Sidekick Rocks!!

I finally managed to avoid the honeydoos and other distractions and try out the Sidekick Amas today. It would be a gross understatement to say I was pleased. I was sailing in some brisk and gusting wind conditions on Lake Hodges in Escondido. At first I was very cautiously hanging onto the main sheet with the expectation that an unplanned dismount was unavoidable. I couldn't be more wrong in my expectations. No matter what course I steered the Outback cruised along on an even keel. Of course the boat would lean off the wind a bit but then it would go no farther. Once the float settled into the water to about half its volume that was it. I set the floats to the lowest of the three adjustment positions at the start and saw no reason to change them although it is quite easy to do so. I think the "short banana" shape of the floats and the fact that they pivot to stay in consistent contact with the water is in part the key to their outstanding performance. I happened to meet Roadrunner today and he was sailing his Adventure. That hull is much faster than the Outback by a good margin but would certainly benefit from the addition of the Sidekick Amas kit, at least for a novice sailor like myself. Roadrunner was going to take some photos for me but my camera decided not to cooperate. No big deal though as we've all seen images online already.

Aside from sailing, I see the Sidekick as a great addition to fishing if for any reason an angler would want to be able to comfortably stand up in their kayak. The floats are far enough aft that they shouldn't pose a major problem to landing a fish while deployed. And, if you managed to fall overboard they would aid greatly in reentering the kayak.

All told, I'm delighted with this addition to my kayak and feel like it's well worth the cost of $150!!

Thanks for the great feedback!

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

I was at Hobie Central today and I got to see some cool new toys. A friend and I are working on a casting deck drop-in for my Adventure so I can do just what you said - stand up and fish with the sidekicks on.

The first thing my buddies will say when they see the Amas is "nice training wheels" but they'll shut up when I'm fly fishing in the skinny water or working a jerkbait over the eelgrass of Mission bay.

Drew... It's funny that you mention the "Training wheels" connection when looking at the Sidekick amas. I had that thought but quickly realized that the functionality far outweighed any critical comments from others. Be advised that these things can be easily raised off the water for eliminating drag (and there is VERY little) while traveling to the fishing grounds. Additionally, they can be deflated and stowed quickly too.
If your fishing buddies paddle non-Hobie kayaks you might want to remind them that the Hobie Sidekick can be readily installed on any kayak that has flat spots for mounting the center bar.

p.s. Mission Bay last Sunday yielded 5 SBB in about 2 hours on an incoming tide, all but 1 over 14".

I have also been enjoying the outstanding performance of the Sidekicks - for me in the Portsmouth, New Hampshire area. I took off into open ocean on a breezy day about a week ago and felt perfectly safe with both wind and waves (only 1-2 feet). I came up through Portsmouth Harbor to make a nice loop which was a bad idea since the outgoing tide was flowing at maximum as I hit the narrower parts of the inlet. Lucky for me the wind was decent enough to get me up to about 5 mph on the pitot speedometer and I made steady, though slow, progress. I felt that my Hobie setup was drawing more attention than ever with both the sail and Sidekicks deployed - people were flocking to the shore's edge to see what the heck was sailing by. I'm always surprised to be the only Hobie kayak when I go out around here and get lots of comments (and drooling envious looks) when I get back to my car. I can't figure out why everyone doesn't have one of these! Anyway, it took maximum propulsion with legs working hard, sail full of wind, and at one point a little extra paddling to beat the tide that day and I'm sure I had the only non-motorized boat that could have done it.

One other noticeable thing about having the Sidekicks was that it's much easier to raise up the sail and take it down since this requires reaching all the way to the front of the kayak to get the tube in or out of the hole which is a very tippy position to be in without the stability of the Sidekicks. I did great with the Sidekicks in the middle position - when the wind died at the end of the day the floats were just off the water and while sailing the lean of the boat was just enough to feel like a real sailor!

Ken Shuman
Durham, New Hampshire

On the Fishing Under sail thread on the Fishing forum I had stated:



I'm a 188 lbs, had the daggerboard and big rudder.

I went out Mahukona a few days ago. That's getting pretty close to the north end of the Big Island and the Alenuihaha Channel, a dangerous place. But some good fishing most of the time if you hug the coast at 200-300 foot depth.

Probably Beaufort 4 winds. Here was my chance to checkout getting home against a strong wind, but playing it safe knowing I could actually run downwind coming home. Beat to windward nicely and proceeded up coast. Ripped along pretty good, but didn't really "bury" ama. Wind actually decreased a bit as sun rose.

Took down sail, fished for awhile using drift chute. Wind picked up again, steadily getting stronger. Brought in chute to pedal over to where bird was hovering and diving (usually sign of a single pelagic bird is following). Found current was bucking wind. I was almost standing still north/south, but being blown out from coast by easterly component. Did not want to muck around in what was rapidly turning into Beaufort 5. Whitecaps all over the place swells building, etc !

Hoisted sail running down/crosswind mostly. Whoopie!!! What a ride, both ama squating, mast bending.

Got back inside 250' line and with sail almost uncontrolable unshipped mast. Per kshuman no sweat with Sidekick stability

Ama provide some nice extra stability pedalling down swell as ploughed downswell into the lee of a northerly point.

Just one stick fish fight for my efforts, but I am now a big beliver in SideKick. I was pushing the envelope and got away with it. Would never had tried it, even in initial wind without SideKick as I knew gusts would prove very difficult. Needless to say I won't be quite so bold in the future. Gave me some food for thought when I do get caught out in something as bad.

BTW I thank Roadrunner or Apalach, whoever, that recommended buy the BIG rudder. Running downswell in those conditions I almost had to run cross wise to make my takeout point, then put a hard turn on to ride perpendicular down the breaking swell so I never got pushed sideways into a potential huli position. Don't think I could have done that with small rudder.

And paddling in that stuff? Forget it. Mirage Drive to the rescue!
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