Newbie Hobie Kayaker

Newbie to Hobie here. I sailed Sunfish and Force 5 boats before, but never had the opportunity to own a kayak until recently. I did some minimal kayaking with a school group in an estuary on the California coast and was HOOKED. I recently purchased a 2004-05 Hobie Mirage Tandem:



Did the picture come through?
Well, it is a light blue 13'11" long boat with Hobie decals. I checked the entire boat for a serial number, especially around the stern starboard side and underneath, to no avail. I purchased it Sunday, August 17th and told it was last used on Monday August 11th. The front person has a hatch cover at their feet that measures 6.5" in diameter. There are two small ones at the back person's feet that have 5.5" diameter covers, one right behind the back person that also measures 5.5" diameter, and one behind that that measures 9.5" diameter. The previous owner said he put in the largest hatch. He said he purchased it in 2009 and had been told it was 4-5 years old at that time. That makes it a 2004 or 2005 vintage. One Mirage Drive serial number is 34524 and the other is 33267. Can anyone confirm or deny the vintage?

We purchased it on Sunday, put it on top of the car (not easy loading it on a Toyota FJ Cruiser so I have been reading the car loading suggestions you have been posting over the past few years), went camping on Tuesday, took it off the car Tuesday afternoon, and had it on the water that day. It handled the white caps well, but had more water in the hull than I expected. After reading this forum I guess it didn't have too much water, so am not concerned.

By the way, why a Hobie? My better half didn't want a narrow unstable kayak. She also has two bad knees from too much skiing. We test-drove a 2014 Mirage at a local lake east of Sacramento, California where one of the local dealers was renting all types of Hobies. After an hour-plus of peddling her knees weren't hurting. In fact, they didn't hurt that night (they normally hurt every night) or the next day. We tried to get a doctor's prescription for a Hobie Mirage, but that was not going to happen.

Guess I have been more wordy than planned. Just wanted to introduce myself and my new toy.

From all the way over on the East coast, welcome!

G'day from down under Rob,

The serial numbers are usually located on a panel under the gunwales at the very stern of the boat somewhere near the rudder. They can be quite difficult to locate and read in poor light because the panel is just a moulding in the hull and the number itself is usually just scratched in (a bit of coloured powder - e.g. talc - can make it easier to read the number once the panel has been found). That said, I had a hull with a panel but no serial number!

Trying to ID your boat without the picture which I can't see: does it happen to have a mast base under the front seat? (this is a tube into which the Hobie kayak sailing kit will drop). Or is the mast base between the front and rear seats. Or does it not have a mast base at all?!

Welcome to the forums by the way!

There is no mast spot that I can determine. Under each seat is a hole that goes all the way through the hull. The previous owner did include two #6 rubber stoppers that I think are to be put in those holes, but I don't understand why, so haven't used them.

EUREKA! I found the serial number: CCMY0493. I guess that makes it a 2004, correct? It was on the left side at the transition of the side and gunwale about two feet in front of the rudder. I had been running my fingers all along the area on both sides. There are obviously many scratches as the kayak has been used. I felt these "scratches", but really couldn't see anything unless I was looking at just the correct angle. I then grabbed some graphite powder and the serial number appeared.

norcalrob.....here is the Hobie link on serial numbers http://www.hobiecat.com/articles/boat-s ... cation,15/

Based on the S/N you posted, it sounds like the boat is most likely built in September 2003??

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR