Return to Hobie.com
Hobie Forums
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 11:21 am

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 15 posts ] 
Author Message
PostPosted: Sun Mar 20, 2016 9:26 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2016 8:43 pm
Posts: 364
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
I picked up my first Hobie, a PA 14 on Friday from Tri-State Trolling Motors in St. Louis. It is a family run business specializing in trolling motors (hence the name) and all things fishing electronics - and now Hobie! Really good group of guys out there, the big guy that runs the place scares the (censored) out of me, but seems pretty solid, and the whole team is pretty sharp.

Picked her up around noon and had her in the water at Silver Lake in Highland a couple of hours later. Probably the worse day I have kayaked. Winds gusting to 20-30mph nice big rollers and whitecaps. And me without my wading pants or gortex anything. But I had to get the boat in the water.

I could not believe how stable this boat is. Not once did I feel tippy even in the worse of the wind and waves. I would not have been caught dead out there in my Jackson Cuda. It is not a big lake by any means, but that wind was moving and kicking up a storm. I was the only person on the water. Anyway, it was a good shakedown of the boat...though I would probably have been better off waiting until Saturday...but I had the fever.

Spent 9 hours on her today at Lake Coffeen. It is a power plant lake, so the water is always warm, I think around 60 at the outlets. Really got a good feel for this boat. It is so different than my Cuda. Different in a good way. I could sit off windy points facing the breeze and peddle in place. The rudder is amazing, along with a few short strokes really gets you pointed in the right direction. I think I covered more water, and actually fished more this one day, than the last three in my other boat. Oh, and did I mention the seat? I loved the seat in my Cuda...now I don't know how I will ever go back! The seat, in no uncertain terms, is amazing. I did not realize that the high/low made such a difference, but also changes your relation to the peddles. So I did have to adjust the peddles when I went high. But thinking, I will probably be in the high a lot more than low...and it is super easy to adjust anyway.

One last thing. I can stand in a kayak! I can stand and take a wiz in a kayak! Forget fishing while standing, I don't have to get out of this boat to do #1! Obviously, #2 is going to require a trip to shore, unless the Hobie engineers get really creative.

One more last thing. This boat at 140lb is heavy, but it does not feel heavy in the water. It also rides much better on my Harbor Freight trailer. That extra 60lbs makes all the difference in the trailer being bouncy or smooth.

Here is a picture of the boat and trailer, from Friday, before being rigged. Probably the cleanest it will ever be! Since, I have added the YakAttack LeverLoc Anchor Trolley to both sides - still have to run the 550 cord - but it mounts with only 4 added holes, one extra for the pad eyes and two for the loc itself. Everything else uses Hobies existing mounting points. I have two new pockets to add on each side (one to hide my lowrance power and sounder cable when not in use), the batter box, a cigarette lighter adapter for charging, a couple of USB ports, and a couple of toggle switches. Everything else mounts on the H-rails - two rod holders, a 1" RAM ball, and a H-rail mighty mount. That is along with the stuff that came with the kayak.

Image

I think that the fun has just begun! Of course, I have spent so much money on this 'project' in the last week that I am going to have to live on peanut butter and tuna fish...or whatever I can catch...until payday!

_________________
STLKayak
2020 Pro Angler 14 360
St. Louis, Missouri
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005695487937


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 7:42 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 8:41 pm
Posts: 951
Location: Lake Park, GA
Congrats on the new PA and welcome to the PA family and the addiction! :mrgreen:

_________________
Steve Stubbs
USAF (retired)

SeaDek Fishing Team
Unfair Lures Pro Staff
Ziptailz Ambassador

2015 Pro Angler 14 - Papaya
2018 Compass - Sea Grass


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 9:39 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Mon Feb 15, 2016 2:48 pm
Posts: 19
Congrats still dreaming about mine but it will happen soon


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 6:27 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Mon May 19, 2014 3:42 pm
Posts: 89
Welcome to the family. I can sympathize with the wind. I went out last Wednesday here in the Kansas City area with winds gusting to 30mph as well. Does the wind ever not blow in the Midwest? I'm thinking not! Heading out into the wind, I was taking wavers over the bow. Heading in, it felt like I was surfing. As the waves hit the stern, I would quickly speed up. As the wave passed by I would just as quickly slow down until the next wave. As you said, never felt tippy but not ideal for the whole I was out there alone and that was to catch fish.

Again welcome. I know you're going to LOVE it!

_________________
Jeff
KansasYaker
2014 - Pro Angler - 14 - Upgraded H-Rail Kit


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Mar 21, 2016 8:02 pm 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2016 8:43 pm
Posts: 364
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Kansas - yeah that surfing thing was interesting coming back with the waves. Fun, but weird. My last cast on that windy day was into the wind with a swim bait on braid. Backlash city! I could not get it untangled and said enough. But that is also how I caught my first fish from my PA! When I went out on Sunday and put in, while peddling down the lake I took a stab at trying to get the backlash out before I just cut it free. I had the lure in the water for 15 minutes while I worked the knot and something took it! I thought it was snagged until it crashed the surface. I pulled in...literally hand over hand...a 2.5 pound bass. Hey, I will take them anyway I can get em!

_________________
STLKayak
2020 Pro Angler 14 360
St. Louis, Missouri
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005695487937


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 5:49 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Deck Hand

Joined: Tue Jun 17, 2014 7:23 pm
Posts: 12
Location: Georgetown, Texas
This is my Hobie 14.

