New User, New (to me) kayak

victorduwon · Post by **victorduwon** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 1:50 pm

Howdy y'all. I've been lurking on the boards for a while and learning as much as I could from everyone's experiences here. I've been fishing for a while but only kayaking for a couple of years. Up until now, I've been dragging my 10ft Lifetime Tamarak to and from the Galveston county marshes. Its been rigged and equipped based largely on info from these boards. Thanks to everyone for all that.
Well, I've finally upgraded. I just (last week) managed to get a gently used Hobie Revo 11. I'm not sure of the year, but it is the older model with the flexible seat. This is my first pedal powered boat, and my first boat with a rudder. I haven't been able to get it wet yet, due to the terrible weather we've been having. But I am hoping to hit the marsh this weekend. The boat is completely stock. The previous owner had not done any rigging, and the only upgrade is the longer turbo fins on the mirage drive.
As I said, I plan on hitting the water this weekend. Prior to that, I'll be transferring my FF (Garmin Striker) from the Tamarak to the Revo, using the Scotty #141 sounder arm. I'll also be trying to build a cart from PVC to avoid dragging my new boat all over the place. The waters I usually fish can be very shallow in places. Sometimes less than a foot. What precautions do I need to take with respect to the rudder, and mirage drive? Is it ok to paddle though shallow areas with the fins flat agains the hull, or should I be pulling the drive up every time? Will the rudder be damaged if it drags in the mud, or should it be folded up unless I have plenty of room to deploy it? I know I cold learn much of this through trial and error, but I'd like to avoid as much of the error portion of that. I don't go offshore, and generally stick to the marshes, around Jones bay, West Bay, and occasionally Moses lake. Any hobie-related gotchas I should be aware of? Thanks in advance.

kickingback · Post by **kickingback** » Mon Dec 10, 2018 2:25 pm

Trial and error will do you good. But like you said dragging the fins and rudder through rock/shell/mud can be abusive to them if you are not careful.
If in new area and you bottom out. Stop, pull the drive and leave the rudder down if it's only mud and you will not be pushed back hard by current or winds or you could bury the rudder and damage it by bending it out of shape or worse snapping it in two.
The drive should be pulled anytime you start bottoming out and know you will be moving through an enter area where it is more of a pain to keep it in than to pull it out and just paddle. You want to be stealthy and banging the drive on bottom can scare the fish and it will damage the fins badly if it hits rocks or worse shell.
In skinny water I pull my drive and rudder up. Use the paddle to move quietly around and then when I exit the shallows or marsh I put it back in to get me to the next area quickly, That's what the drive is best for anyway.
You can leave it down and "feather" it but if you get on top of shell the shell can "cut" the rubber fins to pieces. Best o pull them up to be safe.
This is my take and others may chime in. Good luck!

TroutSupport.com · Post by **TroutSupport.com** » Tue Dec 11, 2018 6:03 am

Welcome aboard!!! I agree with Kicking Back... and Jones has a lot of shallow oyster. Moses has deeper water with some oyster but you will bottom out a lot less except in the marsh areas of Jones

holla if you want any help learning where and when to fish
tobin@troutsupport.com

http://www.troutsupport.com

Post by **Neumie** » Tue Dec 11, 2018 6:42 am

I don't own one, but have spent plenty of time in them over the years.

I agree with kickingback. I would pedal my way to the marsh and then pull the drive and lift the rudder and switch to the paddle. If you know the waters well enough to know their depth you can leave the drive installed with the fins flat against the hull (I think there should be a bungee specifically to do this). If you're not using the drive system (because you pulled it or have the fins tucked up) you'll need to lift the rudder since you can't use it while paddling, well I guess you could be it be awkward. Oh, feather kicking is a possibility, but I always found it to be more tiresome with the abbreviated kicking motion and would always go to my paddle.

Two biggest concerns in regards to damaging the drive system are slicing the rubber fins on oyster shells and running into a submerged object and bending the metal rod within the fin; so use caution around oyster reefs. Rudders will kick up if they hit something when going forward. If the rudder is deployed and you start drifting backwards it could catch and possibly bend or break something. you'll just have to be aware of what's going on. It's happened to me a few times but hasn't caused any damage.

I would also seek maintenance advice on the drive.

If you want to know how old your kayak is look at the last 4 alphanumeric digits of the serial number, which will be located at the stern of the kayak, and then go to here to decipher it: https://www.perceptionkayaks.com/us/cus ... ial-number

victorduwon · Post by **victorduwon** » Tue Dec 11, 2018 11:04 am

Thanks for the great advice guys. I will take it all very seriously. Even though my Hobie is used, I'd like to get as many years on the water as I can.
I usually launch at the Highland Bayou diversionary, and work my way out to Jones bay, or just fish the channel. Long paddle. The marsh between the Harbor Walk launch and the channel is super skinny in some places. I've been paddling through there all this time, so its not a big problem. I'm excited about being able to navigate the channel, out to the bay faster.

