Hobie Revo Paddling Question

[wxman1]

Hi Guys,

I have a Hobie Revo 13' 2012. Boat is great for ponds, lakes and slower moving rivers with the turbo find and rudder. I'm running into problems paddling it either when the water is shallow or a rocky bottom. Not sure if anyone else has this problem but as soon as I pull the fins from the mirage drive and pull the rudder up the boat tends to want to spin almost in a circle before I start paddling. Once I start to paddle it is tough to keep the yak going straight... Almost like paddling a Jackson coosa on a lake over a distance. Is there a way to fix this? Not sure what to do. I certainly don't want to attempt paddling in the upper Potomac or Shenandoah like this.

Thanks for the help,

Ken W

[frettr00]

I've had the same experience with mine. The paddle just seems to be a back up in case something goes wrong with the fins.

[chimo]

Just part of the joys of owning a revo I have noticed that if I paddle at a slower steady pace mine handles slightly better.

[kevinfry]

anyone tried using the rudder like a skeg on a touring kayak and just leaving it down but keeping it at "straight" position? would it stay in this position?

[daolai]

I have an outback and it stinks and probably even crappier to paddle than the Revo.. I have found best results to pull the rudder up and use alot shorter strokes but I am always have to correct steering to keep a straight line and than it causes me to oversteer yada yada... If I am in shallow water will use my paddle kayak...

[JKay]

I've had 3 different Revo's and they all paddle like dogs. If you're smooth with your strokes and dig harder/lighter depending on how much the bow is starting to cock, you should not have to make a lot of corrective strokes. It does take some effort though.

[chimo]

anyone tried using the rudder like a skeg on a touring kayak and just leaving it down but keeping it at "straight" position? would it stay in this position?

Yup, it helps but is hard to keep centered. Problem is, for me anyways, most of the time when I have to pull my fins and paddle I need to pull the rudder too.

[Donsail68]

I'm guessing the fins served two purposes. One is for propulsion and the other to act like a keel. Once you take it out, you have no keel thus explains the spinning.

[wxman1]

I feel better that it is a common problem with hobie's. I think I will move forward and look to purchase either a Cuda, Ride 115 or Kilroy when I go fish the rocky bottoms of the Potomac and Shenandoah and keep using the hobie for situations it thrives.

[JKay]

You can never have too many kayaks! We were up to 7, then I sold one about a month ago. There's only 3 of us in the house.

[chex]

Yeah, this is normal.

From http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewt...?f=26&t=36540:

Most Hobie Mirage Drive hulls are directionally unstable when going forward. Your boat should spin in either direction, once the motion is initiated. Hull performance and handling with Drive and rudder are design elements; rudderless tracking is not. The bow has skeg-like properties which "trip" the boat so to speak, while the skegless stern is free to slide around (without the rudder). The forward position of the drag-inducing drivewell exacerbates the problem. If you want to go straight without your rudder, your boat should track much better backwards. You'll notice the Revo's paddling equivalent (Quest) has some small but significant changes to the hull and is considered a very good paddler. But alas, it doesn't pedal at all!