Tarpon 140 vs. Trident 13

I'm contemplating a new ride. I would really like the Hobie Outback but the price is a bit high for my budget right now. I went to Adventure Sports in Sac today and looked at yaks. I think I've narrowed it down to the Tarpon 140 and the Trident 13. What are the pros and cons of these kayaks. Thanks in advance for your words of experience.

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,22372.15.html

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,21163.0.html

http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php/topic,22340.0.html

If you go to the classifieds we have some great members on this site selling good boats at a good price.  If you can store and transport a trident fifteen or t160 I think you should go for the longer boat.  If you have 1200 Bens Hobie is a steal.  Good luck to you.  I waited and bought a yellow trident 15 from a member for 700 with a ruder.  The t15 for seven fifty is a really good dea espeacially with a rudder.  Andy

Thanks Andy

well i have had both and a t160 and a t15 and a ride 135, i will say for wilderness the hull is thicker, the seat is way more comfortable (for me) and the hatches are good, for the t13 the sonar shield could be done with out and it is a dyer ride and the rod pod makes for great storage, it comes down to witch one can you sit in for 5 hours at a time and is easy for you to paddle my .02$ 

The seat is the main reason why I looked at the T140 and the rod pod is what caught my eye about the T13. I really liked the seat on the T140. Way nicer than the clip in seats I've used.

You gonna use it more in the salt or fresh? If launching into waves the rod pod it sweet.

I have owned WS, Perception, Cobra, OK and Hobie. The only draw back to the WS was the style of front hatch. Now that that has been changed, I think they have the best quality kayak construction. I think the Hobies are right there with them but the Hobies have all the moving parts that can go wrong.

With that said it's hard to beat the Trident and Cobras with their huge in cockpit hatches. We took the Trident out diving about a month ago. It carried freedive gear, scuba gear and spearguns etc. with no problems. Eveything except the scuba tank fit inside. The scuba gear wasn't mine but I sure do want to get certified.

My Adventure is my main kayak and with my bad neck I will probably always have a peddle kayak. If I know I'm not going too far and the wind isn't bad I'll be on the Trident 15 because the rod pod is as good as they say. 

I love the WS kayaks and the thick plastic, but having a place to stuff all your crap and rods is really important if you are going to be doing shore launches in the waves.  I love my fish n dive but it's a pain to paddle distances.  I bought a yellow t15 with a rudder and I've never even tried one so will see. 

As for the Hobie, if you go ocean fishing surf launches/landing are a pain.Also kelp gets caught up in the flippers and you can't just put it in reverse. It is great however in open water, WAY faster than paddleling. Just depends on what your primary use is and how much ocean/kelp fishing you do.I had a Hobie for the ocean and sold it after the first month.Speed didn't outweigh hassle. By the way I bought it because I have really bad tendonitus in my elbows and thought it would be better,it wasn't.

As for the Hobie, if you go ocean fishing surf launches/landing are a pain.Also kelp gets caught up in the flippers and you can't just put it in reverse. It is great however in open water, WAY faster than paddleling. Just depends on what your primary use is and how much ocean/kelp fishing you do.I had a Hobie for the ocean and sold it after the first month.Speed didn't outweigh hassle. By the way I bought it because I have really bad tendonitus in my elbows and thought it would be better,it wasn't.

Reelcodup:
thx for your post.  I was thinking of buying a used Hobie (currently have the T160), but your post is making me give it a second thought since I will mostly be fishing for RF and lings and will be near kelpbeds a lot, and plan on doing mostly surf launches.

Thanks for the replies everyone. All good stuff. I've been out diving from my yak for a few years now but this will only be my second year fishing from it. This last year I fished fresh water, SF bay, Monterey, FT Ross, and Van Damme. My brother has a Hobie with the Mirage drive and we used that up in Van Damme. It seemed to handle some kelp okay, but he didn't take it through the thick stuff. It's not too difficult to take the Mirage out if you need to.

I'm leaning toward finding a good used yak that fits the bill. I'll probably have to settle a little. Hopefully the right deal will come along. I've got time on my side so I'll probably get lucky.

depending on the hobie, you can probably just surf launch it and paddle it like a regular yak. 

they have drivewell inserts that will keep some of the water out, but in that instance you can really just think of it as a big ole scupper hole.  i paddle my revo and my adventure from time to time and they paddle pretty well. the adventure paddles better than my old T13 but with a loss of stability and storage.

the outback is not quite so easy to paddle though.  high sides.

test ride both if possible.


Mike

As for the Hobie, if you go ocean fishing surf launches/landing are a pain.Also kelp gets caught up in the flippers and you can't just put it in reverse. It is great however in open water, WAY faster than paddleling. Just depends on what your primary use is and how much ocean/kelp fishing you do.I had a Hobie for the ocean and sold it after the first month.Speed didn't outweigh hassle. By the way I bought it because I have really bad tendonitus in my elbows and thought it would be better,it wasn't.

Reelcodup:
thx for your post.  I was thinking of buying a used Hobie (currently have the T160), but your post is making me give it a second thought since I will mostly be fishing for RF and lings and will be near kelpbeds a lot, and plan on doing mostly surf launches.

I've used my 09 Hobie Revo several times in the kelp at Stillwater South, takes a few seconds to take the drive on and off.  I put the drive in my milk crate behind me and latch it. Then pop in the cassette to cover the drive system on the floor so water does not come in.  Its super easy and like I said takes a few seconds.  Before I owned my Hobie, I used my buddies Tarpon 14. IMO the Revo is easier to paddle.

Hey gn, which kayak did you end up buying? My first boat was the Hobie Outback
which I love. Very stable and has a lot of deck space. My good friend Hobie-Dave
bought that one from me, now I have the Revolution. A faster boat by comparison
but lack of deck space. When I fish the bay, lakes, and the delta, it is my go to
kayak. You just can't beat the hands free fishing especially when trolling. But for
the ocean, I use my T13 because of the rod pod. The fact that you could easily
stow your rod and reel when the surf is questionable for launch and landing, you
just can't beat that feature. Not to say you can't use the Revo in the ocean. I
just don't want to have to worry about losing the mirage drive if I flip. Thought
I'd share my opinion between the two types of kayak. It seems almost everybody
here has one of each.

Hope to fish with you soon,
Jedmo