What else but Hobie?

I had pretty much talking myself into a Hobie with Mirage Drive, but after yakking on the phone with RevoRoy this morning over at the coast, and sharing back surgery issues, I agree with Roy that these things ought to be prescribed as physical therapy appliances.
Probably go with an Outback for stability and add the sailing rudder and turbo fins right out of the chute.
I was fond of my OK Trident 13 as a first kayak, but having one's hands free to fish seems just nigh of priceless.

I'm constantly strengthening my knees and all the muscles around my knee's everytime I hit the water with a Mirage Drive. Having grown up in the Wasatch mountains in Utah as a kid and blowing out both my knees doing crazy shit on ski's they're great for rehab. I've had had both my knees scoped and ACL's repaired and found the motion of pedaling to be a TOTAL benefit to my legs. Its very low impact and I can go for hours and hour and not even think once about feeling tired.
I've tried to use the excuse to my wife that "I'm going to workout my legs" as she watches me grab my Outback and fishing pole and throw them in the truck. "Ya, right" she said. That phrase only lasted for a day before she insisted I just say the other way, "I'm going fishing for a couple hours and maybe workout my legs"
Now its just back to "hey honey, after I finish mowing the lawn and building the retaining wall, do you care if a fish for a couple hours this afternoon"?
Good for the body, great for the mind!!!

jmr

    Fishboy,
  There are other "peddle drive" kayaks out there on the market.You might check out Native Watercraft's website
  http://nativewatercraft.com/boat_overview.cfm. I have a Ultimate 12 that is a paddle boat and will say that they are very stable with their tunnel hull and the seating is more comfortable than my Outback. I have not tried their Peddle boats so I can't address that.....just to let you know there are options available.
   A couple of outfits manufacture kayaks with small electric motors.Again no expierence with them ,but I know they are available.

Jammer, you ought to be on the Hobie staff, dude. just what I wanted to hear.
Mark, I spent some time reading Mirage vs. Propel threads. I think the Propel drive has its place, and the reversability is a nice feature, but it looks to me like the Mirage would work better for my purposes and the Hobies seem to be much better fishing platforms.

Jammer, you ought to be on the Hobie staff, dude.

He is

http://www.hobiecat.com/fishing/team/members/local/

Boy, there's a lot of names on that list!
By the way Lee, do the perch and flounder still bite near the 6th Avenue Boathouse? They did in the 1960s. It's probably long gone ...

Near Titlow park in Tacoma?  I've only fished that area once, but I did catch a flounder there.

Lee, we lived in Fircrest from 1961 to 1968, and left when I was going into high school. I just remember the boathouse as being near the foot of the Narrows Bridge, to the south.
Bill
certifiable old guy ...

 

We're talking about the same spot.

Well, Lee, in my defense it has been about 45 years. Seems to me there were some scary powerful whirlpool currents in the Narrows. I'd hate to get near one in a yak ...

I think the Mirage drive is awesome, but the weight of the Hobie boats seems to me to be the deal breaker.  i have a hard enough time getting the boats i have on top of the car.

I think the Mirage drive is awesome, but the weight of the Hobie boats seems to me to be the deal breaker.  i have a hard enough time getting the boats i have on top of the car.

You may be being misled.  My Hobie Revo is a LOT lighter than my WS Tarpon was.  We're talking 30 pounds lighter.  What is the list weight you have for your kayak?  Wilderness systems lists the 'hull' weight, with no hatches, seats, etc. added in.  Hobie lists the weight with everything on it but the mirage drive.

For example, my Tarpon was listed as being 75 pounds, but I'm telling you, that boat was 90 to 100 pounds.

you have a revo 13 Lee? interest in piqued

My Revo 13 weighed noticeably less than my Malibu X-Factor.  I wouldn't consider the Outback, the Revo 13 or the Adventure heavy.  If you want to talk about Hobies boats, such as the PA 14, then yes, much heavier than most of the kayak fishing platforms on the market.  However, it isn't really a fair comparison since those really are in a different class of fishing platforms.

The difference between my Outback and my Revo in weight is a mere 6 pounds 75 to 69 respectively. But The Revo seems to go on the rack much easier than the Outback. Must be that the Revo is smaller all around except length. The mid boat handles are also designed better for hoisting the yak up high.