Newbie with 2 Questions

I just bought an '09 Revo and am curious about a couple things.

1) Is it safe to put the mirage drive in and/or take it out while you're out on a lake? I've seen posts that have implied that it can be done, but they haven't really come out and said it. That's a pretty big hole of water you'd be looking at between the time you took it out and put the plug in or vice versa. I just don't want to try it and sink!

2) With a cart that plugs into the scupper holes....would it be okay once I'm in the water to plug the cart into the scupper holes upside down from the top of the kayak instead of "breaking it down" and storing it? I'm thinking of buying the pneumatic wheels cart, so would that work?

I'm really impressed with the knowledge of everybody on this board, so any input would be greatly appreciated!

Hi Nshape and welcome to the forum.

1. Yes. Your Drive does not seal the hole. In fact, the Drivewell also serves to drain the cockpit of excess water. As long as the hole doesn't penetrate the inner hull, you're good. It's a good idea to tether your Drive to some permanent part of the boat though in case you accidentally drop it in the water!

2. As long as it doesn't interfere with your seat and you don't put a lot of lateral pressure on it, no problem. Or, if you have space you can just throw it in the cargo well under the bungee cords. Any particular reason you want the Trax cart? It's great for soft sand, but harder to pull the boat in most other situations and requires a bit more maintenance than the standard cart. If you don't specifically need it, I would recommend you use the extra $ for a standard cart, a large rudder and either ST or ST Turbo fins. The boat will work fine with what you get, but the fin and rudder upgrades will improve your cruising range and slow speed handling respectively. If you decide to get a sail later, both will significantly improve the boat's sailing capabilities.

PS -- If you're Nshape, you'll want the Turbofins!

Have to agree w/RR on the turbo fin and sailing rudder upgrade, especially w/the new '09 brass sprockets. That combo was the best improvement I made.

Be nice if Hobie offered that as an option when buying the yak. Maybe a performance option upgrade. HINT HINT Matt !!

Thanks Roadrunner! I bought the turbofins with the kayak b/c I definitely want it to go fast. I'll most likely go ahead and get a standard cart and a large rudder like you said. I wouldn't be dragging it in the sand. It'll mainly be pulling it down to the boat ramps on a few lakes here in central Illinois.

Before I bought it, I was debating between the revo and the native propel. Even though i haven't been able to use it yet, I think I made a great decision b/c the accessories and the aesthetic look of the Hobies make them a much better deal. I've read nearly every message board possible trying to glean the pros and cons of native vs. hobie. Some say hobie w/ turofins are faster, some say the pro-pel is faster. Looking at the big picture, i went w/ my gut instinct and bought the Revo.

You made the right decision the Rev is a great boat, good luck with it.

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KFA-NY
Founding Member

I leave a wake in a 95% sprint with the regular fins. how much better/faster/stronger are the turbo? How much for the fins and the rudder?

Perhaps a picture or two is the best way to describe it.

Here's what cruising wake (what I call a one hour cruise or fast cruise) looks like with Turbos pushing a Revolution. By the uniform sustained wake pattern you can see this is obviously not a sprint:


In this picture, Turbos are holding the nose of the Revo right in the (next)swell of a boat wake and the large rudder is providing the necessary control to keep the boat from broaching:


This shows the pulling power of Turbos. This bass boat is no lightweight!


And finally, this boat performing a static thrust test shows how much water Turbofins can move. Notice how calm the water is in front of the boat. The fins are roiling water in all directions only because the dock is (supposedly) not moving.


Check with your dealer for pricing, but I think the Turbos are $80 (including masts) and the rudder is $23.

Since that looks like a scale tied to the dock, how much "weight" were you able to generate?

It's a 50# scale. We took it around almost 1 1/2 times as I recall to 74# before breaking it.

I figured as much, but had to ask. Thought that as big as it looked that there might be a chance that it was higher capacity scale.