Kayak Outfitting Help

Okay Folks-

With Final Test drives pending, I think I have my Kayaks picked out.
The Oasis with be the Family Saloon, and the Outback will be my fishing Kayak.

Now what? For the hot summer day on a Lake, I think I know what I need, but not sure what or where to buy for river/saltwater fishing.

This is the wish list so far:
1.   1- Hobie Oasis
2.   1- Hobie Outback
3.   1- Turbo fins
4.   1- Longer rudder (sailing)
5.   1- Sail kit
6.   1- anchor trolley

Here is what I need help picking out:

Fishfinder/GPS ?
Fisherman PFD
Wife/child PFD
Dry suit?
Pole Holders
safety gear -
Emergency Radio
and?
and?

Please help me fill in blanks. The budget is not going to allow to be get everything in one big swoop, but hopefully I can get an idea on what I need now and what can wait for later.

Advice much apprciated!

The Oasis will come with the sailing rudder as a standard option.

First off, congrats on the new pending purchases. You made some good choices.

Rigging your new kayaks is the fun part, but you won't find all of your answers on just one thread. My advice, prioritize your purchases to your budget and then research the heck out of each item by using the search function. There is so much good info on this site it will blow your mind.
Turbo fins and sailing rudder are a must for all Hobies (IMO). You can make a way better anchor system than anything you can buy on the market by searching the forum. I use a modified version of the BSteves anchor system and it works very well. And it didn't break the bank.
It might also be good to start off with the safety gear. PFD should be one of your first purchses. There are so many options, but to give you a few to look at, research the Kokatat Bahai Tour and the Stohlquist Fisherman. Both are very good PFDs.
Drysuit if it's in the budget, but waders and a dry top also work pretty well. You can find a decent ATV 7 foot safety flag at Bi-Mart for around 7 bucks.
There are probably half a dozen threads on safety radios so I would read up on those. Each one has its pros and cons and they range the spectrum on price.
As for fishfinders, It seems as though certain Eagle, Hummingbird, and Lowrance models are more preferred by the guys on here than others. I use a Lowrance Elite 4 color/GPS combo. They also make the same model in black/white called a Mark 4.

I hope this gave you some direction. Not to sound like a broken record but there are so many threads on just starting out you'll love reading up on all of it. And don't hesitate to revive an old thread and post a question in it. I do it all the time

Welcome to the site and hope to see you on the water!

are you stuck on the outback? in April I had bought the revo 13 and the outback....cuz of super stability for my daughter and possibly my own sake, after having been on both a few times i knew the outback had to go back and get swapped for another revo13 hull luckily the dealer(kayak shed in hood river) did that for me at no charge, awesome group of people in there i tell you what....now the outback does have more space for goodies and all but the revo is very doable too( I have yakattacks 12 inch gear tracks to install on front of me and backside on both yaks when weather gets better) , and is also very stable, it is one if not the fastest of the hobies, i found the outback to be a tank and a real pain to paddle. to start with, for the gear tracks I have scotty`s gear track adapter p/n 438 along with p/n 429 extended gear-head mount, already had some "fish on" rod holders that will work fine with those. my fish finder is a lowrance  elite-4 dsi for my battery system will be using a EZO external backup battery that I got from amazon.com. my pfd is NRS Chinook style. vhf radio went with standard horizon`s hx290 (floating, which might not be necessary but ya never know). for myself I went with kokatat`s  t-3 super nova angler paddler drysuit, my daughter`s is women`s style(has zipper around the butt for her to relieve herself, mine has the front zipper relief) her`s is kokatat`s tropos super nova. the scotty mount will "lock in" not sure about the ram mounts(balls) for rod under load when trolling so just went with the Scotty's...the extender`s are to keep rod butts above legs when pedaling. for fish finder will be using a ram mount. still undecided about the transducer if I wanna go with foam pad or a mount such as the "liberater". I never did have the standard mirage drive fin`s, both yaks have the turbo fin`s also have yet to install sailing rudder`s for both.i also would like to get at least one sailing kit someday, possible set of ama`s(sp?....outriggers) as well as anchoring trolley`s, not sure which brand to go with yet....no big rush but sure wish the weather would get better so I could put what stuff I have together...hopefully this weekend as last weekend relatives from out of town were with us.  I need to thank all for posting what they are doing as far as rigging and what not goes, helped me a lot to decide on what I wanted to do for now, you know who you are...THANKS!!! flienlow, good luck with your decisions on what your going to get. get your yaks and then read these threads on rigging and what not til your eyes hurt there is tons of great info here.

