Anti-Hobie sentiment?

[fongman]

Originally Posted by dfroggy54

What a interesting article! Hobie and water go together like Ham and Cheese. hahaha Everyone should read that..

I'm a Hobie owner, but I will try to make an unbiased assessment of the article. Marketing hype is just that; HYPE. It is meant to generate interest, and ultimately sales.

It is not that big of a deal if a manufacturers doesn't include hard numbers in their sales pitches. All it says is: that was not a part of their marketing strategy. Besides, you'd be a fool to believe any data provided by a manufacturer without some skepticism. Numbers can be skewed and "facts" can be taken out of context. Ask any politician! Consumers should look to reputable independent reviewers for unbiased empirical data.

In the article, the author also lamblasts Hobies on their poor showing in races against HPB (human powered boats) and for other inefficiencies. Are these numbers skewed? Possibly. What type of vessels were they racing against? Did the competing vessels have the same drag coefficient so you can get a more accurate comparison of the propulsion methods? Looking at these HPB you would expect them to be more efficient in the water due to the fact that they aren't plastic kayaks. The hulls seem to have their roots from racing shells. One thing for sure: those pictured wouldn't make very good fishing platforms!

[swinginFish]

Doctor said I need more lower body exercise. Wife wouldn't accommodate, so bought a pedal-drive kayak. Hec, I bought 2! Now have a Revo (for sale) and Adventure, an OK Trident 15 (also for sale), and have had 3 scupper pros, a Prowler 15 & 13. Also tried & reviewed a number of kayaks a few years back for Canoe & Kayak magazine. Point is that I've a bit of experience w/a variety of yaks, preferring paddling to peddling in general, but having to turn to/add pedals for issues of health. Having viewed this thread, offer following observation: Paddling is simpler - fewer things to go wrong. Also slower and not too easy to pour and drink a hot cup of coffee while searching for bait on a dark, cold morning.

Paddle yaks can go forward and backward. Hobies can't w/out the necessary bring-along paddle. Kelp doesn't like the Mirage Drive much, and if fishing boiler rocks w/ occasional waves, having a quick reverse is critical. Landing and launching w/out hanging pedals on the beach or serving as unwanted resistance to the push of waves isn't pleasant either, and a front hatch that’s too small to allow stowage of the pedal thing inside causes one to question what the Hobie designers were thinking. Should note also that fishing lines and fish tend to misbehave, i.e., they go where they want at times, and that means into your not-so-"Mirage" Drive and/or rudder system. The Hobie “twist & stow” rudder system is also something I find annoying and unnecessarily complex (over-engineered) - and I'm not referring to its now-"upgraded" dual knob approach for deployment. With pedal drives, there's just more stuff down there, so more vigilance is needed.

In my case, I figured the Hobie Adventure offered a reasonable mix of options, i.e., its long, narrow, tracks, paddles and pedals well. Down side - its long and narrow and, while fast, is akin to the Scupper Pro, i.e., wet and a tad tippy. Thus far, it seems storage and stowing comparatively sucks in all foot-powered Hobies (pedal drive takes up a lot of internal/central hull space - can't stow rods, nor anything of size like you can in a OK Trident), but it doesn't take an Einstein to recognize that everything's a trade off, and there simply is no "perfect" boat out there. IMHO, the real trick is to look at a lot of boats and how they're rigged, and outfit whatever you have/acquire so that it gets close to meeting your needs. Then, through use, refine the rigging so that its as robust and user-friendly as possible, and fish on it a lot so that reaching for stuff becomes second-nature.

In the final analysis, the kayaks we're most familiar with are all just pieces of polyethylene, with the thrill of catching a big fish from a pedal or paddle-propelled craft great no matter which is used (Not too long ago, it was the thrill - not the craft - that generated a sense of brotherhood amongst kayak fishermen). Granted, the pedaled craft can go faster and uses less energy to get you most of the places you want to go, but at a price. In my case, I’ve proven that I can/do get backlashes while chucking iron from any platform, and the fish under the birds I've been chasing still seem to head south no matter how – or how fast - I don’t get to them. Indeed, I’ve proven myself able to farm good-grade pescado from every craft I’ve ever fished on.

Life is full of choices, and whether we like it or not, it is also a moving target. In other words, our needs can/do change over time. The question of pedals versus paddle may be interesting, but in the greater scope of things, rather irrelevant. That said, bringing a thermos and having my hands free to pour and sip something hot as I pedal off to who-knows-where in the frigid pre-dawn hours has, at this time of my life, rather persuasive appeal.

Avery

[dsafety]

Originally Posted by fongman

I'm a Hobie owner, but I will try to make an unbiased assessment of the article. Marketing hype is just that; HYPE. It is meant to generate interest, and ultimately sales.

It is not that big of a deal if a manufacturers doesn't include hard numbers in their sales pitches. All it says is: that was not a part of their marketing strategy. Besides, you'd be a fool to believe any data provided by a manufacturer without some skepticism. Numbers can be skewed and "facts" can be taken out of context. Ask any politician! Consumers should look to reputable independent reviewers for unbiased empirical data.

In the article, the author also lamblasts Hobies on their poor showing in races against HPB (human powered boats) and for other inefficiencies. Are these numbers skewed? Possibly. What type of vessels were they racing against? Did the competing vessels have the same drag coefficient so you can get a more accurate comparison of the propulsion methods? Looking at these HPB you would expect them to be more efficient in the water due to the fact that they aren't plastic kayaks. The hulls seem to have their roots from racing shells. One thing for sure: those pictured wouldn't make very good fishing platforms!

All good points Fongman. This thread is starting to remind me of a Shakespeare play. Much Ado About Nothing.

To me it all comes down to this. If you like the Hobie design, buy one. If not, buy something else.

Bob

[Iceman]

Sage observations from Brother Avery

[swinginFish]

Andy,

Not sure about the "sage" part, but do know I miss the smell of the traditional victory cigar whafting o'er the waves well before I see you.

LJ's been bery bery good to me lately. Wish you were here!

Avery

[batty1of3]

i just feel the upper body workout is better than just legs
in fact for weight loss upper body workouts burn more calories since the legs were made for doing repetitive steady work like walking and running upper body is more built for using bursts or energy like lifting or throwing
that being said i would use whatever i can to get out on the water

[Aaron]

Avery,
That was a great summary. Thanks. The only thing I didn't like was your use of comic sans! Good lord I hate that font.
-Aaron

[aftahour]

i want a hobie.