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Today was my first outing with my new 2018 Revo 13. John Rentch and I launched at Jonas Green at 0730 this morning. Actually, the parking lot looked like a Snaggedline Meet & Greet. Over half the spaces were taken by vehicles with kayak racks when I arrived near sunup. Word must be out that stripers are in the Severn.
For those interested, I’ll share my initial impressions of the new boat.
Here it is at its initial splash down:
P1030160.jpg
Bear in mind that I pedaled a 2012 Revo 13 for the better part of 5 seasons. I am therefore very familiar with the Revo’s speed and stability in choppy water. I’m glad to say that nothing has changed with regard to those key characteristics.
But there have been notable improvements. Foremost is the seat. While I was never one to complain about the comfort of the old-style seat that hugged the floor, I did not like the fact that water often accumulated in the seat basin producing a wet ride. That issue has been solved with the new Vantage seat which sits above the floor. In fact, that was the first noticeable difference when I entered the Revo. Even though I had the seat on its lowest setting, I sat higher in the boat -- but not where my stability felt compromised. At this point I see no need to raise the seat and I likely will keep the chair bottom on its lowest setting.
In addition to multiple settings for height, the seat has adjustments for the angle of the chairback and lumbar support. Each setting can easily be accomplished while you are seated in the boat. It’s a simple matter to find the appropriate settings for a comfortable ride. And a comfortable ride it was. I felt no fatigue in a session that lasted almost 3.5 hours.
A change that I did not expect is that I have more leg room in the new Revo. I can only guess that the Vantage seat is positioned slightly farther back in the new Revo. That certainly eases the pedaling function by allowing me to fully extend my legs. I could not do that before. And that brings me to the Mirage Drive.
Today was the first time I pedaled Hobie’s Glide Technology. Indeed, it is smooth. It has a softer feel than my old Mirage Drive which had ST fins just like my new one. Also, I believe my new drive requires less effort than my old drive. I covered a lot of water today between the two bridges and beyond on the Severn. (In fact, mid-way through our outing, I went all the way back to the launch from the Route 50 Bridge for a pit stop. You cannot buy coffee, only rent it!) On my final trip back to the launch, I pedaled into a growing wind and choppy water from well past the Route 50 Bridge all the way to the beach. That posed no problem and it was as easy as strolling down a sidewalk.
P1030169.jpg
Another nice feature is that the Mirage Drive is the 180 version with reverse. I used that only minimally today when I was casting poppers near docks. The current would drive me toward the dock. But with a simple pull of the shift mechanism, I easily backed away. Today I mostly trolled so I had little reason to back up. But I can see the utility of the 180 when I target cast and I look forward to using it more.
A couple of other changes on the new boat worthy of mention are the rubberized pocket nets on the gunnel storage compartments. They expand more than the older vinyl nets and presumably will reject wayward hooks. There is a spring-loaded scupper under the seat to release water that comes over the side. The rudder control is more recessed on the left gunnel and less obtrusive. That will be really nice when I fly cast. My fly line would occasionally hang up on the rudder control on my old boat. Also, this Revo is Lowrance ready with a plate on the bottom of the hull to insert the transducer and it has pre-drilled plugs for quick wiring. The irony of that is that I am not putting electronics on it. I had a Lowrance HDI-5 on my last Revo but I never fully mastered nor appreciated its functions. Frankly, I prefer fishing without electronics. For me the screen was a distraction.
Lastly, if the first fish in a new kayak is precursor of good things to come, I think I’m going to enjoy this boat. I caught and released this guy trolling a 1/2 oz. Rat-L-Trap on the east side of the river near the oyster bar just south of the Route 50 Bridge:
P1030165.jpg
I’d like to tell you there were many more like him today but there weren’t. It was actually a tough bite. I hope the others who were there today did better. I caught only two other stripers, both on an X-Rap. They were undersized.
