Howdy - New Kayaker / Hobie Owner.

Hello,

I just today picked up a 2014 Hobie Odyssey Tandem demo kayak. Quite excited to test it out. Of course we have 25 MPH winds and 50 degree temps today and tomorrow. I have hundreds of questions I'm sure, though I don't know what they all are just yet. Brand new to the sport (absent a few rental trips) Glad to have a resource to check with. I intend to mostly use the yak on Lake St Clair in Michigan which is basically a Great Lake in terms of size and choppiness. Slightly warmer and fairly shallow, but windy and choppy is common. I also intend to try and fish out of it.

Man, this bad boy is heavy. I underestimated how heavy it is and realize I'm going to struggle to load it on my own. Getting it off was okay, loading it on to my car's cross rails is tough and I already dinged it the car a bit. Any tips or ideas short of a $600 lift assist system?

Can you transport via the J-bar rack systems that attached to the cross rails? Is that better than just attaching on the cross rails? Vendor I purchased from thought those J-bar racks were not ideal for such a heavy boat.

Is there a recommended seat upgrade? The regular seats will be fine for the kids, but I'd appreciate a better seat.

What clothing do you all use for cooler months like now? 5 mill wetsuit jon with rain jacket? Wadders? Dry suit?

Are there key safety items that are must haves? I have PFDs and whisltes. Should I get a radio?

Thanks for the help. Looking forward to an exciting new hobby.

Hi Rook and welcome to the forum. The Odessy is very similar to the Oasis but without the Mirage drives. We really like the Oasis it has geat versatility!

For loading, here are a couple of relatively inexpensive ideas that may help:

If you have a hitch, you can get a t-bar like this:







Or save even more using a less expensive bed extender in a rotated position like this:

Note the boat should ride upside down on its "rails" unless you have a rack and saddle system. (You can load it upright and flip it if you need to). The bottom is thinner and will dent if left on your rack for any appreciable amount of time!)

Or you can make a rack extender like this (no hitch necessary):


Using a larger tube over a smaller makes a dandy roller:


Load one end at a time for easier lifting. Note use of towels or carpets for no scratches.

If you have a rudder that is in the way, you can load the boat backward to keep the rudder off the ground.

Hope that helps!

For some of your other questions you can use the "search" feature on the forum for ideas. There is no lack of info there. Or maybe someone else will chime in!

I have found the Yakima Boat Loader a very simple and relatively inexpensive modification that makes loading my AI onto the rack easy.

Here's a video demonstrating it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHttmdifr_8