soloing an Oasis

I tried out my Hobie Oasis this past weekend in solo mode, and I thought I would pass along a couple of comments.

I filled up an old 5 gallon plastic gas can with water and put it up in the front - it fit almost like it was designed for it. I put the plastic drive plug in, and strapped down the 2nd Mirage drive up there. The bow was touching the water all the way to the front, so that amount of ballast was just about perfect. (For reference, I weigh about 210 lbs.)

The Oasis pedaled just as well solo as double, and also paddled fine. Come the end of the day, I was easily able to outdistance my buddy in his Tarpon 140. The extra ballast weight was not a liability. I really liked having the front cockpit area free for storage. My buddy's yak has a huge rear deck, while my rear deck barely has room for a milk crate. But with an empty front cockpit, my front "deck well" is every bit as large as his rear well, and more accessible, since it is front of me. I was able to "crab walk" on the rails over the top of the pedals to access anything up front. The water was calm, so in worse conditions pulling the drive may be advisable to get up front, but that is relatively easy.

Loading the Oasis by myself is easy, too. I rest the stern on some padding a few feet behind my car, with the yak at a right angle to the car, and then pick up the bow and swing it around and put it up on the car rack. I then pick up the stern and shove the yak forward. No problem at all. I put my yak on the rack bottom side down. It slides on the bottom much better than on the gunwales. Hobie says to carry on a rack upside down, but I put two "rails" made of 1" PVC covered with polyethylene pipe insulation and 6' long under the yak. They fit in the bottom grooves and lift & support (just like a Playtex bra ) the yak so it doesn't touch the rack. I figure this distributes the weight well enough to keep deformation from being a problem. Time will tell, I guess.

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2011 Oasis (papaya)
2012 Revo (dune)

I did the same thing a week ago on my 2011 Oasis, but halfway through I switched from rear seat to front seat and moved my ballast (approx 30 lb) from front to rear. My impression was that the Oasis was quite a bit more responsive from the front seat than it was from the rear. I could maintain a higher speed in general, and reached a higher speed in sprints (per GPS). It was only my 2nd time on YAK, and first time solo, and at 8000 ft elevation I need a couple more rides to get to a point where I can do some sort of organized comparison, but the impression was certainly there that I preferred the front seat. Would be curious your results if you did the same - tried solo from the front seat.

I've tried both seats solo on my 2011 Oasis as well and found that the front seat works best and no ballest is needed.

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2011 Oasis with Sail and AMA's
2011 Necky Looksha 14

I did not try the front seat. I had read reports that said the balance was better from the front, which I find easy to believe, as the front seat is closer to the center of buoyancy. However, I am fishing and access to the rod holders in the back is very useful, as is having the open front cockpit. I could add rod holders up front, but I don't really want to, and from the back I can just just drop my rod butt or oar in the front, and when fishing I am doing both often. (I use an oar for backing up and tight maneuvering -I like it better than the Hobie double bladed paddle.) Using the ballast was only a minor inconvenience. Besides, when I'm with the wife, I am in the front, so the change in the point of view is nice.

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2011 Oasis (papaya)
2012 Revo (dune)

Also, have you tried paddling from the front? I know when I've been out with my wife and I'm in front, I can't control it too well. From the rear, I had great control. That is important to my fishing too, as I often got into places that I couldn't pedal out of - the turn radius was too large, or I had to back up.

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2011 Oasis (papaya)
2012 Revo (dune)

Forget the plastic gas can... Put a cooler loaded with ice and drinks and you're good to go! That's what I do with my Oasis.

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