To Hobie - Mirage Drive or not - first kayak

Nice Tote!!!

 I've towed a Zodiac with 3 guys in it up river a mile or so on the American, and have towed a panga that was without power and headed for the surf zone...

yup, they have power, not to mentioned breaking off snags out in the big blue,  anyway//

 CC&K are a good group and have supported the site in the past..

Adventure Sports will play games and do their best to beat anybody, but they have yet to support us in anyway, kind of remind me of used Car salesmen..

Sports are nice and do have their place, tighter turns, lighter,  but, for a all around yak,

 I like the Outback, it's more stable and I feel more comfortable with it's rudder handle at arms reach and the wide trays uptop... but, I see more Revo's out there than Outbacks...

 Hard Call, definitely comes down to personal preference...

As far as new vrs used,  spend the extra 2 to 3 hundred...  it will be all yours, full warranty, you will know where she's been, latest updates, etc  etc...

just think what you spend on a power boat???  and this is much more fun....

One more question, do any of you know off hand how to tell about what age the boat is by looking at it?  I see they have changed the drive and I guess they have changed the size and location of the hatches on some of the newer ones.   

http://www.hobiecat.com/support/warranty/kayakserial.html

Thanks Fish I ran across that yesterday on the internet but I appreciate your help.  I ended up buying a used Outback today.  I ended up not taking Danglings very good advice but in the end it boiled down to money and trying to see how much I will use the Outback.  I got what I think is a very good deal on an older boat.  The boat I got has the older drive but it seems to be in very good shape.   The boat itself has a few scratches and one broken bungee connector but otherwise seems to be in very good condition.  It also came with a newer sail kit that I do not believe has ever been used.  I was offered $150 for the sail already but I am going to keep it.  It looks like it might be fun to run around Lake Britton near where I grew up. 
I paid $900 for the boat and sail.  At that price I really don’t think I am going to get hurt much. I am pretty sure I can get my money back.    I will use it for a year or so and if I use it as much as I hope I will probably buy a new one.  There are a few things I like about the newer ones much more but for the almost $1000 I could not really justify it.   I also need to buy another house and the wife has her mind set on new furniture.   

Steve

  Sounds like a great deal too me!  How do you like her so far?  Abover somebody was talking about towing a zodiac, when I was in Santa Barbara a few weeks ago as I was leaving the boat ramp there was a sail boat trying to tack out to the bay and was just about dead in the water.  I asked if I could help and seemed like he thought it was a joke!  I grabbed his bow line and towed him several hundred yards to where there was a breeze for him to catch.  He was a bit embarrased but very thankful!  It was a 27/30 foot sail boat and I towed it with my turbo fins no problem! 

Sounds like it's all over but the shouting.  That Outback sounds like a good deal.

I bought CCK's used demo Revolution last year and I'm happy with the boat and the store.

A few weeks ago I towed in my girlfriend and her sister, roped together in 2 regular sit-on-tops.  Piece of cake.  Their boats had better glide without the drag of the Mirage drive and its slot, but the Mirage drive had the power.  When it came time to paddle in against the wind it was fastest for me to just pull them along.

No Zinful it is killing me but I have not had a chance to take the kayak out yet.   I work a strange schedule and got the boat home yesterday about noon but had to work last night and tonight (if you can really call surfing the internet working), but I am off for three days on Friday.  I need to get a life jacket before I go out.   I have a couple but I have them stored, with most of my fishing stuff, up in my folk’s house in Burney.   I am off for 7 days a week from Friday so I will run up and play in the mountains for a few days.  I will probably go out this Friday, at the Port of Sacramento, for a test run and a little fishing.   I am already making a checklist for all the things I want to put on it.   Funny the wife does not seem quite as excited about all this as I am.   

ConGrats and Glad your in the Game...

 sounds like a good deal, do you know what year it is,

 and check the serial # to find out if it is in the range of " effected " Hulls...

 don't be too concerned with this, just would be good to know, many of those boats where just fine and Hobie stands behind it's product.

Dangling the boat is an 04.  I am a little concerned about the hull.   I have not checked the serial number yet.  I don’t think it has been used much the last 3 or 4 years.  I know Hobie is good about taking care if their customers but I believe the hull is just about out of any type of warranty.  If I do crack a hull I know Hobie makes repair kits but I am not sure how well they work.  But so far so good. 

I got a chance to take if out today.  I went out and ran around the Port of Sac.  I did not do any fishing.   I gathered up a couple of my old rods and a little tackle.  Most of my stuff is up north.  When I got to the Port I forgot my fishing license.  Oh well I mostly just wanted to try it out. 

I really liked it.  I don’t have a lot of experience with kayaks.   It does sit a higher than most I have paddled before.  I seemed to have to make quite a few rudder changes but the longer I used it,  the less I had to do it.  I would guess some of it was because of inexperience.   

It was a lot of fun buzzing around and it is fast for as wide as it is.   I also tried out the sail.  It was a lot of fun too.   I can’t wait too get it set up.  I know I want a fish finder.   I have a handheld GPS.  I have been looking on this site at all the tricked out Hobies trying to get some ideas.  I think I might want to get Turbo Fins.  The Outback is fast enough but if does feel somewhat like peddling a bike in low gear.   I think I could use a little more resistance.   I also need to intentionally flip it a couple of times to get really comfortable moving around on it.   

All and all I was very happy with it.  I am already dreaming about catching a sturgeon on it and  all the places I can go with it.   I have owned a couple of boats and am more excited about this than any of them.    Next week I am going to Burney and think I will try it on Hat Creek and Fall River.  I need to get more experience and equipment before I feel comfortable taking it offshore but that will come in time too. 

Steve

hi steve.

welcome to the forum...
I too just recently purchased a Hobie..yesterday in fact...
I did go to CCk but to the Oakland store in Jack London Sq...

I spoke at length with the owner Keith and went with a new 07 model that he had on clearance..
I can relate to the sting of purchasing new as I am facing massive expenditures left and right....but I figured that the warranty warranted the added cost..

haven't taken it on the water yet..

but referencing somebody's earlier post above...I tried going the tandem route for awhile too.. I got the tandems for the family and figurred that one would also do as a solo boat..

i found myself doing more paddling than fishing .. I think its a matter of time before a person figures that out and throws down for a serious boat..

I decided to get the Adventure and feel fortunate to catch a end of season sale..

much appreciation to good guys on this forum like Yakusa , dnaglin etc to pass on tips re: boat perspectives..

dave

Thanks Daviator.  Congratulations on the new Adventure.  Sounds like you got a great deal.  I wanted to see how much I would be using my Outback but I see now I could have justified buying a new one too but I am plenty happy with the one I have now.   I had a chance to talk with the guys at CCK in Rancho Cordova and they seemed like a great bunch of guys to deal with.   I wish they had a few more types of sit on tops but if you want a Hobie they have everything you need.   
I am up in Burney now.  I was going to go out last night and throw some crawdad traps, then try to get some doves but my parents had a minor emergency with their water line.  I spent about 4 hours digging it up but I am going to head out this morning for a paddle.