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Which Hobie is the most fun?
Hobie Mirage Tandem Island 19%  19%  [ 6 ]
Hobie Mirage Adventure Island 19%  19%  [ 6 ]
Hobie Pro Angler 12/14 16%  16%  [ 5 ]
Hobie Revolution 11/13 13%  13%  [ 4 ]
Hobie Outback 19%  19%  [ 6 ]
Other Hobie Kayak 3%  3%  [ 1 ]
Hobie 16 6%  6%  [ 2 ]
Hobie Wave 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Hobie Bravo 0%  0%  [ 0 ]
Other Hobie Sailboat 3%  3%  [ 1 ]
Total votes : 31
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PostPosted: Mon Feb 25, 2013 5:06 pm 
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I realize that I posted this in the "Open Forum - Kayaking" and that some responses might lean towards the kayaks, but I think this is an interesting question, and it could be fun to hear people's responses.

In the past, I can see the Hobie 16 run away with the "most fun" category, simply because of the speed that can be achieved on the boat. But today, I sense a change in the Hobie demographic, and I think people are defining fun in a much broader sense.

I've owned three mirage kayaks (Revolution, Adventure, Oasis) and 2 Hobie sailboats (Bravo, Adventure Island) And it's funny how each one is a completely different type of fun.

I loved the AI for it's ability to go anywhere in any condition. Big winds and waves, no problem. No winds or waves, no problem. As a kayak, the Adventure is my favorite mirage drive boat. It's fast, more playful in turns, and has great capacity. The only things that I didn't like about it were the fact that it was a little slow under sail compared to other small sailboats, and it always sailed flat. For some, sailing flat is a huge safety feature, but it also takes out some of the skill of positioning your body to counterbalance the boat. You can screw up, and not tip. Which is good, but in some cases, can be less fun.

I bought my Bravo CHEAP. Had money been no object, I would have gone with the Wave. But the Bravo has really impressed me! It is a great little boat that gets me on the water a lot more often because it's so simple to rig. It's faster than many people give it credit for, and takes the right amount of skill to sail. By that I mean, you get rewarded by positioning the sail, and your body exactly right. Screw something up, and you know it. Get it right, and you get a stupid Hobie grin that just doesn't go away.

What I don't like about it, is that it can be overpowered quite easily. It's such a narrow catamaran, that you can't hike out far enough when the winds get too strong. You can furl the sail to safely get back to shore, but it doesn't sail as well like that.

The Oasis is a lot of fun because tandem kayaks are nicknamed "divorce boats" for a reason. The co-ordination required between both of the users really make tandem kayaks a niche product. Not so with the Oasis. The mirage drive allows two people of different abilities to pedal instead of paddle, and the users can be completely out of sync and have a perfectly enjoyable time together. The dual steering and rudder deployment controls allow for a lot of flexibility, and it's a decent single person kayak, with a crazy amount of carrying capacity.

I think "fun" is completely dependent on how you use your boat, and what you expect from it. So which boat is the most fun, and why?

For years, I thought that a Wave would be my next boat. I would keep the Oasis, and be able to kayak, but buy a Wave for the sailing performance. Today, my thoughts on fun have changed. I now have 2 kids under 2, and there's no way that they're going to enjoy coming out on a Wave the way I like to sail it, until they're quite a bit older. My wife, also isn't really into the Wave's brand of sailing...

So my "Most Fun Hobie" has to be the Tandem Island. It will sail with similar speed to my Bravo, my wife would love to come out on it with me for more than 10 minutes, and it's the ultimate "trip boat". I really enjoy sailing, but the best times that I've had on a sailboat are the times that I'm able to share with my family, and explore new places that you can only get to by water. The Tandem Island will get through rivers with no wind, handle big waves with safety, and be able to take my whole family with the trampolines. Fun used to involve a bit more adrenaline for me, but to have a single boat that can do everything, and be able to share it with friends and family. You can't beat the Tandem Island.

So what do you think? Short answer, long answer, which Hobie is the most fun for you and why?

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Last edited by augaug on Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:12 am, edited 1 time in total.

