Easy and Effective upgrades for Hobie Kayaks - Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge

steamroll · 01-15-2008, 03:11 PM

Easy and Effective upgrades for Hobie Kayaks

I’ve had my Hobie Revolution for about 3 months now. I love it, but felt that I needed to upgrade a few things for maximum performance. I’ve added a few pictures for reference.

Turbo Fins – The first thing I did was replace the stock fins for the new Turbo Fins. The turbos are longer, stiffer and more responsive than the stock fins. Now I can get up to full speed in no time and maintain that speed with less output. $79.95

Sailing Rudder – Hobie makes a rudder for the Adventure Island that is bigger and deeper than the stock rudder. The sailing rudder is insanely responsive. It works great a full speed and also while drifting, I found that I can adjust the angle of my drift significantly by slightly moving my rudder. $22.95

Hardware – Hobie designed a unique interchangeable hardware system on their kayaks. Each padeye, cleat and bungee end can be replaced with each other. I removed some the padeyes and cleats from my tank well and replace them with bungees and hooks to hold my bait tank. $3.50 per piece

Pedal – The pedal on the Mirage Drive system likes to hang upside down and away from the user. To fix this, I removed the foot strap and attached a 1.5 oz egg sinker to the bottom of the back of the pedal using Marine Goop. Now it sit perfectly positioned for me to place my feet down and go. $1

Fish Finder – I wanted to keep both of my rails free to mount rod holders so I decided to mount my Fish Finder into the sail mast receptacle in the front. I used ½ PVC tubing to hold my finder in place. Then I added a piece of bungee to secure it the kayak. I tuck my tranducer and power cables underneath the front hatch. Inside the hatch, I have a waterproof box that houses my battery. I’ve added Velcro to the bottom of the box and my kayak to hold it in place. $200

PAL · 01-15-2008, 03:31 PM

Cool post Steam, I didn't know about the interchangable hardware. Slick Hobie engineering...

mg2969 · 01-15-2008, 03:33 PM

Great ideas
I added the ST turbo fins , never thought about the sail rudder though, hmm

In response to your fish finder.
I did the same thing
However, for a clean install i ran the power/tranducer wire through the sail mast receptacle. The sail mast receptacle unscrews. Although a solid piece of plastic it has a solid divider to form a 2 or 3 inch female end which is placed on the male end that is part of the interior of the hull.

One hole drilled above the divider and a pass through is formed

I also use some electrical tape to seal it up better and minimize any swing on the FF pipe

I have to redo it , since I had a warranty replacement, I'll send some pix.

MikeG

peguinpower · 01-15-2008, 03:58 PM

The sailing rudder is a great upgrade. I like mine.

the weights on the pedals help put your feet in, but if you think about it, that an ounce more that you needs to push and pull a few hundred times each outing.

/bing

PAL · 01-15-2008, 04:24 PM

Must be my question day. My rudder up / down cables have never worked smoothly. Does the extra swing weight of the sailing rudder cause any problems or make lifting the rudder more difficult?

steamroll · 01-15-2008, 04:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PAL

Must be my question day. My rudder up / down cables have never worked smoothly. Does the extra swing weight of the sailing rudder cause any problems or make lifting the rudder more difficult?

Paul,

It feels the same with either rudder. Bring your boat by the shop and I'll tinker with your rudder. I've gotten pretty good at adjusting them.

Dan · 01-15-2008, 05:17 PM

That's a cool post Nate.

OEX · 01-18-2008, 10:26 PM

Nate

You and Brian should have a "RIG OFF" OEXO vs OEXPL

We are working on the yakerator just need more power to keep the keg cold.

B

slayersmith · 01-21-2008, 03:43 PM

Hobie also makes a rubber cover that zip ties and goes over the top of the peddle drive to keep water from coming up thru the peddle drive well. It is supposed to make it a little faster. Just another gadget you might want to add.

Take it easy!