Cuervo Jones · Post by **Cuervo Jones** » Tue Dec 11, 2018 5:58 pm

Welcome. Don’t be a zero, be a hero and post up a fishing report with photos or some other content. But for the love of all that is good and beautiful in the world, not a link to some cool-only-to-you YouTube video.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Post by **Neumie** » Thu Dec 13, 2018 9:03 am

Cuervo Jones wrote:But for the love of all that is good and beautiful in the world, not a link to some cool-only-to-you YouTube video.

LOL. I'm with you on this. People who just make posts with links to their YouTube video/page and beg for you to like/subscribe/share is very annoying.

victorduwon · Post by **victorduwon** » Wed Dec 26, 2018 11:04 am

No worries on that issue. I have no youtube channel. Just love fishing. Haven't been able to take my new yak out due to the weather and the holidays. When I do though, I will report back.

TroutSupport.com · Post by **TroutSupport.com** » Thu Dec 27, 2018 11:28 am

Neumie wrote:
Cuervo Jones wrote:But for the love of all that is good and beautiful in the world, not a link to some cool-only-to-you YouTube video.
LOL. I'm with you on this. People who just make posts with links to their YouTube video/page and beg for you to like/subscribe/share is very annoying.

especially if it's someone that can't fish...

victorduwon · Post by **victorduwon** » Mon Dec 31, 2018 12:56 pm

Well, I finally had a chance to take my new boat out. I was getting cabin fever waiting on the weather, and just went despite the rain and cold.

This was by far my most depressing fishing trip ever. I choose to put into the Highland Bayou Diversionary at Harbor Dr. My reasoning was that I would be in deeper water immediately, instead of having to paddle through the marsh for 20 mins to get out of the skinny water. That was my first mistake. I got my truck stuck in the mud, then fought to get my boat to the water through 100 yards of rutted soft mud. Once I was wet, I discovered that my beautiful second hand Hobie, had an issue with the rudder. It would not turn left. I banked the boat and saw that when the rudder control was turned to the left, there was too much slack in the line to turn the rudder itself. I fixed this, by tying a knot in the line (string) closer to the eyelet.
Back in the water, and no longer going in circles, I made my first cast with a new rod and reel. Gift from my children. Lews Speed Spool, and matching rod. The damn thing exploded on me! The side plate popped off, and into the drink. The spool flew out, and the swimbait whipped back and hooked into me! The sideplate was in the lock position. I'm 100% positive. I explicitly checked this before I unloaded from the trailer.

The yak itself (once the rudder was fixed) was fast. It felt great just cruising. I did feel a little cramped making casts. However this may have been a result of the wind, and the strong current. I'm 5'11 and long limbed. I just didn't feel like I had room to maneuver my rod as I was accustomed to in my old Tamarack Angler. As I said, I had to beach the boat a couple of times to make repairs to the rudder, and rearrange my equipment. Instead of pulling the Mirage drive up each time, I flattened the fins against the hull, and short-stroked it to get close. No problems there.

I did get a couple of bumps on my spoon in ~12-14' depth, but no takers. Not a big deal. I just wanted to give the boat a shake down. Taking home dinner would have been great, but not my first priority.

While out on the water, I noticed that the boat seemed was listing to the port side. I do have a small deer feeder battery (for my fish finder) in the hull. It is strapped (with bungie) to the scupper hole columns just behind the seat. Its centered, and flush against the foam there. The fish finder itself is mounted on the starboard gunwale along with the transducer. I have an anchor in my crate, but it is positioned in the corner of the crate on the starboard side. This listing is a mystery to me, and I'm pretty sure I wasn't imagining it. As I'm typing this, I wonder if it may be a result of my homemade PVC kayak cart being stored in the front hatch.

All told, I love my new boat. It is definitely not designed for fishing like my old Walmart boat was, but I can make it work. The fish don't care what my boat looks like. Nearly all of my problems yesterday were due to my own stubbornness, and hastiness to get on the water. No fish were caught, but a bad day on the water, is still a day on the water. And to the wade fishing young man whose topwater plug, I kept running over while I was my rudder was stuck (I was going in circles like an idiot), I sincerely apologize.

victorduwon · Post by **victorduwon** » Mon Dec 31, 2018 1:13 pm

One final note. I mentioned that my new Lews SpeedSpool exploded on me. Once I had my trailer and boat home, I left for Cabella's. I went in there muddy and wet with a sour disposition, and the corpse of a brand new reel. I was bracing for a fight over this. I did not find one. The staff there was very cool about the whole issue. They sympathized with my problem and had me out the door with a new reel (spooled) in about 20 minutes. And no one complained about the mud on my boots. I wish I had gotten the names of the folks who helped me, they were great.

Crusader · Post by **Crusader** » Mon Dec 31, 2018 4:28 pm

Dragging hobie through 100 yards of soft mud... Ouch... Cardio!

victorduwon · Post by **victorduwon** » Mon Dec 31, 2018 5:22 pm

Crusader wrote:Dragging hobie through 100 yards of soft mud... Ouch... Cardio!

I had a cart. But that didn’t help much. It was a nightmare. I really wanted to go fishing.

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