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PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 2:02 am 
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For me the fun is modifying, fiddling, improving and altering so the answer at the moment has to be the Ti.

cc

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PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 10:17 am 
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
augaug :
It has to be the TI for me also, it is by far (by any measure in my book) the most versatile boat on the market today, and in my opinion the most fun.
As avid kayakers we discovered Hobie Mirage kayaks back in 2007 when we bought a Revo, and an Oasis, we used the heck out of them every weekend traveling all over the country. I now will not buy a boat without a mirage drive system. We bought the optional sail kits with both boats, and sailing turned out to be the most fun part of kayaking for us in Florida especially, whenever we went out we would have the sail strapped to the side of the boat, and with any wind (even on rivers) we would whip the sails out and extend our range( why pedal when you can sail). We love to do river excursions. Trips turned from 3-4 mile days to 10-20 mile days with the mirage drives and sails. With Kayaks you can reach over 90% of any water on the intercoastal waterway, or travel any river (even mild rapids). We also love the Sante Fe, and Crystal rivers. With our old 21 ft Sea Ray we could cover at the most 10% of the available water on the intercoastal, plus the maintainance, fuel, and storage was a killer ($60k for the boat, then about $5k per year).
However the Revo and Oasis were a little small to be going out in open water (ocean), and where we live (South Florida, and Key west) there is a lot more distance to cover, we are also avid Scuba divers and wanted something that could combine our hobbies.
Another huge factor for me is whatever I have it has to be car topped. We have a camper that takes up the hitch when we travel, and we live in a restricted community so no trailers in the yard are permitted (everything must go into the garage (with the cars)), also any trailer/boat storage in Florida costs a fortune. It also costs a fortune to park in Key west ($2.50/hr), and we have no spot for a trailer at our house down in KW. So everything has to be locked on the roof.
We bought the TI in early 2010, and just love it. We can still do all the kayak stuff we love to do, actually the TI is my favorite kayak, in Kayak mode the TI is way faster and more stable than our old Oasis was, with lots more storage. We can run rapids and small rivers just as easily as we did with the other kayaks. Believe it or not the TI is actually easier to load on my roof rack than the Oasis was, I think because it is longer, and has more handles (I always load solo, and I'm not a big guy, actually looking at the height/weight charts my correct height should be around 7'6", I suspect something wrong with the charts because I'm only 5'8" tall).
We typically go down to Key West (KW) about 1 week/month (not in winter), and always take the TI along. I have extra sails on my TI (260 sq ft) because the wind down here is typically very low (5-6 mph average in the summer). A good day for us can sometimes cover 40-50 miles. One nice thing about KW is you can jump off the boat pretty much anyplace, and scuba dive or snorkel, so we often bring our scuba gear/tanks, and spear guns (where legal). We lash the tanks to the AKA bars (up to 4 tanks). Last year during lobster season we anchored just off Higg's beach, and 4 of us dove for lobster several times. I have a bimini made from an old sail that kept us shaded (fun times). We have a rope ladder for getting in and out of the boat, and a couple very good anchors (important). Yes we were overloaded a little, but we were only just off shore in shallow water. We have also taken as many as 6 people out snorkeling towing a couple inflatable kayaks out to the islands west of KW. I always carry 6 PDF's, we call it the party barge LOL. If the wind is not cooperating, we just fire up the emergency gas motor.
Every Florida resident is allowed 5 crab baskets during crab season we look like the guys on deadliest catch going out with crab traps stacked up on the tramps.
We often launch at Ft Desoto (where the EC launches from) and sail out to Egmont key where we meet friends for the day. We anchor just off shore with coolers, and just hang out on the windward side of the island. It's about 8-9 miles sailing out there. One time with a great 20 mph steady wind, we were hitting a steady 18 mph with my wife and I, two scuba tanks, and full gear (coolers, BC's, etc) so the boat does go when you need it to. I'm on my 3rd TI now rigged with the same sail , motor, bow sprit, and rigging systems (all roto furling) with I would guess way over 2500 sailing miles so far. I haven't changed anything in a very long time, we just use it. If there is anything on the market remotely similar to the TI I have not seen it and I don't even fish at all ( too busy having fun all year round in South Florida (I'm originally from Canada, but spent most of my life in Minnesota/Wisconsin) where we had to cram everything into 3 months).
So the TI gets my vote. (you didn't say to keep it short)
Bob


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 10:22 am 
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I've had a great time in all my Hobie kayaks. Nothing else matches their overall abilities.

If I could only choose one, it'd be the Revolution 13. It can do a greater variety of things than any other Hobie kayak, for me anyway.

Because I can have more than one, I choose the Tandem Island as the most fun. It's actually a darn good fishing platform. Sails great and I can take another person with me. That alone adds a great deal to the enjoyment I get from it. Other than for my inland river fishing trips, it's the boat I take out most often now.


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 10:49 am 
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fusioneng wrote:
So the TI gets my vote. (you didn't say to keep it short)


No, that's awesome. Long answer, short answer. I started this topic because I love hearing how other people use their boats, and what is fun for them. That's great!

