WS Tarpon vs Hobie Revo 13

I have narrowed down my first kayak to either the Tarpon 140 or Revo 13. I'm looking at either a new Tarpon at $1229 or used 2014 Revo at $2280 (used once). I would be interested in trying to fabricate my own pedal drive for the Tarpon, maybe something that attaches to the slide track mounts and drives 2 propellers, one on each side of the hull and positioned fore of the foot braces to not interfere with netting fish. I have some engineers in the family, maybe I can get them working on that one. My gut says the homemade pedal drive is still a bit of a pipe dream. The Hobie saves me the time and trouble of making my own but comes with the higher price tag.

I had thought about the WS Thesher or ATAK but can't find definitive information on if the current hull mold will accommodate the pedal drive they're developing. Plus, by the time I buy one at $1900 or $2100 respectively, that's still without buying the pedal drive system. If anyone has any insight on what going to happen with that WS pedal drive I'd love to hear more. I'm leaning towards the Revo but still get the feeling the Tarpon is a better design and layout at a low price despite the inconvenience of paddling.

I should also include that any kayak I get will be transported by canopy racks on my truck. The kayak would be for everything; lakes, large rivers and the ocean. I will mostly fly fish, plus whatever methods get me into fish on the salt like jigging or trolling and I like the Revo more for that. I love keeping my gear minimal. I used to row in university and the Tarpon and Revo look really really wide when I've sat in them at WCK. Being a small guy (about 5'4'' and 150lbs) I don't believe I need a 15-16' kayak because I'm not going to weight it down enough to see a huge improvement in speed over 13-14' versus the loss of maneuverability and I want some level of maneuverability in fresh water, especially the lakes. I do like to research and overthink. I made lists of my needs vs different boat's attributes to arrive at the Tarpon and Revo. Is there anything else I should be taking into consideration? Thanks for reading.
Dave

2280 seems high for a 2014. Does it have a bunch of upgrades? In 2015 the Revo received upgraded seats and drives and the price shot up as well. However I think the list for a 2014 was like 1950.

Both are great capable boats but if you mostly fly fish you might want to consider one you can stand in. Also, a tarpon 120 will also work great for everything you want to do. There is some speed advantage to the 140 but it also becomes harder transport. I have a tarpon 120 and Revo 13 and love them both, but certainly the Revo is my favorite.

2280 seems high for a 2014. Does it have a bunch of upgrades? In 2015 the Revo received upgraded seats and drives and the price shot up as well. However I think the list for a 2014 was like 1950.

Both are great capable boats but if you mostly fly fish you might want to consider one you can stand in. Also, a tarpon 120 will also work great for everything you want to do. There is some speed advantage to the 140 but it also becomes harder transport. I have a tarpon 120 and Revo 13 and love them both, but certainly the Revo is my favorite.

Maybe the dollars are in BC dollars ?

But yeah, both boats are capable, and very different boats, so...I just dunno what to say about the whole "I'm going to build my own pedal drive system", other than "go for it, I guess".

I hope ya go for the Tarpon. ..would love to see what you come up with for the drive!  Keep us posted.

I should clarify, my prices are in Canadian dollars. To give 'Muricans a point of reference, currently a new Revo or Outback is $3150 up here because our dollar sucks right now. I'm used to fly fishing lakes from a frameless pontoon. There's no standing and you just get used to casting like that. Being on an actual seat above the water and having a solid surface for my feet would already be a huge upgrade. Please keep the feedback coming, I've enjoyed the replies and it's giving me more to think about.

Fly fishing may add another element to the recommendations.

I am not yet so afflicted, but I understand the fly fishing guys are very particular about having very little to catch their line on. I would think you could manage keeping the paddle on the opposite side, and do without all the rod holders and fish finders and such. But the pedal drive itself seems like a great opportunity to snarl up your line.

Did you check out the Jackson kraken?

With regards to the WS pedal drive; this is purely speculation, but I would find it hard to believe that it wont fit the current Flexpod OS openings.  My guess is that they are not done with the engineering yet, so they don't want to guarantee it.  My reasoning:

1 - They have 4 boats (ATAK 140, Thresher 140 and 155, Tarpon 130x) that have the same flex pod.  That's 4 molds they would have to modify so that the existing lineup could accommodate the drive.  It would also seem to me a bad sales choice that you couldn't sell the new drive to a bunch of existing boat owners; limiting yourself to new boat and drive purchases. 

2 - The existing pod already fits the electric motor, seems silly to have a DIFFERENT pod shape/size for the pedal drive.  It seems to me that you would want them to be the same.

3 - The existing pod is already the second generation, and they have rolled it out to 4 boats above.  Seems a bad move to create a 3rd generation that is not compatible with the existing fleet.

Fly fishing may add another element to the recommendations.

I am not yet so afflicted, but I understand the fly fishing guys are very particular about having very little to catch their line on. I would think you could manage keeping the paddle on the opposite side, and do without all the rod holders and fish finders and such. But the pedal drive itself seems like a great opportunity to snarl up your line.

I would like to keep things as simple as possible, but there will inevitably be things that the line could catch. Maybe I'm lucky, but having things catch my line isn't an issue when I fish whether I'm in a pontoon, tube, jon boat, canoe, or 12' aluminum.

Did you check out the Jackson kraken?

