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PostPosted: Sun May 20, 2012 10:01 pm 
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Location: Deatonville North, Louisiana
Ran into my dealer the other night. She said the May 15th shipment didnt happen and didnt know when she'd get the PA12's but would call me when she did.... :cry: I may wait a week or so and just get the Outback...

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PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2012 4:17 am 
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Location: Virginia - Pro Angler 14 owner since Feb 2010
BillyH wrote:
Ran into my dealer the other night. She said the May 15th shipment didnt happen and didnt know when she'd get the PA12's but would call me when she did.... :cry: I may wait a week or so and just get the Outback...


Judging from the pictures in this other topic, it seems the PA 12 should start shipping soon. Whether your order will be filled by this first batch is another question. It still sounds like most dealers will only be getting a couple of units in the initial shipment.

http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=78&t=42740&start=15

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PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2012 4:31 am 
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Location: West Columbia, SC
Fortunately I can wait. I have about 3 weeks left working in China then a few weeks getting the house painted, furniture moved back in...about 8 more weeks of "dang it's too hot out there before I need one for the wife.

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PostPosted: Mon May 21, 2012 6:42 am 
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Yes, from what I understand it looks like 2 per dealer and those should be shipping this week barring any catastrophes. I'd expect to start seeing them arrive at dealers next week.

From what I can gather even after the initial shipment we're not going to see a ton of these things for sale until September/October. I've been told there is only one mold for the PA12 and so you can only produce 1 at a time.

I'm guesstimating that it took Hobie around 3 weeks to make all the hulls and another 2 weeks to QA them, install components , QA again, package and ship. And this is enough to give each dealer 2 of each boat (and most dealers will probably keep one for demo purposes).

I don't know how many Hobie dealers are in the U.S. I'd guess around 75, so in 5-6 weeks about 150 PA12's were made. And we can assume that a lot of man hours were devoted to the launch of the product.

For future production, I'd expect a more reasonable number of 100 PA12's per month to be the norm.


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PostPosted: Fri May 25, 2012 9:50 am 
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Getting mine next week!!! I can't believe the time is actually here. FYI, I ordered mine about 3 weeks ago.

Can't wait to start modifying it.


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PostPosted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 4:19 pm 
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Saw one today at my local dealer. Pretty sweet kayak. I was leaning toward the Outback but given the small weight difference with the PA 12, I am now reconsidering. The layout is very nice and the new seat is very cool. The one at my dealership was pre-purchased and just came in this week.


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PostPosted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 5:41 pm 
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Location: Hollywood, Fl
Picked up mine in Key Largo on Monday. Rigging it this week and will have it offshore on Sat.


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PostPosted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 6:50 pm 
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PA12's sighted in Florida. Unfortunately my dealer has decided keep both of theirs so I have to wait another ??? weeks until I get mine.

He's saying that a main shipment is expected to arrive between June 15th and July 1st.


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PostPosted: Wed Jun 06, 2012 7:23 pm 
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On another note I did demo the PA12 and PA14 in their pool.
For reference I stand 6'-0" and weigh in at 180lbs.

These are my initial impressions

The seats
PA12 seat is moderately more comfortable and breathable. More adjustable and can quickly be adjusted.

Size of boat
PA12 is of course a bit shorter and narrower. For me this made absolutely no difference - it might be a different story for bigger guys. I actually found it easier to mess around the front hatch and reach the rear cargo areas in the PA12.

Hatches
The twist and stow hatch in the front is a huge improvement. It's a LOT easier to quickly access this hatch vs the PA14. I can also stand on it without problems (one foot).

Steering and control
The PA12 handles much more nimbly. In a pool that was maybe 20 feet across - I was able to do doughnuts. In the PA14 this wasn't possible, I kept banging up against the side of the pool.

Stability
I didn't notice any difference in stability - but again I didn't try to tip the boat. I stood up, messed with the front hatch, flipped the chair up, reached into the rear cargo areas - absolutely no problem. I never once had to regain or adjust my balance. The same was true in the PA14.

All in all the seat upgrade and the new front hatch is what made the biggest difference. It's not a huge difference but the PA12 feels like a refined PA14 that has been shrunk to the smallest boat possible without bringing it back into the kayak classification.
The decision between the 12 and 14 will probably boil down to the size of the rider. I currently own two native ultimates in the 12 and 14 foot lengths and I much prefer the 12 over the 14. The same is true in this case. I might get more for my money with the 14 - but I just like the handling of the 12.

I'll be taking out the 12 this weekend for a full day demo on the water. HOpefully I'll have good things to report.


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PostPosted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 9:50 pm 
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Location: Deatonville North, Louisiana
gatorling wrote:
BillyH wrote:
I know the dealer here is only able to get 2 on this shipping..


Hopefully my dealer was able to get more. He claims to be the top grossing Hobie dealer in Florida.
Hoping that 3 PA12's arrive late May! If not I'm guessing the next time a shipment will arrive is late June/Early July.

My dealer here got 5 in yesterday....sweet

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PostPosted: Thu Jun 07, 2012 9:52 pm 
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Location: Deatonville North, Louisiana
looking at the PA12, how would one get back in the kayak from deep water if they fall out. I've seen the video clips or re entry in other models but considering the hand rails and elevated seat in this thing, wondering how I would do it.. new to all this... :?:

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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 6:23 am 
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Location: High Point, NC
Most likely you'd want to climb in over the stern and slink your way back to the seat area.


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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 7:48 am 
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Location: Topsham, ME
Quote:
Most likely you'd want to climb in over the stern and slink your way back to the seat area


X2...I've done it in practicing by coming in just in front of the rails, but it is MUCH easier to come over the stern and work your way back up.


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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 10:59 am 
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Thanks for the update Billy,

Sounds like regular production is starting to ramp up and the estimate of June 15th might actually hold.

-Jason


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PostPosted: Fri Jun 08, 2012 3:56 pm 
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My dealer had 2.


Steve


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