Need kayak advice......

Ok, here's the situation. I've been around boats most of my 33yr life and have had two different Arima's(fiberglass fishing boat), a Hewescraft(aluminum fishing boat), a 23ft Mako, and two different sailboats that I lived on when I was younger. But now I have young kids so I don't have time to maintain larger boats or fish often enough to justify them. So I sold the larger boat and moved to kayaks(still a newbie there). I now have two tandems for family activities, an Old Town Loon 138T sit-in and a Hobie Odyssey sit-on. And then I bought a used Hobie Outback for my personal fishing machine. So here's where I need the advice. The Hobie seems great but I can't load it on and off my Toyota 4runner solo. So I can't fish alone, which greatly limits my fishing outings. So last week I bought a Cobra Explorer since it was cheap and I can't pass up a good deal. After putting it in my garage I realized that I can easily load and unload it by myself since it is lighter than then Hobie. So I guess I need a reason why I should keep the Hobie, or sell the Hobie and keep the Cobra. My wife is not really OK with a fourth kayak so I really do need to sell one or the other. Just looking for insight. Thanks

Buy a trailer???   

If you like to take others out every now and then, keep the Hobie and use it as a loaner.

-Allen

If you have a spot for it, a trailer really is REALLY nice to have. ESPECIALLY in terms of loading and unloading and if your carrying more than one boat. Mine is my storage rack as well. It holds my Hobie, Cobra XL, and Malibu eXtreme just fine and has room for more. (they look like giant popsicles!)

I just scored a small sailboat trailer and it works perfectly.

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/bb/index.php?topic=556.0

If your space restricted, the Harbor Freight 4x8 folding flat bed looks like it should do pretty good as well. Bi-mart sells it regularly of $230 or so. I have not used that one, but it looks like an easy mod like mine.


Get rid of one!?!?!?! Next thing you know you'll be getting rid of those "extra" rods or reels,,,
It's a slippery slope man! You gotta toe the line!!! 


be really nice to your wife and offer to take her dad/brother fishing

 

rkj,

If you have either a Yakima or a Thule car top rack, then look into a boat-loader bar.  It extends out one side from within your existing bars.  That's what I had to do since I was having a harder and harder time loading my P-15 onto my Isuzu Trooper.

The yak still doesn't load itself, but it's a LOT easier now because I can load one end while the other is still on the ground and then get the other end once the first is up on the boatloader bar.  They go for about $65 new.

Fishin-T

Or go all out and get a Thule Hullivator ($$$).

-Allen

Well I guess I can't blame my wife completely.....I don't really think I need four kayaks either. It takes space from my rod storeage! And I don't need a "loner" yak since my Hobie Odyssey has a center seat position so it doubles as second yak if I want to take a friend. Or I can go tandem of course.

Also, a trailer is out. I'm getting too much stuff around the house as it is. I have the first three kayaks on hoists in the garage so they are up and out of my hair. A trailer would just get in the way, although it would be nice. I also like traveling with the yaks up top and not towing something. I'm a bit sick of towing from the larger boats...

I think I have decided not to keep the Cobra. It may be light but it's not really what I want. But....I'm still not 100% sure about the Hobie either. It's a pain just to move around by myself let alone load. I'm thinking that better handles would solve a lot of the problem though. Mine is a couple years old, so it doesn't have the molded in handles on the side. So there is no good way to hold it in the middle which is where you need to hold it when you're by yourself. I'm also thinking about Hully rollers or the Thule version. The "J" style Hull-a-ports I have barely even hold the Hobie since it's so wide, let alone getting the yak into them in the first place. My buddy had rollers, and loading the 16ft Old Town he had was so much easier than my kayaks. So I'm thinking about changing the rack and adding handles first, then we'll see how it is to load and unload. I really like the Hobie for it's width,stability, and pedals. So finding a way to deal with the weight would be the best option. I shouldn't have sold my F150, it was never a problem in the truck...

I shouldn't have sold my F150, it was never a problem in the truck...

No!! I congratulate you on selling the beast before it became an expensive yard ornament! (Ask me how I know. )
Remember, "Ford" is a four letter F-word. 

"Ford" is a four letter F-word. 

I shouldn't have sold my F150, it was never a problem in the truck...

No!! I congratulate you on selling the beast before it became an expensive yard ornament! (Ask me how I know. )
Remember, "Ford" is a four letter F-word. 

Mine was GREAT. It was a 2004 4x4 Extra-cab Lariat. Never so much as a problem. I just sold it to my father so now he's driving it. I'm a Toyota guy, but I was really impressed with the new F150. I wanted more towing capacity for the large boats so I had went with Ford. As equiped it had a 8300lb towing capacity. It towed the 5000-6000lbs of Mako like nothing and never was in the shop for the three years I had it. What more could you ask for? I'd buy one again(or kept mine) if I planned on having a large boat any time soon.

I had/have a 90's model- it's ready for it's 3rd transmission. The 2nd lasted only 30K miles. I've done lots of work on it, still needs lots. A real PITA to work on, compared to the Toyotas and Hondas I've owned. The Fords seem okay for the 1st 100K, but watch out after that.

Reason to keep the Hobie?  Pedal drive makes trolling MUCH easier, it's reasonably fast, and you don't tire yourself out covering long distances.

Get a fishing buddy to help you load and unload the Hobie, and your set.

Raises an interesting question... why aren't we Oregon anglers doing more group trips?

Ya, I really like the Hobie. I guess I was just having cold feet because I want to be able to do it all myself. I feel like that gives me more freedom to fish where I want, when I want.

Anyway, now I need ideas for handles for the middle of the boat. Anybody got any good ideas? I did see a strap once that went from stem to stern that would help a little bit. But I really think I need to mount some permanent handles in the middle of the boat. They need to be strong and not sit where water can enter the screw holes. Access to the back side would be a big plus also so I could install backing plates or at the very least large washers. Thanks for any ideas.

Kayak Fishing Stuff has some.

http://kayakfishingstuff.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Con-voyager&Category_Code=misc

Currently sold out of those ones though....you could try these

http://kayakfishingstuff.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=Con-Kayak-Handle&Category_Code=misc


I'd probably wait and see if the first ones come back in stock.  Free shipping on accessories for the rest of the month, and if you check out their forums, they posted up a coupon code for 10% off.  It's a sticky post at the top of every forum, so it'll be easy to find.

I've mounted stuff to my hull using extra large stainless washers and nylon lock nuts on the inside of the hull.  No problems thus far (used Marine Goop to seal it).

One thing to note, the Hobie's have varying thicknesses of plastic in different parts of the hull.  Tap around a bit to get a sense of where the heavy stuff is before you drill a hole!

Thanks Phynix, the first one is EXACTLY what I had in mind!

Threeweight, ya large washers and nylock nuts work really well....but what fun would that be when I have a machine shop to play in! Backing plates are cooler to brag about.    Seriously though, I'll probably just use washers. Much easier and plenty strong enough. I have a whole bunch of bulk stainless fasteners from having power boats. Thanks for the tip on the hull thickness. I'd like the handles just about where the paddle sits(when not in use) but I was going to use on side of the boat to run an anchor pulley system in that location. Still trying to pick the best place BEFORE drilling holes and changing my mind...

I'll be keeping an eye on kayakfishingstuff.com to see when they get those handles back in.