I was offshore last Friday, conditions were 1ft waves 10-12knots breeze, beautiful day. My fishing partner commented on how low in the water the bow of the Revo13 appeared in comparison to his Outback. I immediately checked to see if I had taken on water in the hull or in the front hatch bin. There was no significant water in the hull and only a 1/4 cup or so of water in the front hatch bin (normal) where I store a small drybox and a box of vertical jigs. I would say I have less than 5lbs stored up front when I do offshore trips.
Nothing was out of the ordinary, and this is not a thread about manufacturer defects, I love my Hobies!
But I started thinking about it more as time passed and when I look at sea kayaks (just google "sea kayak" and look at the image results) I usually see a bow that angles upwards as you get closer to the nose of the kayak. The Revolution's nose is more level with the water and seems to be designed to cut through the waves (or be used in flat conditions) rather than "pop up" over them like traditional sea kayaks. The Outback's bow does a bit better because of the upward curve of the two side lobes; although this contributes to the infamous "hullslap" noise from the waves.
So purely as a design discussion, do you think Hobie has a model that is better suited for offshore waves and/or do you think Hobie will ever augment their designs to incorporate a more prominent bow for tackling large waves?
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