Thanks for the excellent write up Dampainter! If you have any pictures of your setup that you would like to share that would be awesome too!
Right now, I'm still bouncing back and for on which Kayak (for me) buy.  I love the PA, and the Outback but keep ping-pong between the 2. Then there's folks like you with Revos and I can really appreciate that design as well. I will know a lot more once I actually get out on the water (this weekend.)  I am comforted by the fact that no one has said  "why are looking at the Hobies, and not "X", so I must be going down the right track?
I will start to google all the gear you listed  to get a feel for what it all is since I don't know just by name.
There also seems to be a lot of fun DIY projects you can do with these that would be fun when not out of the water.

Thanks for all of your patients with me!

You're going to love your Hobie. It's just a matter of figuring out which one. I've got an Outback and I love it. To address the 'tankiness' of that boat I have to say that personally I don't need a lot of speed. I get around just fine. The turbo fins and sailing rudder are must haves! I love the extra room in the outback. I have been tossing the idea around of getting a revo but I don't know if a little more speed is worth giving up space for gear.

Yak Attack has some awesome gear for all your mounting wanting and needs and they are compatible with RAM and Scotty gear. I could send you some pics of my set up. It will give you an idea on how to rig your boat when you get to that point. A simple search will keep you busy and dreaming for a long time.

My advice is to go fishing a few times with the kayak bare bones. It will give you a better idea of what you think you will need for mounting gear,fish finders etc...

One of the perks of being part of NWKA is the discount on gear through sponsored sites! Take full advantage of the discounts. Saving money is awesome.

I have had my outback for a couple of months now and love it.  When I was doing my research I was sold on the revo 13 until I went out for a test drive.  I changed my mind and bought the outback.  I couldn't tell a huge difference in the speed but the stability was a different story.  The lesson being keep an open mind when you take them out of for a spin.  I bought the turbo fins, amazing difference between the two.  I have had my outback x4 fishing and have yet to mount anything, although I am figuring it out.  Youtube is a great resource to research what others have done to their yaks.  Good luck!

Everything said above with one addition. There's are very few PFD's that properly fit women. Don't just grab a four pack and call it good. Depending on physical stature it may take some time to find the right one. I have about 3 different PFD's now that fit only me because they didn't fit my fiancée very well. They seem ok in the store but then when you sit down, it's a different story.


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If mentioned already, I must have missed it ... but a paddle for backup propulsion comes to mind.   I believe you will find one will be required for surf launches  also.

u r welcome for info, glad I am able to give u some food for thought as I am new at this also but can say the outback was not for us. let it be known I am not saying the outback is crap all hobies are an awesome kayak. I use to own a brand x ...paddle only  sot yak and am so glad I decided to get a hobie with the mirage drive. as you may know they come with paddle, for emergency use if something should happen with the drive or as craigvm62 mentioned will need it to back up from obstacles and what not,or if you just for some reason want to paddle. surf launch am not too sure about as have not had opportunity but can see myself using the drive as long as I wade into little deeper water hop on and peddle like a madman....same thing goes for coming in too but from what I am hearing for that may want to rudder up and paddle cuz with rudder down yak wants to have tendency to want to go sideways....will see eventually. maybe others with first hand know how on surf put in and take out could post on that??? I also forgot to mention for your wish list mirage drive leash as well as paddle/ rod and all gear leashes in case u spill. not sure when I am going to have chance putting gear on my yaks too busy with other stuff this weekend too dammit and work told me might have to work o.t. next couple weekends will see about that thou am starting to feel fluish, might be coming on stronger next Thursday(I work 4 10`s) will take pics when I do get to install....hopefully it won`t be any pics on what not to do.   

Another piece of advise.....take it out several times for pleasure and fishing unrigged.  You'll make wiser choices as to where you poke your first holes