishing sometimes you need a jig with a more action (mirage) to get their attention and sometimes they take anything.
  and I've got my money on my Hobie brother.

Beat me to the punch Joel. I was going to warn Scott about Chucks cycling. Like him I have a pedal sled and am also an avid cyclist. When I took off late at HMB I was dead last and piddling around the harbor, but I still was able to pass all the paddlers and was in front exiting the harbor. I wasn't even trying. Now imaginne young Chuc's speed with "Turbo fins" He'll kick some serious butt!!!

 I've hit 5.6mph and maintained it for about 30yds once on my OB! With stock fins

Guys,

As far as I'm concerned, this isn't a speed contest. If Chuck completes the course, I'll publicly acknowledge that I was wrong about the Adventures ability in conditions that I personally find to be entertaining. All I ask is that he post about his experiences when we're done.

Beat me to the punch Joel. I was going to warn Scott about Chucks cycling. Like him I have a pedal sled and am also an avid cyclist. When I took off late at HMB I was dead last and piddling around the harbor, but I still was able to pass all the paddlers and was in front exiting the harbor. I wasn't even trying. Now imaginne young Chuc's speed with "Turbo fins" He'll kick some serious butt!!!

Splashdown,

If you started dead last at HMB, then you never passed me. There were about a dozen guys that had started out before me. I had caught up to most of them ( including at least one Hobie Adventure) by the jaws of the harbor. I took the inside route to get north of Mavericks, so when I stopped to check out some marks on my fishfinder, even the frontrunners were behind me on the outside.

Regards,
Scott

Not that anyone is "taking sides" or anything like that, but if this does happen, I'm gonna have to with Chuck on this one!  

Not to brag, but I can go faster and farther in a Hobie Adventure than anyone I know in a similar size kayak.  The pedal drive also has a huge advantage over a paddle going against the wind.





Troy

Gee.. thanks guys for the vote of confidence, but I'm not the cycling stud I use to be (or wish I was). 

When I was riding my road bike routinely, I could do 200 miles a day for fun and do non-stop 40 mile training rides averaging over 23mph. But now that I've been off the bike so long, I doubt I can complete the 12 mile mountain bike trail loop at Lake Chabot without hurting.

The last time I clocked myself on the Adventure with a GPS, I was maintaining a 5.6mph average for 2 miles straight.  If I ever get my legs and lungs back in shape, I'm confident I can bring that 2 mile average to at least 6mph.

The specs on the Hobie Adventure are:

Length: 16' 0"
Width: 27.5"
Hull Weight: 63 lbs.
Mirage Drive Weight: 7.2 lbs.
Capacity: 350 lbs.

And the WS Tarpon 160 for comparison:

Length: 16' 0"
Width: 28"
Hull Weight: 65 lbs.
Capacity: 375 lbs.

You can see the specs are very similar (minus the drive, of course) and yet, there's no way I can paddle the T160 as fast.  I'd be lucky to maintain a 5mph average for 2 miles.  I'm sure more experienced paddlers like Swellrider or Scott can do better.