bassmanben moves slowly towards the dark side....

harness your energy, young padwan warrior....

or something like that.

on saturday i drove down to lake kaweah south of fresno to meet a guy about a boat.

nice gentleman was selling a hobie sport with sail kit for a reasonable price.

we tried it out, but were too nervous to try out the sail kit.  everything seemed in order so we bought it and were on our way.  this kayak is primarily for my wife.  she used it on sunday in tomales for the clam digging adventure and it seemed to work out pretty well for her.

the jury is still out on whether we will keep the sail kit or sell it, we'll try it out a couple times first before we make that decision.

i will probably sell the kayak towards the end of the year to move into a revolution but for now this will be for my wife and occasionally me when i want to troll and feel lazy.

any ideas on how to start pimping it out?  pictures will come soon.

on saturday i drove down to lake kaweah south of fresno to meet a guy about a boat.

I was fully prepared for this to be the start of a good joke.   

All i gotta say ben is try the revo and adventure before you want to drop that coin.  The resale is pretty good, but they ain't or everyone, that's for certain.  You can try mine out anytime.

And if you want to sell that sail kit, i've got dibs.   

question on the hobies. Can you guys stow your rods below deck for surf launches/landings? If so, do you use the big front hatch? I can't imagine the round center hatches would be easy to use for rod storage.

Was it the one for $850 on Craigslist?  That one sounded like a good deal (all the deals are in a galaxy far far away from the Bay area) if one had the time to head down there.

question on the hobies. Can you guys stow your rods below deck for surf launches/landings? If so, do you use the big front hatch? I can't imagine the round center hatches would be easy to use for rod storage.

For me, any attempt at below deck storage for fish once i'm OTW in my hobie.  The adventure is just too long and narrow to be scooting up to manipulate a 7' rod through that front hatch in swells and wind.  Undoubtedly a more comfortable proposition in the outback, but still a yoga move for sure.

In surf landings like LK, I'll break down my gear by bagging and stowing my reels and just lash my rods to the topside deck where the paddle would otherwise go.

Hey Ben:

John at Mel Cotton's says the hobie sport is killer fun in the surfzone.  I'm just sayin' ...  

yes, it was that one.

the sale of the sail would lower the price to something a lot more palatable for sure.  from what i see they seem to sell for a pretty decent amount of money.  but if the wife likes it we will keep it.  she's the one who allowed me to buy the yak anyways.  i really could care less about sailing =)

i'm a little bit sad about selling off the tandem this week before we even used it once but not that much.

eric, i talked to allen about it on sunday and he says he puts his rods in his paddle keepers and stows his reels below deck.

i think the revo will be fine for me, of course i will be happy to take it for a test ride martin!  

question on the hobies. Can you guys stow your rods below deck for surf launches/landings? If so, do you use the big front hatch? I can't imagine the round center hatches would be easy to use for rod storage.

YES and yes.  I've been stowing rods under the hatch on my Adventure and Revo even in rough water.  You just have straddle the yak, keep your center of gravity low, and inch your way up to the front hatch.  No big deal at all especially on the Revo.

question on the hobies. Can you guys stow your rods below deck for surf launches/landings? If so, do you use the big front hatch? I can't imagine the round center hatches would be easy to use for rod storage.

YES and yes.  I've been stowing rods under the hatch on my Adventure and Revo even in rough water.  You just have straddle the yak, keep your center of gravity low, and inch your way up to the front hatch.  No big deal at all especially on the Revo.

X2. I only on the Adventure but have no problems stowing/removing rods from the front hatch.

Z

My only qualm about Hobie is how they manage to make the hatch about an inch or so too small.
For a company to put the majority of their eggs in the 'mirage drive' basket and not design the hatch to EASILY accommodate said drive is beyond me. Even with Turbo Fins.
The drive should fit in the front hatch w/o having to change drive settings, pull pins, angle this up or that down a certain way to squeeze it in.
This was the kill point for me buying one when they first came out.
I had this argument with Ricky aka Paddleandflies ( whatever happened to that guy?). He said it fit no prob. I met him at Natomas and asked him to show me. Only took him about 10 minutes on dry land with the kayak on a rack about waist high before he got it in. That does me NO good in big chop/wind in or near the kelp.
Same goes with the sail mast. When it is broken down to two pieces it should fit inside the kayak.
They should design the hatch around all the bells and whistles they sell that go with the kayak they sell.
Other than that I love my Hobie. 

My only qualm about Hobie is how they manage to make the hatch about an inch or so too small.
For a comapny to put the majority of their eggs in the 'mirage drive' basket and not design the hatch to EASILY

Mike, out of curiosity, what do you mean?

Michael

My only qualm about Hobie is how they manage to make the hatch about an inch or so too small.
For a comapny to put the majority of their eggs in the 'mirage drive' basket and not design the hatch to EASILY

Mike, out of curiosity, what do you mean?

Michael

I hit something and it posted it before I was even close to finishing.
Corrected the error.

They should design the hatch around all the bells and whistles they sell that go with the kayak they sell.

Yup, couldn't agree with you more!

Michael

few pics for your approval

wife on the sport




me lookin as cool as always

What were your thoughts?  What year is it?

BTW, most of the seat straps can be adjusted so that when pedaling you aren't in such a reclined state.  I know at first it can be fun but when on the water for a full day, I find myself usually upright, but sometimes going back and forth between positions.

And what did you think of the pontoons?  Might have been too difficult to tell with such nice conditions.  Did you try to test them by rocking back and forth.  Maybe not with the wheels just laying in the tank well.

Michael

wow ben, if it doesn't leak, then it looks like you got yourself a pretty sweat deal