Contemplating a second Kayak

[tech11165]

I currently have a Native Propel 10. looking for another kayak that is better suited for the bay. I tried trolling in the native but it is not as easy as I hoped. wind , chop and just putting miles in on the bay is not easy on the native. I know the size is an issue at only being 10 feet long so tracking is horrible. I do like it for river fishing and lake/reservoir fishing. I am eyeing a Hobie revo or Hobie adventure fishing kayak 16ft.. My type of fishing I love in the bay is trolling. I plan to cover a lot of water and if I jig I plan to cover water as well. I read up on both and see the benefits of easy moving and ease of covering a lot of water. Many of the reviews I read were people using them offshore and the ease of covering a lot of water. I know guys here use trolling motors to help with distance. I thought about that for my native but The set up with the drive system is not as easy as with a hobie. Plus the tracking is horrible; not sure how it will be if I put a trolling motor on it. Plus it is not fast on the water or chop. I know the Hobie PA and outbacks are an option but I really just narrowed it down to the revo or adventure. Weight or putting it on the roof is not an issue. I carry inside the vehicle . What do you guys think? Any insight would be helpful.

[D3NAL1]

A 10 ft kayak is not ideal to cover alot of ground in the bay. I have the propel 13 and does just fine. I will be going out tomorrow to bigger water and targeting rockfish all day. Will let you know how it does. But you do know that native is working on a trolling motor mount right?

http://nativewatercraft.com/2015/08/...yer-propel-13/

I know it says propel 13, but the propel system is the same size. Ive tried both hobie and natives drive system and prefer the native system. The two things that bother me is the turning radius and the inefficient bow when taking waves. There are better options for the rudder, which i am looking at now

[Mark]

The Revo is a missile on the water. It's fast, stable and slices through waves. Its low profile makes it excellent in wind, regardless of the direction you travel. It covers a lot of water without leaving you exhausted.

But there are tradeoffs. It has limited storage and deck space.

On the other hand it's relatively light and its narrow beam makes it easy to grasp and lift. Although you said weight is no problem, for me it was and remains a big issue.

The two deck mounts behind the seat are handy for installing commercial or homemade rocket launchers. Mounting rods on the front is a bit of challenge due to the slender beam and narrow gunnels. There are workarounds for these issues and many Revo trolling configurations have been discussed on this forum.

I troll two rods using the holders behind the seat. Some of my friends with wider boats troll four rods. Aside from the difficulty of managing 4 lines, I think mounting 4 tolling rods on a Revo would be a challenge. You'd need extenders to keep the rod handles away from your legs given the boat's narrow beam.

Frankly, I like the Revo's excellent tracking and maneuverability for hugging shorelines and structure as I cast to target areas. That's my preference over trolling. But it's nice to have a boat that will allow me to easily troll and to pursue target fishing.

Good luck in your decision,

[mweber02]

I bought a 2009 Adventure from one of the members here early last year. Personally 16' is longer than I wanted but getting the opportunity to get into a pedal drive outweighed that concern for me at the time.

The longer yak actually makes the yak feel lighter when I lift it up to the top of the SUV. I had a 12' Ascend that was listed as a very similar weight but it felt much much heavier. I don't know enough about physics to explain it but I am sure the distribution of the weight over the added length has an effect.

That added length does have two setbacks though. Turn radius seems to be significantly wider than what I have seen others do in 12' Hobies. Even in open water a tighter turn is important, especially if you are trying to stay over structure or maneuver near other yaks. The other setback is access to the rudder itself from the seat. It wouldnt be the end of the world, but my biggest fear is a line getting caught around the rudder because it is too far away to clear even a very simple tangle.

The only other gripe I have with the Adventure, which may have improved in more recent models, is the inevitable wet seat every trip. At around 210 myself I sit in water all day long because the top of the scuppers under the seat end up below the water line. There are some DIY fixes that I have not yet tried.

The Adventure does cut through the water nicely though. Even going into the wind I generally have to focus on slowing my legs to maintain the trolling speed I want. And once I got used to the stability I have never once felt it was unstable even when taking on the wake of several boats at a time.

Long term my plan is to go for the Outback. The mirage drive is efficient enough for me to justify the wider and potentially slower hull design. The added space, advantage seat and ability to stand would certainly be worth the small sacrifice on speed vs a Revo for me.

If you do decide to go with the Revo or Adventure, gear tracs are a good solution to Mark's reference about mounting space up front.