Hobie Pro Angler (Boat or Kayak?)

I am new to this board and will purchase a new Kayak this weekend to start fishing with all of you...Question...I am thinking about the Pro Angler 12 but it seems to be more of a boat than a Kayak. I am also looking at the Tarpon 120 and Trident 13. Could I fish all of the Kayak tournaments out of a Pro Angler? If I am going to do this, I want to start of on the right foot and not be "that guy" who shows up with something "taboo"...lol. Thoughts?

See you all on the water very soon.

Welcome to the madness and congrats on the purchase of a new vessel!  This thread may get a little out of hand  but if you like the pro angler, then get it! Its a great yak and a great fishing platform.  Its a bit of a tank, but if you can load it and unload it then go for it!  The tarpon and trident are also great boats.  The main difference , besides price, would be if you want to pedal or paddle, only you can make that decision and should test drive before you buy.  And YES you can fish tournaments in a PA!  Good luck and welcome!

I asked about the same thing a week or so ago.  Here's a link to that thread for you;
http://www.norcalkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=41049.0

Oh, and Welcome!
Are you active AF, ANG, retired? 

Ok, here's what I know. Hobie classifies the PA as a boat. But most folks call it a yak. For tournament purposes the only distinction I've seen is that it must be person powered i.e., no sails, motors, nuclear reactors 
So paddled or peddled is fine. Buy what you want, this is about you having a good time. As far as being "that guy", the only way your gonna have problems around here is you behave poorly. Which based on your first post I doubt you're gonna have an issue with.

WELCOME TO THE MADNESS!

Peddle drive vessels are not kayaks.  The 2 reasons why hobies are allowed in our tournaments are: Hobie sponsors AOTY 2. Lots of NCKAers have hobies.

Let the flamewar begin!

According to one ranger at melones all kayaks are boats and need to pay a boat launch fee

Wikipedia is god-like.  Wiki states:

"A Kayak is a small, relatively narrow, human-powered boat primarily designed to be manually propelled by means of a double blade paddle."

   We're all right!

No cf# no boat!!

Thanks everyone for the replies...I should have read that other thread first, a lot of good info. I'll make my final decision this weekend when I test ride them all. It almost seems like it would be a good idea to have more than one kayak for different types of fishing. Since I'm buying the wife one also, maybe I'll use that as an excuse to get two types of fishing kayaks 

No cf# no boat!!

So if an AI has a CF# then it shouldn't qualify for AOTY because it is a "boat" -- even if it didn't have it's sail kit on?

"Pedel drive vessels are not kayaks"...I understand how you came to that conclusion, but I respectfully disagree.
I guess I'll just start calling my Hobie Adventure, my "Ultra Awesome-Super Fun-Fish Catching Apparatus" then.
The word "Kayak" isn't complex enough to describe the awesomeness that is a Hobie. That, I would agree on.

Whatever brand you buy, they are all awesome to fish from.

No cf# no boat!!

So if an AI has a CF# then it shouldn't qualify for AOTY because it is a "boat" -- even if it didn't have it's sail kit on?

You said it not me.lol but an ai without a sail wouldnt require a cf #

I see the ai as a kayak and think it shouldnt have to have a cf#

But if you have registered it, because it has a sail kit, then the CF number would be affixed to the hull ... even when you didn't have the sail kit on, so does that then qualify it as a boat.  To the best of my knowledge, the DMV doesn't allow you to selectively choose when it is a "boat" or not a "boat" once the CF numbers are affixed to the hull.  Just feeding off your initial statement that said "no cf#, no boat".

Just a question, not a statement. 

Choose your boat based on:
Speed
Stability
Comfort
Weight
Fishing Potential
Cost

Your boat should have the features which give you the best chance to kill your target species. So if you were a bass angler, the PA would be the best choice. If you are commando rockfishing, the T13 would be my choice. Don't worry about whether it is called a kayak, boat or sailboat. It's about catching fish and having fun. Do you think the Hobie AI guys feel bad they can't compete in the AOTY?