G
Guest
·Took off up to Sunstate Hobie this morning for a test in Lake Macdonald.
Mal had the demo there waiting, Mal lives at a great location straight across the road from Lake Macdonald. I carted the yak across the road to the lake. Mal gave me some pointers and left me to test it out.
The weather was little or no wind and a bit if drizzle.
Speed
With little effort had it up and going at a moderate pace heaps faster than my previous yak,the kayak sits low on the water so I imagine there would be lttle wind resistance, very easy to maintain speed and had good glide till rest.
Stabilty
This was my main concern with buying this kayak as it is alot narrower than the Tempo I had. I thought it would be tippy but I was wrong. I'm a big guy at 112kg and it was extremely stable under way and at rest, I could freely move around to reach into the hatches and to reach back and forward to the rod holders. The tempo is super stable, I'd rate the Quest as having very similar stability.
Layout
The Quest has funtional hatches, the forward one is hinged away form you so as you can access it , with some slight forward movement up the kayak you could easily access it while on the water.
The hatch in between the legs is also hinged and opens way from you allowing you to easily access it, while there is no bag or net attached it opens to a huge area and trays or the like could easily be placed under there for storage of camera's, phones etc. There is plenty of room to store rods lengthways in here as well, so I was told,
On each side of the kayak on the inside wall is a netted storage area, these look sensational for storage of tackle, pliers and the liike and easy to access.
The rear well is sunken and a large crate or even an esky could be placed there. There are two moulded flush mounts with caps in this area also which can easily reached from the seated position.
A scotty's rod holder is std as well and is fitted on the console for use of a fishing rod forward of the paddle position.
The kayak is also fitted with a high back seat which I found comfortable. There is screw in scuppers under the seat and push in scuppers plugs are supplied for the scupper holes in the footwell areas.
The console area has a sunken tray where storage for storage of tackle and there is a cup holder molded in forward of this area.
Rudder
The rudder on the demo is slightly different to the one on the newer model I purchased today. On the older model you have to manually adjust the rudder to suit a changed foot position. However on the newer model when you change the position of the foot peg the rudder adjusts automatically.
The rudder was easy to use and it can be steered by just using the balls of your feet. The steering was effortless and the kayak turned efficiently.
Add ons
The console are has extra room for a Fishfinder and with the large hatches nearby wll be easy to fit. I just have to decide where I will position the scotty's rod holder as it comes with the kayak but not fitted.
I also bought an extra 8 inch hatch as there is a provision for a hatch in the rear of the kayak as well.
Paddle
The kayak comes with a paddle which is two piece, hobie has molded into the kayak a holder on each side for the kayak to sit in and is also secured with a stretch cord over the top. I think the paddle suits the kayak well, its is very light pushes the kayak along very nicely and does not have much drip.
The Package
I won't mention the price but it was very competative which included the Kayak fitted with rudder, Paddle, Seat, Anchor Kit, Plugin Cart, Scotty's rod holder,hobie cooler bag and a dry bag.
Fishabilty
I think it will be brilliant fishing platform, everything within reach and at hand and very stable as well. Bring it on
Specifications
Length 3.96m
Width 0.72m
Hull weight 26 kg
Capacity 159kg
I'm extremely Happy
Cheers
Mal had the demo there waiting, Mal lives at a great location straight across the road from Lake Macdonald. I carted the yak across the road to the lake. Mal gave me some pointers and left me to test it out.
The weather was little or no wind and a bit if drizzle.
Speed
With little effort had it up and going at a moderate pace heaps faster than my previous yak,the kayak sits low on the water so I imagine there would be lttle wind resistance, very easy to maintain speed and had good glide till rest.
Stabilty
This was my main concern with buying this kayak as it is alot narrower than the Tempo I had. I thought it would be tippy but I was wrong. I'm a big guy at 112kg and it was extremely stable under way and at rest, I could freely move around to reach into the hatches and to reach back and forward to the rod holders. The tempo is super stable, I'd rate the Quest as having very similar stability.
Layout
The Quest has funtional hatches, the forward one is hinged away form you so as you can access it , with some slight forward movement up the kayak you could easily access it while on the water.
The hatch in between the legs is also hinged and opens way from you allowing you to easily access it, while there is no bag or net attached it opens to a huge area and trays or the like could easily be placed under there for storage of camera's, phones etc. There is plenty of room to store rods lengthways in here as well, so I was told,
On each side of the kayak on the inside wall is a netted storage area, these look sensational for storage of tackle, pliers and the liike and easy to access.
The rear well is sunken and a large crate or even an esky could be placed there. There are two moulded flush mounts with caps in this area also which can easily reached from the seated position.
A scotty's rod holder is std as well and is fitted on the console for use of a fishing rod forward of the paddle position.
The kayak is also fitted with a high back seat which I found comfortable. There is screw in scuppers under the seat and push in scuppers plugs are supplied for the scupper holes in the footwell areas.
The console area has a sunken tray where storage for storage of tackle and there is a cup holder molded in forward of this area.
Rudder
The rudder on the demo is slightly different to the one on the newer model I purchased today. On the older model you have to manually adjust the rudder to suit a changed foot position. However on the newer model when you change the position of the foot peg the rudder adjusts automatically.
The rudder was easy to use and it can be steered by just using the balls of your feet. The steering was effortless and the kayak turned efficiently.
Add ons
The console are has extra room for a Fishfinder and with the large hatches nearby wll be easy to fit. I just have to decide where I will position the scotty's rod holder as it comes with the kayak but not fitted.
I also bought an extra 8 inch hatch as there is a provision for a hatch in the rear of the kayak as well.
Paddle
The kayak comes with a paddle which is two piece, hobie has molded into the kayak a holder on each side for the kayak to sit in and is also secured with a stretch cord over the top. I think the paddle suits the kayak well, its is very light pushes the kayak along very nicely and does not have much drip.
The Package
I won't mention the price but it was very competative which included the Kayak fitted with rudder, Paddle, Seat, Anchor Kit, Plugin Cart, Scotty's rod holder,hobie cooler bag and a dry bag.
Fishabilty
I think it will be brilliant fishing platform, everything within reach and at hand and very stable as well. Bring it on
Specifications
Length 3.96m
Width 0.72m
Hull weight 26 kg
Capacity 159kg
I'm extremely Happy
Cheers