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PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 12:32 pm 
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I chose the Revolution line.

Preface: I've never used one of the sailing kayaks, but I have owned a Mirage Sport, have used the Outback, and have helped friends haul their Tanks errr I mean Pro-Anglers.

For me, fun is being able to easily transport a kayak anywhere and enjoy paddling/pedaling and, in my specific interests, do some fishing. To me the Revo line-up finds the right balance of portability and utility. Maybe if I had a pickup truck/trailer and a large garage I would have answered Pro-Angler or Adventure Island, but the Revo suits my car-topping needs.

My ideal kayak fleet would have maybe 3 kayaks; Revo for portable situations, Pro-Angler 14 for tournament fishing, and Adventure Island for camping trips and long excursions.


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PostPosted: Tue Feb 26, 2013 2:56 pm 
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Put a sail on your Revolution. You'll love it even more. I sure did.


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 8:07 am 
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"I think "fun" is completely dependent on how you use your boat, and what you expect from it. So which boat is the most fun, and why?

The Oasis is a lot of fun because tandem kayaks nicknamed "divorce boats" for a reason. The co-ordination required between both of the users really make tandem kayaks a niche product. Not so with the Oasis. The mirage drive allows two people of different abilities to pedal instead of paddle, and the users can be completely out of sync and have a perfectly enjoyable time together. The dual steering and rudder deployment controls allow for a lot of flexibility, and it's a decent single person kayak, with a crazy amount of carrying capacity."

BOL re the divorce boats! :shock: No yakking couple, we know has a tandem kayak including Hobie Owners. Even the Hobie couples own separate Outbacks or Revos and OBs. The newer Oasis with the dual steering is even more taboo for our friends with good marriages :roll: from 40 years to 50 plus.

My wife is not a great swimmer, but in our Oasis with her PFD she feels comfortable, safe and enjoys yaking.

I discussed getting two Revo 11's, and she said no.

A Revo 11 may still be a option for me for quick trips to our local rivers/bays and lakes.

This past week has been a good example of where a Revo 11 would be great. We have had great weather from the high 60's to the low 70's. A Revo 11 would have been great to quickly toss in the bed of my Ridgeline and head out to catch the good weather and tides for a couple of hours and head home and the easy unloading and storing of the Revo 11.

Since, I mainly fly fish, my Freedom Hawk Bassyak Pathfinder will be my fishing yak. My Pathfinder is very sea worthy and comfortable. However, even it is a hassle for the sudden trip to catch a nice day and tides. I have to load the main boat and the pontoon stablizers in the truck bed, the motor and battery in the cab of the pickup and the two paddles I use with it. A Revo 11 would be so much easier to get ready, transport, launch and return home. A single Mirage unit and a shorten Hobie paddle is a lot easier to get ready, load, go, launch, use and return than either of my FH's.

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 9:30 am 
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I voted for the Hobie 18 (other sailboat) as the most fun.

I love going fast (20mph) and carrying some friends/family while doing it. The Hobie 18 has a lot of volume to carry a load and still go fast and it is not as prone to pitchpoling as the H16 so my wife likes that. The wings make for a very comfortable seating location and keep you a little dryer with the spray.

I look at the H18 as the musclecar of the Hobie lineup. :D

I do admit to not yet trying a mirage drive kayak or Hobie sailing kayak so I cannot compare to that. I have however been sea kayaking in my wood kayak (Pygmy Coho) for many years and enjoy that also.


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PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:10 am 
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Tough one...

Totally condition (and access to a variety of boats here) dependent. If windy, I'll choose a cat. Surf... Maui, Tough launch or changing conditions... Islands. Fish?... Hummmm Outback, Revo or Pro Anglers. Friends... Tandems.

Sorry.... can't choose just one. :)

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 10:26 am 
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Yeah yeah, rub it in.

I'm Matt Miller, I can use anything I want, anytime I want!! :P

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 11:11 am 
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augaug wrote:
Yeah yeah, rub it in.

I'm Matt Miller, I can use anything I want, anytime I want!! :P

It's called product testing! :)

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PostPosted: Thu Feb 28, 2013 9:10 pm 
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I am more than happy with my Adventure(s)


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PostPosted: Sat Mar 02, 2013 2:03 pm 
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Could not decide. Have owned a Hobie 16, and a tandem island. Have sailed a getaway and a wave. Currently own a pa12 and a revo 11. Have a sail for the pa12 and revo 11. Do more fishing now. AHH still can't decide LOL!! :wink:


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