Aaron

Joe11 · 01-21-2008, 07:40 PM

One of the other things that I did was to make the rod holders actually usable on my Adventure. I had some 1 1/2" PVC in the garage. I cut it down to approximately 14" lengths, used a dremmel to slice 8 cuts approximately 6" up from the bottom parallel to the centerline of the pipe and sanded the ends down so there were no sharp edges. I put the end with the slices into the molded rod holder for rod holder extensions. They fit good and snug without going quite all the way to the bottom of the molded in rod holder. I picked up some black spray paint specifically for plastic and they look like they are supposed to be there and work great.

savage · 01-22-2008, 07:23 AM

hey guys thanks for the info.

mg2969 · 04-08-2008, 02:00 PM

Added and tested out the sailing rudder
OMG
What a difference ?
Really turns on a dime
Much smaller turning radius

Never wouda thought it would work since its for sailing

Thanks for the great suggestion
MikeG

Iceman · 08-29-2008, 04:46 PM

Customer asked for the pvc mast mount, found this a couple isles over in electric.........about $4

I don't have the drive, so I don't know if I need to trim this forward or not.

Billy V · 08-30-2008, 08:48 AM

While we are on the subject of rigging and deck lay out i want to show you how I ran my (2) fish finder wires through the yak.

On the Adventure there is a T- Cleat in the forward section of the well that can be unscrewed. I removed it and drilled a hole just big enough to pass the FF Wires through the hole.
-Then I slid a tapered bushing over the wires and press fit it into the hole to make it water tight. The bushing is a perfect fit, and does not move. It can be found at Marshall's Industrial Hardware $2.69 ea.

Making it easy for the fellow fisherman.

BTW
If you are planning on mounting the ram Tube Rod Holders on the rails....
Let me draw to your attention the Right Side Ram Tube. Notice it is mounted slightly forward as compared to the Left Side.
This is done for the bolt, nut, and washer to clearance the pad eye you see in the pic.

Inside the hull pic.

01-15-2008, 03:11 PM	#1
steamroll Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2005 Posts: 385	Easy and Effective upgrades for Hobie Kayaks Easy and Effective upgrades for Hobie Kayaks I’ve had my Hobie Revolution for about 3 months now. I love it, but felt that I needed to upgrade a few things for maximum performance. I’ve added a few pictures for reference. Turbo Fins – The first thing I did was replace the stock fins for the new Turbo Fins. The turbos are longer, stiffer and more responsive than the stock fins. Now I can get up to full speed in no time and maintain that speed with less output. $79.95 Sailing Rudder – Hobie makes a rudder for the Adventure Island that is bigger and deeper than the stock rudder. The sailing rudder is insanely responsive. It works great a full speed and also while drifting, I found that I can adjust the angle of my drift significantly by slightly moving my rudder. $22.95 Hardware – Hobie designed a unique interchangeable hardware system on their kayaks. Each padeye, cleat and bungee end can be replaced with each other. I removed some the padeyes and cleats from my tank well and replace them with bungees and hooks to hold my bait tank. $3.50 per piece Pedal – The pedal on the Mirage Drive system likes to hang upside down and away from the user. To fix this, I removed the foot strap and attached a 1.5 oz egg sinker to the bottom of the back of the pedal using Marine Goop. Now it sit perfectly positioned for me to place my feet down and go. $1 Fish Finder – I wanted to keep both of my rails free to mount rod holders so I decided to mount my Fish Finder into the sail mast receptacle in the front. I used ½ PVC tubing to hold my finder in place. Then I added a piece of bungee to secure it the kayak. I tuck my tranducer and power cables underneath the front hatch. Inside the hatch, I have a waterproof box that houses my battery. I’ve added Velcro to the bottom of the box and my kayak to hold it in place. $200 __________________

