[martin]

Hello Everyone,

I am thinking about buying a hobie outback or sport pedal yak.
I live in Canberra and flyfish/Troll with lures in freshwater dams
and will be using it on the south coast rivers as well.

Just a few questions for the hobie owners out there !!!
(For kayak sizing I am 85kg and just under 5.8 feet tall)

Is the outback model hard to put onto roof racks (station wagon) by yourself?, and have others brought the smaller & lighter sport model for this reason?

How wet does the cockpit area get where the pedal drive is?

It the sport slower than the outback?

Has anyone put turbo fins on the sport to compensate?

What are they like to operate in cold water dams ie: easy to tip over?

Anyway, grateful for any advice on the hobie!!
Cheers,
Martin.

 

[outerlimit]

Hi Martin,

Both the Outback and Sport would suit your size. The Outback requires a certain amount of weight to sit low enough in the water to get 100% of the stability that the kayak offers, so sometimes heavier people may steer towards it. As an example I'm 185cm and 94kg and use an Outback for most of my fishing. The pedal mechanism in the Sport is marginally closer to the seat so i feel a lot more comfortable in the Outback. At 5'8" the Sport is a good size for you.

Although the Outback is light enough to get up on the car, the Sport is 6.5kg lighter making it easier for you to load and unload form the car. The only real disadvantage in my view is the Sport doesn't have the large front flip hatch and the rear well is a tad bit smaller.

The seat stays incredibly dry due to the design of the cockpit and the fact that not using a paddle means no annoying paddle drip. Where the Mirage Drive goes there is usually about 5cm of water that it sits in. Because your feet are on the pedals they also stay dry. I guess Canberra gets a bit cold this time of year.

The Sport is marginally slower than the Outback but if you give it some "curry" you can get up to 5 knots out of it. The speed difference shouldn't be an issue when trolling lures.......the slower the better most of the time. I don't know of anyone who has installed the Turbo fins on the Sport.

Stability is superb in both the kayaks and tipping over is never really an issue, but as I said earlier you will find in your case the Sport a more stable and therefore comfortable platform.

Hope this helps

 

[kingfisher111]

Hi Martin, and welcome to the world of Hobie. From the outset just let me say that both these kayaks are fantastic Hi tech fishing platforms and you can`t go wrong with either in my opinion. My Hobie dealer recommended the sport for me as I only weighed in at 70 kg. I wanted to do extended fishing trips of up to 5 or 6 days so bit the bullet and went with the Outback anyway. Turned out to be the best choice for me by far because regarding stability, it just isn`t an issue. Like after the first few minutes you just NEVER even think about it and now I`m running at 68kg.
The loading capacity of the Outback is enormous, will hold 400lb, whatever that converts to. All in all it will just come down to the type of fishing you are doing. One tip if I may, don`t disregard any fishing venues at this stage. You will be amazed where you feel comfortable fishing ( big tidal bays, offshore etc ) after you have owned a Hobie for a while. Best of luck. Steve.

 

[fishtales]

Hi Martin,

Good luck with your choice. Darren certainly knows his Hobies so his advise would be well worth following. I own the Sport (I am 5" 8' and 78kg) and I am very happy with it.An easy lift on to the roofracks, and carries all the gear I need for an outing fishing.Mine gets up and goes when I need it to, but speed wasn't even a consideration when I was trying to decide between the 2 models.I have fallen off mine once (on my maiden voyage whils't releasing a bream after leaning over waaaay too far )but since then I have had no issues with stability.

Chris

 

[Dodge]

Welcome Martin

Not having lifted a Hobie I won't offer a lifting opinion but if on purchase you find difficilties getting it to the roof a side lifting bar will enable lifting the heaviest yak..there are a number on the forum posts.

I use one when solo paddling, but when with others we help one another to unload

 

[Blaen]

Is the outback model hard to put onto roof racks (station wagon) by yourself?, and have others brought the smaller & lighter sport model for this reason?

How wet does the cockpit area get where the pedal drive is?

What are they like to operate in cold water dams ie: easy to tip over?

Hi Martin,

I recently got the Hobie Outback and have no trouble lifting on to my Honda CRV, I use the Hobie Soft Racks not a hard set of Racks which would possibly make life easier but I am happy with the soft racks.

Cockpit doesn't get too wet, I found about an inche to an inche and a half of water gets in around where the Mirage Drive goes but it didn't bother me as my feet are on the pedals most of the time.

Cold water? Mate I live in Tassie, it gets cold down here, I got myself some long john wetsuit pants and booties to match and didn't feel the cold at all.

I tried to lean over in her to see how far she would go, I reckon I would have to fall out first before she roleld.

And I am in th big fella class myself at 123 kg and 183 cm plenty of bouyancy for a strapping lad like myself so you should be fine :wink:

 

[martin]

THANKYOU for your repies everyone!!
I will let you know which one I purchase. :lol:
Martin

 

[RedPhoenix]

Unfortunately, due to the change in ownership of this web site and the lack of response by the owners to my requests to remove my email address from all administrative-level notifications and functionality, I have decided to remove my posts on AKFF. Thank you for the great times, the fantastic learning experiences and the many many fish. If you are desperate for the old content of this particular post, it is available below base64 encoded and bzip2 compressed.

Red.

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[JT]

Hi Martin,

I faced a similar decision to yourself some 2 months ago. I tested both on the water and lifted both onto the roof of a big-ass 4wd that the chaps at Sailing Scene had kindly lent me.

I am 71 kilos and 5"7' and chose the Outback. I am absolutely delighted with it and don't find stability to be any kind of issue at all. Although I am lighter than the theoretical 75 kilos to achieve the right balance it is not an issue. With all the rods and rigs and anchor and other kit I load up she becomes very stable. The ride is very dry on the Outback with a little wet foot action but I wear neopreme booties so it is not an issue. The storage and room on deck etc is second to none and the fish finder works a treat. All the hatches and storage are very practically designed and mean I can take kit and keep it dry down below on the off chance that I might need it e.g. a dry bag with woolen jersey and jacket etc)

Getting the boats onto the roof of my Subaru Outnack 4wd is not a problem what so ever but is a process. It is a process of balance more than weight. I line the yak up on it's side then lift the nose up to balance on the back of the car - so one end on the ground and one on the back. I then simply lift the end on the ground and slide the yak up on the roof. I use soft Hobie roof rack pads that work a treat. To get it off I simply reverse the process. Voila!

The Sport just felt way to small for me. It felt like a bit of a toy...but that is just my opinion. I have never met anyone with either sport or outback that wasn't delighted with it.

I have had mine out in quite a bit of wind and chop against a very very strong current and the mirage drive was an absolute god send. Got me back safe and sound and never felt at all threatened. I find paddling the Outback quite good and not difficult. I'm happy with the speed when paddling but please keep in mind that I have no comparison point paddling wise so take this last comment with a handful of salt.

Which ever way you go I am sure that you will be delighted.

All the best and keep us informed as to your decision.

John