Image


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 5:51 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Thu Dec 10, 2009 2:40 pm
Posts: 1365
Yes, but not exactly a Hobie PA-14 :wink:

_________________
Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Hood River, OR


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 8:25 am 
Offline
Hobie Tech / Moderator

Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 4:34 pm
Posts: 236
Location: Hobie Cat: Oceanside, CA
I'll post this again here since this topic comes up so often:

"Be careful and keep an eye on the hull distortion with this type of storage. The weight on the outside of the PVC pipes can sag in time without any support and warp the hull. In worst cases, it can lead to cracks. These wide and heavy boats need support all the way across, especially in hot climates."

PVC piping is not a recommended storage method.

_________________
Brendan Castile


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 10:33 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2016 8:43 pm
Posts: 364
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Brendan, If i went with the cradles instead of the PVC, how far apart are they recommended to be? I only have 48" to work with on the main body of my trailer. Also, I do not store my kayak in direct sunlight, it is under cover. Is there a 'greater than' temperature we should begin to worry about as far as hull warping? I would not think that 90-100 degree ambient air temperature, without direct sunlight would have much of an impact on the Hull. Am i wrong?

_________________
STLKayak
2020 Pro Angler 14 360
St. Louis, Missouri
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005695487937


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Mar 23, 2016 4:43 pm 
Offline
Hobie Tech / Moderator

Joined: Mon Feb 11, 2008 4:34 pm
Posts: 236
Location: Hobie Cat: Oceanside, CA
The Hobie cradles fit at about 67" apart. You can use PVC pipe as long as you have some support for the sides of the boat too. 90-100 is pretty warm so you'll want to be sure the boat is well supported.

_________________
Brendan Castile


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Mar 24, 2016 3:51 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2016 8:43 pm
Posts: 364
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Dewey - I think you need to mount some rod holders and maybe a fish finder on that cat. Is it Lowrance ready?

_________________
STLKayak
2020 Pro Angler 14 360
St. Louis, Missouri
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005695487937


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 9:12 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 1:23 am
Posts: 117
Location: MA
[quote="STLKayak"]

One last thing. I can stand in a kayak! I can stand and take a wiz in a kayak! Forget fishing while standing, I don't have to get out of this boat to do #1! Obviously, #2 is going to require a trip to shore, unless the Hobie engineers get really creative.

Image

Here's asolution I found on the site once. Not my idea. Easy to do and it works great.

This way you don't get arrested for indecent exposure. All you need is a long tube funnel, some 3/4" flex tubing and tape it together. Drop it in the skupper hole in front of the seat and it's there ready to use when duty calls.

Image
Image
Image

_________________
Just a Kid to the End


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 10:18 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Tue Feb 21, 2012 8:41 pm
Posts: 951
Location: Lake Park, GA
Thanks for sharing! Good looking setup. I have one of those umbrellas as well. I don't use it on every outing, but it does come in handy at times!

_________________
Steve Stubbs
USAF (retired)

SeaDek Fishing Team
Unfair Lures Pro Staff
Ziptailz Ambassador

2015 Pro Angler 14 - Papaya
2018 Compass - Sea Grass


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Mon Apr 04, 2016 10:58 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Old Salt

Joined: Wed Mar 09, 2016 8:43 pm
Posts: 364
Location: St. Louis, Missouri
Thanks for the funnel idea. Not sure that it is wide enough, and how is the flow rate?

I had the PA out yesterday morning. Hit the water at 6am left the water at 5pm, sunrise from the water is almost a religious experience. Great day, even though fishing was slow. Straight line wind was blowing 15-20mph. Got her up to 6.2mph on the Lowrance with the wind at my back, and then clipped a submerged stump with the back fin. Going to take it apart tonight and bend back, it looks easy enough. Should I use loctite? I hear people using it that then cannot get the mast off the drive. I don't foresee this being a random occurrence. I fish all kinds of water and not all of it clear, accidents are going to happen. I am going to buy the spares parts just in case. But even bent pretty good it still peddled well, I guess that was the luck of the back fin being bent and not interfering with the front fin.

One last thing. I was kayaking - and fishing - and having a blast - with 20mph winds! A buddy of mind said I was crazy for enjoying that...maybe I am...I would not have been caught out there on my paddle Cuda...but in the PA it was awesome. Pretty sure I am going to have Popeyes legs by the end of the summer.

_________________
STLKayak
2020 Pro Angler 14 360
St. Louis, Missouri
https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=100005695487937


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Apr 05, 2016 8:17 am 
Offline
Site Rank - Captain

Joined: Fri Jun 06, 2014 1:23 am
Posts: 117
Location: MA
STLKayak wrote:
Thanks for the funnel idea. Not sure that it is wide enough, and how is the flow rate?


Funny..... funnel stories and fish stories are all alike. The longer the story the bigger the fish gets.

No experience with damaged fins.

20 mph winds... I stay home. Too old for those battles.

The Pro Anglers are sweet rigs. Enjoy. Sounds like you are hooked...... line and sinker.

_________________
Just a Kid to the End


Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 15 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 8 hours [ DST ]


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 2 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum

Jump to:  
© Hobie Cat Company. All rights reserved.
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group