But my appreciation of the new Revo is not undersized. The improvements from my 2012 model are striking but the excellent handling characteristics and seaworthiness of the original Revo 13 remain. I’m very pleased with my new ride.
For those interested, I’ll share my initial impressions of the new boat.
Here it is at its initial splash down:
P1030160.jpg
Bear in mind that I pedaled a 2012 Revo 13 for the better part of 5 seasons. I am therefore very familiar with the Revo’s speed and stability in choppy water. I’m glad to say that nothing has changed with regard to those key characteristics.
But there have been notable improvements. Foremost is the seat. While I was never one to complain about the comfort of the old-style seat that hugged the floor, I did not like the fact that water often accumulated in the seat basin producing a wet ride. That issue has been solved with the new Vantage seat which sits above the floor. In fact, that was the first noticeable difference when I entered the Revo. Even though I had the seat on its lowest setting, I sat higher in the boat -- but not where my stability felt compromised. At this point I see no need to raise the seat and I likely will keep the chair bottom on its lowest setting.
In addition to multiple settings for height, the seat has adjustments for the angle of the chairback and lumbar support. Each setting can easily be accomplished while you are seated in the boat. It’s a simple matter to find the appropriate settings for a comfortable ride. And a comfortable ride it was. I felt no fatigue in a session that lasted almost 3.5 hours.
A change that I did not expect is that I have more leg room in the new Revo. I can only guess that the Vantage seat is positioned slightly farther back in the new Revo. That certainly eases the pedaling function by allowing me to fully extend my legs. I could not do that before. And that brings me to the Mirage Drive.
Today was the first time I pedaled Hobie’s Glide Technology. Indeed, it is smooth. It has a softer feel than my old Mirage Drive which had ST fins just like my new one. Also, I believe my new drive requires less effort than my old drive. I covered a lot of water today between the two bridges and beyond on the Severn. (In fact, mid-way through our outing, I went all the way back to the launch from the Route 50 Bridge for a pit stop. You cannot buy coffee, only rent it!) On my final trip back to the launch, I pedaled into a growing wind and choppy water from well past the Route 50 Bridge all the way to the beach. That posed no problem and it was as easy as strolling down a sidewalk.
P1030169.jpg
Another nice feature is that the Mirage Drive is the 180 version with reverse. I used that only minimally today when I was casting poppers near docks. The current would drive me toward the dock. But with a simple pull of the shift mechanism, I easily backed away. Today I mostly trolled so I had little reason to back up. But I can see the utility of the 180 when I target cast and I look forward to using it more.
A couple of other changes on the new boat worthy of mention are the rubberized pocket nets on the gunnel storage compartments. They expand more than the older vinyl nets and presumably will reject wayward hooks. There is a spring-loaded scupper under the seat to release water that comes over the side. The rudder control is more recessed on the left gunnel and less obtrusive. That will be really nice when I fly cast. My fly line would occasionally hang up on the rudder control on my old boat. Also, this Revo is Lowrance ready with a plate on the bottom of the hull to insert the transducer and it has pre-drilled plugs for quick wiring. The irony of that is that I am not putting electronics on it. I had a Lowrance HDI-5 on my last Revo but I never fully mastered nor appreciated its functions. Frankly, I prefer fishing without electronics. For me the screen was a distraction.
Lastly, if the first fish in a new kayak is precursor of good things to come, I think I’m going to enjoy this boat. I caught and released this guy trolling a 1/2 oz. Rat-L-Trap on the east side of the river near the oyster bar just south of the Route 50 Bridge:
P1030165.jpg
I’d like to tell you there were many more like him today but there weren’t. It was actually a tough bite. I hope the others who were there today did better. I caught only two other stripers, both on an X-Rap. They were undersized.
But my appreciation of the new Revo is not undersized. The improvements from my 2012 model are striking but the excellent handling characteristics and seaworthiness of the original Revo 13 remain. I’m very pleased with my new ride.
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