Hobie Kayak_Please share your though about Hobie Kayak

[ryuounce]

I am very new to scuba and kayak, both and just certified early this year. But want to expand more and to do that, I really need a kayak since I can't afford any motor boat and I really don't want to deal with lots hassle with it. There are lots selection of kayak and once I saw the Hobie Kayak with Mirage Drive, I couldn't think going with other Kayak. As I searched, it seems that the Ocean Kayak is one of the best option to go for Scuba, but Hobie looks better for long distance travel from the beach which will allow me to experience more variety of nature.
So here are some question. If you have any experience with Hobie Kayak, please share your thought about my questions below.
1. Stability while paddling
2. Speed (I believe that Hobie is much? faster than others)
3. How easy to get back to kayak after diving?
4. Storage
5. How easy to carry from car to beach? Is it heavier than others?
6. I heard that Hobie Kayak has some issue with creating a hole through it's body(I am not sure if this happens to the latest one as well, but I heard this from somewhere) and it can sink? Is this really true?
I know this is too much, but if you can answer to some of my questions, that will be great help for me to choose what to get. Also there are some old type of paddle and old one also can go reverse and do similar thing like latest one?
Thank you!

 

[okvij]

I can't imagine diving from a kayak. How do you plan to do it exactly?

 

[Silty Sam]

I use a several-years-old Hobie PA 14 as a dive kayak.
Mirage Pro Angler 14 : Pro Anglers : Hobie

I've used it on salt and freshwater dives. It's very stable. The Mirage drive is very effective and easy to use. I certainly like it better than paddling, which my dive buddy has to do on his sit-on-top. I think I can crank out 4 knots on it, but regular pedaling is about 2 kn.

I will be 59 this month. I have no problem getting on or off the Hobie. Fully assembled BCD and tank go behind the seat. Mask, fins, small stuff in forward hatch. Pedal to site, put on fins and mask, slide in, pull BC off 'yak and put it on. When you're done, doff the BC, kick up and belly flop onto boat, pull BC in behind you. Leashes on everything to keep it attached to boat.

Sometimes we anchor the boats, sometimes we pull them along so they are always above us and we don't have to retrace our route. Great way to display a dive flag.

I have a small Lowrance chart plotter and side scan sonar transducer that I can mount off the back to help find things under water.

It is MUCH heavier than regular kayaks and especially sit-on-tops. I have a trailer for it and the other, regular yaks. Wheels to get it into the water

Hobie Heavy Duty Plug-in Kayak Cart - Transport Your Kayak With The Hobie Kayak Cart at Austin Kayak - ACK - 2935

The hole for the pedals is not an issue. Mine does not have reverse. It's got a rudder to turn it.

Attached is a shot of me and my buddies - mostly the buddies - in Maine.

Hope that helps.

 

[2airishuman]

2. Speed (I believe that Hobie is much? faster than others)

figure 2-3 knots with no wind

3. How easy to get back to kayak after diving?

It's going to take a certain amount of athleticism. See below.

4. Storage

If you have a garage, you can hang it from the wall, or use pulleys and cord to hang it from the ceiling.

5. How easy to carry from car to beach? Is it heavier than others?

The hardest part is getting them on and off the car. Getting to the beach, you can use a wheeled dolly, or just carry it.

I can't imagine diving from a kayak. How do you plan to do it exactly?

I dive from a canoe. Kayaks are easier but the steps are the same.

1. Set up your kit on shore, and put your fully assembled kit in/on the boat.
2. Launch, paddle to destination.
3. Anchor. I recommend a ridiculously large anchor intended for a much larger boat, and 10' of rode for every foot of depth.
4. Put a line on your kit, open the valve, check everything, inflate BC, and throw it overboard.
5. Fly dive flag from the boat.
   
6. Put on mask, fins, snorkel, and anything else you're taking, backroll in being careful not to hit your kit or get caught in the anchor line.
7. Don kit in the water, have a great dive, come back to the boat, which is still there because you used a ridiculously oversized anchor.
   
8. Inflate BC, remove kit, put kit on a line. It may help matters to snug up the line so the weight of the kit is pulling down on the side of the boat, in which case you'll climb back in from the other side.
   
9. Climb aboard, either using the kit as a counterweight as just described, or by main force, or using a paddle float, or outrigger, or whatever.
10. Pull kit aboard by the line and stow it being careful not to lose your balance.
11. Weigh anchor.
12. Paddle onward.

It is important to practice climbing aboard, and the whole procedure for that matter, near shore before going off in the deep.

You've got to think through your safety plan, which will vary depending on where you are and the risks. I don't dive from my canoe further from shore than I can swim.

It's much less work to dive from a sand bar or island or shore, and just use the canoe for transportation, or dive in waist deep water where it's easy to climb in.

