Revo 13, 2007 hull vs 2015 hull differences?

Updated my well worn V1 drive last week to include the new Glide tech but now I'm wondering if there is any difference in the hull shape that would make the newer boats faster. I notice the bottom of my '07 hull is very flat and wide, are the newer hulls any better to make it worth an update? I don't usually go much more than a mile or so offshore but by the time I'm done diving I'm darn tired and every little bit of efficiency counts.

There have been several improvements to the hull (mostly hardware), but it's the same shape as the original. Your Drive upgrade should make a lot of difference in fatigue however! Have you tried it yet?

Joe here's a post I made on a fishing site about the upgrade I did. FYI the upgrade is smoother and I found myself going faster with less effort. I have turbo fins and I don't feel the firmer push from them like I did with the standard set up.



Well I just did the upgrade to the GT parts of the V2 drive. Very easy to do. Pick yourself an area well lit and use a drop cloth, on the just in case you drop a small part. I picked the dining room table as the work bench.

-Take a couple pictures of the cable routes as they are attached to the components.
-Take the whole assemble apart.
-The idler pulley and sprockets have a direction in way of placement.
-The new parts have tape or a plastic pull away to keep the bearings in place.
-As you do the installs the foam plugs get pushed out as the centering rods are pushed in place.
-The main drums have a center plastic plug and it pushes out as you push the drum on the rod
-Mark the ends of the rods with a scratch or marker. There is a flat spot for a set screw. that mark will relate to the flat spot.

Just going to need:
7/16 wrench
9/16 wrench
allen keys
blue lock tight
paper towels
some marine grease

between set up time to completion and clean up give yourself 1.5-2 hours

Thanks guys. I did manage to get the drive together after spilling the bearing all over the place a few times. Haven't gotten out in the water yet, hoping for Thur or Fri, but it does feel a lot smoother.

I asked about the hull because the directions for the new scupper cart show the cross bar contacting the keel for support and my hull is so flat there is no way for that to occur even with the collars all the way down. Thought this might be due to hull updates but I guess it's just a revo 13 thing.

Joe

Joe. I got lucky when it came to the assemble. I was at a NJ kayak show in somerset and spoke directly to the hobie guys. They explained to me about the parts and what not to do and also how to do the assemble so the bearings stayed put while working on it.

If the bottom of your Revo is flat it may have been stored or transported often with the hull down flat on a surface. This happened to my first Revo & I didn't notice the difference until I bought my second one & had the two kayaks side by side. The bottom of the new, 2010 model I think, kayak was nice & round while my old one was noticeably much flatter where I had been transporting it hull-down in my pick up truck bed & leaving it sit in my garage. & fwiw I did notice a little more speed with the new hull vs old one. I always store & transport hull side up now.


If you really want a big gain in pedaling ease then try a Revo 16. Big difference from the 13.

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2016 Hobie i11s
2017 Hobie Revo 13

Yes, this doesn't apply to the Revo series -- hulls are too flat.

Thanks for the info salty. I store the kayaks properly but they are transported on the hull in the back of the truck with all gear loaded ready to launch. The revo 13 is as big of a boat as I care to transport in the truck bed and drag down to the beach.

Roadrunner, has anyone damaged the scuppers by letting the boat rest on the cart collars or are tennis balls a must have? It's a new cart, I've always used the wheeleeze carts until now.

Not that I'm aware of. I personally prefer the tennis balls though because they form a relatively large contact patch against the scuppers and are shock absorbing. This is also less stressful for the cart. I have been able to use Hobie standard carts for all the kayak models with no replacement parts or durability issues.

Regardless of whether you use collars or tennis balls, the most important matter is to insure the cart legs extend completely through the upper hull opening.

If you are going to transport your kayak hull down in the pickup truck bed I recommend you make some sort of cradles to support the bottom of the hull evenly. I really believe that not doing that was what flattened the bottom of my old Revo's hull. Now that I think about it...... I rarely left it hull flat in the garage unless I was working on it.

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2016 Hobie i11s
2017 Hobie Revo 13

Thanks saltly, I may do that for the next boat. Unfortunately this one couldn't get any flatter so I'm not going to worry about it right now.

Went off shore yesterday, love the new glide setup in the drive, nice and smooth. Combined with a gentle breeze on the sail I wasn't tired at all when I hit my dive spot. Best part was the trip back to shore after diving for a couple of hours, I was tired and the smoother drive still felt effortless.

Joe i am really interested in your experiences diving from a revo 13.

How is the entry /exit with full gear on. Or do you get bcd, tank etc on in water?
how far off shore do you go?
good to hear the new drive is good, diving certainly does tire you.

I actually don't use scuba gear, just freedive. The hardest part is getting the suit on, once the that is done the rest is easy. Getting in and out of the kayak is just a matter of watching your center of gravity and moving quick.

I don't normally go more than 1 mile off shore, limited by patience. I suppose on the right day with the right winds I would be willing to go further but there isn't anything exciting at 2 or 3 miles, the next reef line is 6 miles out and that is a long friggin way at 3-4 mph.