01-15-2008, 03:33 PM	#3
mg2969 Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Long Beach / Lakewood Posts: 85	Great ideas I added the ST turbo fins , never thought about the sail rudder though, hmm In response to your fish finder. I did the same thing However, for a clean install i ran the power/tranducer wire through the sail mast receptacle. The sail mast receptacle unscrews. Although a solid piece of plastic it has a solid divider to form a 2 or 3 inch female end which is placed on the male end that is part of the interior of the hull. One hole drilled above the divider and a pass through is formed I also use some electrical tape to seal it up better and minimize any swing on the FF pipe I have to redo it , since I had a warranty replacement, I'll send some pix. MikeG __________________ Hobie Mirage Revolution Prowler 13 - Look ma no hands

04-08-2008, 02:00 PM	#12
mg2969 Member Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Long Beach / Lakewood Posts: 85	Added and tested out the sailing rudder OMG What a difference ? Really turns on a dime Much smaller turning radius Never wouda thought it would work since its for sailing Thanks for the great suggestion MikeG __________________ Hobie Mirage Revolution Prowler 13 - Look ma no hands

08-29-2008, 04:46 PM	#13
Iceman Administrator Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: 1-2 miles off the point Posts: 6,943	Customer asked for the pvc mast mount, found this a couple isles over in electric.........about $4 I don't have the drive, so I don't know if I need to trim this forward or not. __________________

01-15-2008, 03:31 PM	#2
PAL Senior Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 754	Cool post Steam, I didn't know about the interchangable hardware. Slick Hobie engineering...

01-15-2008, 03:58 PM	#4
peguinpower bing! Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: socal Posts: 246	The sailing rudder is a great upgrade. I like mine. the weights on the pedals help put your feet in, but if you think about it, that an ounce more that you needs to push and pull a few hundred times each outing. /bing

01-15-2008, 04:24 PM	#5
PAL Senior Member Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 754	Must be my question day. My rudder up / down cables have never worked smoothly. Does the extra swing weight of the sailing rudder cause any problems or make lifting the rudder more difficult?

01-15-2008, 05:17 PM	#7
Dan Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Posts: 1,053	That's a cool post Nate.

01-18-2008, 10:26 PM	#8
OEX Administrator Join Date: May 2007 Posts: 209	Nate You and Brian should have a "RIG OFF" OEXO vs OEXPL We are working on the yakerator just need more power to keep the keg cold. B

01-21-2008, 03:43 PM	#9
slayersmith Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Torrance. ca Posts: 76	Hobie also makes a rubber cover that zip ties and goes over the top of the peddle drive to keep water from coming up thru the peddle drive well. It is supposed to make it a little faster. Just another gadget you might want to add. Take it easy! Aaron

01-21-2008, 07:40 PM	#10
Joe11 Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Location: Riverside County Posts: 30	One of the other things that I did was to make the rod holders actually usable on my Adventure. I had some 1 1/2" PVC in the garage. I cut it down to approximately 14" lengths, used a dremmel to slice 8 cuts approximately 6" up from the bottom parallel to the centerline of the pipe and sanded the ends down so there were no sharp edges. I put the end with the slices into the molded rod holder for rod holder extensions. They fit good and snug without going quite all the way to the bottom of the molded in rod holder. I picked up some black spray paint specifically for plastic and they look like they are supposed to be there and work great.

01-22-2008, 07:23 AM	#11
savage Junior Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: fallbrook ca. Posts: 8	hey guys thanks for the info.

08-30-2008, 08:48 AM	#14
Billy V Senior Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Bay Ho Posts: 1,382	While we are on the subject of rigging and deck lay out i want to show you how I ran my (2) fish finder wires through the yak. On the Adventure there is a T- Cleat in the forward section of the well that can be unscrewed. I removed it and drilled a hole just big enough to pass the FF Wires through the hole. -Then I slid a tapered bushing over the wires and press fit it into the hole to make it water tight. The bushing is a perfect fit, and does not move. It can be found at Marshall's Industrial Hardware $2.69 ea. Making it easy for the fellow fisherman. BTW If you are planning on mounting the ram Tube Rod Holders on the rails.... Let me draw to your attention the Right Side Ram Tube. Notice it is mounted slightly forward as compared to the Left Side. This is done for the bolt, nut, and washer to clearance the pad eye you see in the pic. Inside the hull pic.