I have. They sell new for $2070 which deterred me right off the bat. I would gain a fish finder scupper mount (over the Tarpon) and center console but it's just not worth that much money to me. I'd rather get a Mirage Drive for that money.

With regards to the WS pedal drive; this is purely speculation, but I would find it hard to believe that it wont fit the current Flexpod OS openings.  My guess is that they are not done with the engineering yet, so they don't want to guarantee it.  My reasoning:

1 - They have 4 boats (ATAK 140, Thresher 140 and 155, Tarpon 130x) that have the same flex pod.  That's 4 molds they would have to modify so that the existing lineup could accommodate the drive.  It would also seem to me a bad sales choice that you couldn't sell the new drive to a bunch of existing boat owners; limiting yourself to new boat and drive purchases. 

2 - The existing pod already fits the electric motor, seems silly to have a DIFFERENT pod shape/size for the pedal drive.  It seems to me that you would want them to be the same.

3 - The existing pod is already the second generation, and they have rolled it out to 4 boats above.  Seems a bad move to create a 3rd generation that is not compatible with the existing fleet.

You're probably right. That console well is really narrow though, so I wonder if they have something that fits or if they'll make a new mold with a larger well to accommodate that drive. I found a promotional video with the pedal drive so maybe it fits the current hull.

I mean the head of the motor drive fits it, so i see no reason why a pedal driven propeller wouldn't. 

I will say, I picked up an ATAK 2 weeks ago and absolutely love it.  Now it is my first sit on top, so I don't have a a wealth of comparisons (I did also demo the Ride 115 and 135 but didn't care for them much).  The stability is ridiculously good and standing and casting is easy.  It takes a stroke or two to get moving, but once you are on your way its pretty quick.  About the only downside is the weight when car-topping, but I have worked out a system that makes it pretty easy.   

I didn't buy it with the expectation that the pedal drive (if it ever comes out) would work with it, but if it does, that's an added bonus. 

Check the thread on the Santa Cruz Raptor G2.  It's Mirage drive ready, they're popular with the Northern California Kayak Angler crew, are affordable, and are definitely stand-up friendly.

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=17605.0

I fish from a Tarpon and from a Revo. 

Snagging sticky-up things may not have been a problem for you yet, but casting from a kayak requires a short but cruel learning curve.  First time out I snagged everything in sight - except me - but since then I've been snag-free.  There are a stunning number of things on a kayak that want the fly for themselves.

The Flex Pod was never necessarily designed with propulsion in mind, but more so the ease of electronics. I love being able to take my ff out of one boat, stick it in the other, take it out for transport, etc without dealing with a through hull or hard mounts.

The pedal drive system is being prototyped and from what I've seen it's going to be awesome. The pedal drive promo vid that's been floating around shows a new prototype boat that hasn't been finished or released yet. Keep an eye out for info as we get into the fall, but from what I know it was never designed to be a plug and play with existing boats. The motor drive however fits any current boat with the flex pod, and I was pretty skeptical of the motor until I got to take it for a spin, it's pricey but some serious technology went into it, and it doesn't get much easier to use. 


 That said you're looking at some pretty different boats. I've used all of them and caught fish from all of them. But they have their own strengths and drawbacks. I primarily fly fish and have done so out of all of the boats you're looking at, but I have my personal preferences, I recommend finding your before dropping the coin.


-The Tarpon 140 has been once of my favorite kayaks since I got into the sport, it's fast, fun to paddle and makes covering distance easy. I use it a lot less since getting a thresher but If i'm looking for a solid all around boat that's fun to paddle it's my go to.not a standing boat, you get a decent amount of stability, but I wouldn't say it's quite as fishing feature rich as some of the other boats you're looking at. When I take it off shore I've noticed the bow really wants to go under the wave, whereas the thresher will go over it. Tracks a little better than the thresher but not as stable or suited to bigger water.

-The Revo 13 is a really solid boat, but I personally prefer to paddle over pedal, if you prefer to pedal the 13 is a good choice for getting into bigger water and is my personal favorite out of the hobies.

I personally own an ATAK, Thresher 140, and Tarpon 140. I use them all for different things, but The ATAK has quickly become my favorite for anything but big water. Tons of guys out there catch a ton of fish from Hobies, I just have never liked peddling and have gotten snagged in the drive, and just prefer the simplicity of paddling, especially with a fly rod. but it took getting fish in the boat from both propulsion systems to learn that preference.

If you haven't done so already I really recommend demoing everything you're looking at, after you have it narrowed down, see if you can rent it and fish from it for a few days. it really does take seat time to see how you like to fish. Not sure where in BC you are but I've heard really good things about Western Canoeing and Kayaking in Abbotsford, not sure if they carry Hobie, but they should be able to help you out on the Wildy side. If you ever make it down to the Portland area, let me know, my shop has every Hobie model and all the wildy boats you're looking at in our fleet for on water demos.

I put a deposit down on the Hobie for while I'm away over the weekend to allow me to demo it when I'm back home on the following weekend. As long as there's no surprises, like the pedal drive hurting my knees or the boat having a sneaky leak then I'll be sold on it.

You won't regret it.

easy choice. don`t screw around, get the revo if u can possibly afford it sounds like u can. like  last poster said, u won`t regret it. really doubt anyone who ever did get a revo regretted it. its not possible.