Thoughts on the new Revolution 16?

I have the Pro Angler 14 but may be looking at getting an additional kayak that is more efficient in the water.  I would mainly use it on the willamette, columbia, and in the ocean.  Looking for something with more speed, and not as hard to load / unload.  Any thoughts on the new Revolution 16 or 13?  I may even consider an outback, but I'm a big guy at 255 pounds (Dry) lol

I just wonder how much more speed it will offer over the 13'? The 13' is already pretty fast and tracks fairly true.  Seems like you would be forfeiting a lot in the maneuverability dept.

The Revolution 16 is a renamed adventure.  It's faster than a revo 13, and slightly less stable.

Or way faster, and not really less stable just....uuuu...twitchy. I have a lot of seat time in both the revo 13 and the addy (revo 16). The big thing about the addy isn't so much the speed, but the efficiency. You work far less to achieve the same distance as other boats. And you get there quicker [emoji6] The other truly nice feature is it paddles nice too. You can't really say that about other Hobies. The 13 paddles ok, but not great. Try one before you commit. The initial twitchy feel isn't for everyone. I've got an order in for the 2015 Revo 16. I'll do a write up on it after I get her home

After battling some tough head winds this weekend I have to say I love my Addy. It will do 4 mph into 15-20 mph head winds and leave you with gas to keep fishing. Awesome boat.

The Revolution 16 is a renamed adventure.  It's faster than a revo 13, and slightly less stable.

Faster in theory but this has not been verified in any way shape or form. A longer waterline makes for a higher maximum speed with enough power supplied and this is worth considering with sail and power boats where this is available. Longer kayaks also are usually much narrower kayaks as well and use length instead of breadth to provide the same load capacity.

A Revo 13 is faster than the shorter Outback due more to the added width and the hull shape of the Outback. One gains in working deck space at the expense of more drag going through the water. A 29" wide and 13'5" Revo that weighs 71 lbs. and has a 200 lb. person pedaling is not going to necessarily be slower than a 2'7" longer Revo 16 with the same hull design and width and weighing 6 lbs. more and having the same flotation capacity of 350 lbs as the Revo 13.

It would be great to put a person with the eVolve as the drive power into both a Revo 13 and Revo 16 and see how the performance compares in terms of maximum speed over the
water and going 5 miles with a newly charged battery and comparing the remaining charge level after each run. The eVolve provides an easy way to have an empirical measurement of potential speed and amount of water drag with different Hobie kayaks. It is not by chance that the people at Torqeedo chose to publish test results with their drive unit in a Revo 13.

Negative,  tested and FACT.  I have to pedal 2 cycles to every one cycle when I'm next to a 16 in my 13. 

Negative,  tested and FACT.  I have to pedal 2 cycles to every one cycle when I'm next to a 16 in my 13.  Tested as recently as 4 hours ago.

total agreement.  I test rode polyanglers revo 13 for a day when testing out kayaks for my next one, then I tried out his addy for the trip back to the launch, the addy is a speed demon and will outrace any other hobie (or stock plastic kayak for that matter(imho))  bought my addy the next day.

+1

The Revo 16 has been tested time and time again. We just call it an adventure right now

Thanks for all the replies guys.  I think part of my issue is the amount of work it is to just load and unload my pro angler before and after a fishing trip.  I currently have a trailer that I use to transport it, but the trailer is too wide to fit in the garage with my mustang.  My mustang said he wont sleep outside, so I think I will build a narrower trailer that will fit in the garage.  What I'm doing is buying the smallest 12" wheel trailer I can from Harbor freight, using everything except for the frame.  I will build my own custom frame.  I know a lot of people use jet ski trailers and such, but I like building my own stuff when I can.  With the new trailer I can leave the yak on the trailer ready to go all the time.  Plus, the trailer will last a long time if it's stored indoors...

Speaking of trailers.....I saw an old guy at the grocery store the other day....He was wearing a tee shirt that said "You mess with me, You mess with the whole trailer park!"  I couldn't help but laugh....



Del

To add to the "twitchy" comment about the addy/Revo16.  I noticed that same sort of thing when switching from the Outback to the Revo 13. It didn't take long to get used to that initial tippy feeling. The only issue I've noticed is that the revo feels a little weird with a significant swell at your back. It just feels like I get tossed around more than I did in the Outback. Having said that, the revo held up extremely well in the conditions at this year's AOTD.
I plan on picking up a Revo 16 at the end of the year.  I'm going to keep the 13 around because I think they both will have their strengths for certain applications. (I'm excited for salmon fishing next season in a Revo16).
Good luck with whatever you decide. The 13 or 16 are going to be solid choices.

To add to the "twitchy" comment about the addy/Revo16.  I noticed that same sort of thing when switching from the Outback to the Revo 13. It didn't take long to get used to that initial tippy feeling. The only issue I've noticed is that the revo feels a little weird with a significant swell at your back. It just feels like I get tossed around more than I did in the Outback. Having said that, the revo held up extremely well in the conditions at this year's AOTD.
I plan on picking up a Revo 16 at the end of the year.  I'm going to keep the 13 around because I think they both will have their strengths for certain applications. (I'm excited for salmon fishing next season in a Revo16).
Good luck with whatever you decide. The 13 or 16 are going to be solid choices.

WHAT?!? A balanced and informed response?!? What is this forum coming to???

Thanks for all the replies guys.  I think part of my issue is the amount of work it is to just load and unload my pro angler before and after a fishing trip.  I currently have a trailer that I use to transport it, but the trailer is too wide to fit in the garage with my mustang.  My mustang said he wont sleep outside, so I think I will build a narrower trailer that will fit in the garage.  What I'm doing is buying the smallest 12" wheel trailer I can from Harbor freight, using everything except for the frame.  I will build my own custom frame.  I know a lot of people use jet ski trailers and such, but I like building my own stuff when I can.  With the new trailer I can leave the yak on the trailer ready to go all the time.  Plus, the trailer will last a long time if it's stored indoors...

Speaking of trailers.....I saw an old guy at the grocery store the other day....He was wearing a tee shirt that said "You mess with me, You mess with the whole trailer park!"  I couldn't help but laugh....



Del

A bit off topic, but have you checked out the small, fold-up trailer that Yakima makes? Sounds like it would work well for your situation.

After battling some tough head winds this weekend I have to say I love my Addy. It will do 4 mph into 15-20 mph head winds and leave you with gas to keep fishing. Awesome boat.

I can easily do that speed on my Revo 13 while carrying on a conversation with my buddy while we pedal out 5 or more miles.

I can understand how two boats, one short and wide, and the other long and narrow, that the narrow boat will be faster over the water. Hard to go from that generalization to saying that a 2.7" wide Revo 16 is going to be appreciably faster than a 28.5" Revo 13. Lots of subjective opinions but I have never come across anything empirical in this area.

Given unlimited pedal power the 192 inch long Revo 16 should be 7% faster than the 161 inch long Revo 13. But there is the limitation of the person power at the pedals and 7% is also nothing to get overly excited about unless someone is going 10 miles offshore and wants over that 4 hour period out and back, wants  to save 8 minutes in total pedal time.

I can do 4-5 mph in a 13 with ease as well, but not into a 20mph head wind as described above. I promise you the 16 is far more efficient than your math is leading you to believe. The guys I fish with on the regular are no couch potatoes, and they're all making the upgrade after fishing miles behind my addy over the last year. It's not a boat for everyone, but if 10 miles plus is a typical day it can't be beat.