Be careful, start slow and easy, be safe

 

[ryuounce]

I can't imagine diving from a kayak. How do you plan to do it exactly?

Yeah, I didn't know I can dive from Kayak. But after finding out many are doing that way and enjoying more adventure, I decided to get a kayak for diving. If you go to YouTube, there are several clips people posted and it can give you some idea how it works. It may change your mind.

 

[ryuounce]

I use a several-years-old Hobie PA 14 as a dive kayak.
Mirage Pro Angler 14 : Pro Anglers : Hobie

I've used it on salt and freshwater dives. It's very stable. The Mirage drive is very effective and easy to use. I certainly like it better than paddling, which my dive buddy has to do on his sit-on-top. I think I can crank out 4 knots on it, but regular pedaling is about 2 kn.

I will be 59 this month. I have no problem getting on or off the Hobie. Fully assembled BCD and tank go behind the seat. Mask, fins, small stuff in forward hatch. Pedal to site, put on fins and mask, slide in, pull BC off 'yak and put it on. When you're done, doff the BC, kick up and belly flop onto boat, pull BC in behind you. Leashes on everything to keep it attached to boat.

Sometimes we anchor the boats, sometimes we pull them along so they are always above us and we don't have to retrace our route. Great way to display a dive flag.

I have a small Lowrance chart plotter and side scan sonar transducer that I can mount off the back to help find things under water.

It is MUCH heavier than regular kayaks and especially sit-on-tops. I have a trailer for it and the other, regular yaks. Wheels to get it into the water

Hobie Heavy Duty Plug-in Kayak Cart - Transport Your Kayak With The Hobie Kayak Cart at Austin Kayak - ACK - 2935

The hole for the pedals is not an issue. Mine does not have reverse. It's got a rudder to turn it.

Attached is a shot of me and my buddies - mostly the buddies - in Maine.View attachment 429120

Hope that helps.

Thank you for the detailed information. If there is no problem with going back to kayak, definitely I will go with Hobie Kayak. The trailer, do you carry with kayak when you go out to ocean or you go back to your car and leave it there?
Also someone told me that Hobie Revolution 13 is not very stable comparing to others, is it true?

 

[ryuounce]

figure 2-3 knots with no wind



It's going to take a certain amount of athleticism. See below.



If you have a garage, you can hang it from the wall, or use pulleys and cord to hang it from the ceiling.



The hardest part is getting them on and off the car. Getting to the beach, you can use a wheeled dolly, or just carry it.



I dive from a canoe. Kayaks are easier but the steps are the same.

1. Set up your kit on shore, and put your fully assembled kit in/on the boat.
2. Launch, paddle to destination.
3. Anchor. I recommend a ridiculously large anchor intended for a much larger boat, and 10' of rode for every foot of depth.
4. Put a line on your kit, open the valve, check everything, inflate BC, and throw it overboard.
5. Fly dive flag from the boat.
   
6. Put on mask, fins, snorkel, and anything else you're taking, backroll in being careful not to hit your kit or get caught in the anchor line.
7. Don kit in the water, have a great dive, come back to the boat, which is still there because you used a ridiculously oversized anchor.
   
8. Inflate BC, remove kit, put kit on a line. It may help matters to snug up the line so the weight of the kit is pulling down on the side of the boat, in which case you'll climb back in from the other side.
   
9. Climb aboard, either using the kit as a counterweight as just described, or by main force, or using a paddle float, or outrigger, or whatever.
10. Pull kit aboard by the line and stow it being careful not to lose your balance.
11. Weigh anchor.
12. Paddle onward.

It is important to practice climbing aboard, and the whole procedure for that matter, near shore before going off in the deep.

You've got to think through your safety plan, which will vary depending on where you are and the risks. I don't dive from my canoe further from shore than I can swim.

It's much less work to dive from a sand bar or island or shore, and just use the canoe for transportation, or dive in waist deep water where it's easy to climb in.

Be careful, start slow and easy, be safe

I am not sure if I am strong enough to get the kayak off my car. do you do that by yourself or you get someone's help?
Thank you so much for the reply.

 

[2airishuman]

My canoe weighs a little over 60 pounds. I have roof rack on my pickup truck that I use to haul it, and I take it off and put it on myself. The most physically demanding part is lifting the canoe off the ground and placing it over my shoulders.

 

[gert7to3]

I bought a canoe trailer. It is so much easier loading canoes and kayaks at thigh level than getting them up on top of a vehicle. The Hobie mirage Pro Angler 14 can weigh upwards of 150 lbs/68 kg while the Pro Angler 12 will be around 130 lbs/60 kg. This probably challenges the limits of a typical roof rack. It is quieter towing small boats on a trailer and you get better gas mileage. I have not tried kayak based diving yet, but have a lot of canoe/kayak experience.