Tandem Hobie Oasis

Does anyone own one of these or tried one out?

Do they handle ok if only one person is in the boat?

Pros and Cons of Tandem vs Single seater?

Other input?

Here's one review I found: http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=30980

Comparison between tandem and single from Austin Kayak: http://www.austinkayak.com/blog/2011/07/to-tandem-or-not-that-is-the-question/

Thanks Pixster!

I don't have any basis of comparison with the single person Hobie, but my boat is an '05 Mirage Tandem/Oasis.  When I was shopping for a kayak I needed to get something that my wife could also enjoy and two boats really weren't an option due the lack of storage space I have at my place.

The mirage drive makes it easy to control the tandem boat solo, but paddling is definitely inefficient.  The forward seat is great extra deck space when I'm solo--it's nice to toss something big and bulky like a crab pot up there.

The bow does ride up in the water when you don't have weight in the forward seat.  I've seen posts on the hobie forums and elsewhere from guys who add 50 lbs of dead weight in the front to avoid this, but I haven't bothered since the kayak handles fine for my uses so far.

I bought my boat used from a guy who had upgraded to one of the new model boats--there's been a lot of evolution in the design that makes me pretty jealous of people who have the '11 model year.  I really like the option of steering from the front seat--seems like it'd be a great boat to take a kid out in.

I bought the same boat for a "song". Handles better than I anticipated when fishing solo. I'm still in process of rigging it. The only downside is the lack of reachable areas to add rod holders, electronics, etc. Not really a place for a milk crate but I did find a soft shell tackle box that fits behind the back seat. I used industrial sized felcro on the boat and Tackle box to secure it and also use the bungee cords as an added protection.
I personally kinda like the ability to take someone w/ me and have on multiple occassions. Regardless of this added convenience I'm saving my pennies for another mirage drive kayak for my solo adventures.

I ran into some of the same issues with my kayak.  The old model only had two hatches (front and rear) by default so I installed a 5" screw in hatch between the two seats (right where the warning decals are) so I could have access to the middle of the boat for installing ram mounts/electronics etc.

I like your tackle box install.  I ended up just lopping off two corners of a milk crate and have just been strapping the thing in with bungies.  It works but isn't exactly secure as is right now.

I recently purchased a 2011 Hobie Oasis from Next Adventure in Portland, after my wife and I tried one at NA's Summer Splash event in June. I can't really speak to how well it handles solo, as I can't get my wife out of the back seat. (We passed up a discount on a 2010 model because she wants me to handle the skipper duties and also take the spray up in the front seat, so the front controls were essential for us.) I can fit a milk crate behind the plugged in scupper cart in the rear cargo well, so the 2011 improvements must have enlarged that area.

This is my first post on NWKA; I have lurked for awhile, but now that I have my yak, I am going to jump in some. As you may have figured, this yak, as my wife often reminds me, is half hers, and her half is not a fishing kayak. I am sure that my half is the bottom half, so whatever I want to mount there is OK with her.  Anyway, I haven't fished much in the the last three decades, but I am interested in getting back into it. One of my buddies at work has gotten the kayak fishing bug, and infected me.

My wife has always resisted getting any kind of power or sailboat, but she has liked canoeing and kayaking when we have had the chance to do them. Now that I got my youngest through college, we decided to treat ourselves to a present, and after she demo'd in the Oasis, she gave an enthusiastic thumbs up. The Hobies are a great boat for us middle aged people, as well as a good fishing platform. Now to work in some fishing in between the honey trips.

Fortunately for me, she likes to fish