I am just starting to do some research towards buying a pedal yak. I've only owned paddle yaks in the past, but, due to some wrist issues, would need a pedal arrangement now.
How shallow will either style of propulsion go without pulling the drives out?
Do either (or both) go backward as well as forward?
Assuming either or both can go shallow enough, what do you like best about your style?
Anything that you would avoid if you were buying a used (or new) pedal yak?
Since I am ancient ( age 79) and not as flexible as I once was, what is the stability factor on your yak?
I would intend to have a trailer, so I doubt that a minor difference in weight would be problematic, but...if so...tell me more, please.
Intended usage would be saltwater flats and freshwater lakes. It is possible that some low-current river running could be in the future, but that would only be 10% of its use.
Propel (prop?) vs Hobie style fins for shallow water???
Re: Propel (prop?) vs Hobie style fins for shallow water???
Hobie can go the most shallow...I think, kayak propulsion is advancing rapidly.
You can damage the Mirage drives in a Hobie if you're not careful, I bent a rod going thru some seagrass in West bay.
Hobie now has a drive that is reversible by pulling a tab.
The Outback is pretty heavy.
Go to the boat show (Now thru Jan 13th) and look at ALL the kayaks...I am sure you will see all the major makers.
You can damage the Mirage drives in a Hobie if you're not careful, I bent a rod going thru some seagrass in West bay.
Hobie now has a drive that is reversible by pulling a tab.
The Outback is pretty heavy.
Go to the boat show (Now thru Jan 13th) and look at ALL the kayaks...I am sure you will see all the major makers.
Re: Propel (prop?) vs Hobie style fins for shallow water???
I have a Bluesky 360, it uses the Jackson Kayak drive system. I think this drive is the best propeller type due to its design using a cable. When it bumps into lets say a log, the drive just pivots up and is easily repositioned. Its also very easy to raise without the need to check the prop position.
The cons to propellers is they will clog with grass easily.
All that being said, I removed the propeller drive and had the bracket modified to install the Hobie Mirage Drive.
The cons to propellers is they will clog with grass easily.
All that being said, I removed the propeller drive and had the bracket modified to install the Hobie Mirage Drive.
-
Yakety_Yak
- Moderator
- Posts: 2067
- Joined: Wed Mar 12, 2014 9:52 am
- Location: Houston
Re: Propel (prop?) vs Hobie style fins for shallow water???
Both Native and Hobie make great pedal drives. Here are just a few pros/cons:
1) Both have reverse drives. The extra I'm about to say may not make much difference but I'm throwing it out there just in case. Native's reverse drive is simply going bicycular in reverse makes it go backwards but that isn't exactly a natural motion. Hobie makes a reverse drive. As mentioned above, you simply pull a cord. After that, you are still going in a nature elliptical motion.
2) The Native makes a lighter kayak than Hobie. It's not much lighter but credit has to be given to them on that.
3) Both platforms are very stable. I don't think you will find an advantage on one from the other for this situation.
4) If you are out on the water and you have to pull the drive up, on a Native that is all you can do. Getting to the front hatch could prove a little bit more challenging. With the Hobie mirage drive, whether you pull the drive out or fold the fins while in the drive, it makes it easy to reach the front hatch. The drive can simply lay in the front cockpit area or anywhere else on the kayak you would like. I would have to give this one to Hobie.
5) For match up purposes, I'm going to reference the Native Slayer Propel against the Hobie Outback. If each person weighs the same and has the same leg length, the Hobie would win in a race. This has been proven in a few YouTube videos. Hobie also has an additional feature to their kayaks to where you can add turbo fins and a larger rudder. Both will increase your speed and give you better turning ability even more. Even though the Hobie is faster, I don't believe there is enough speed there to justify buying one over the other. If you are trying to get to your secret spot and you did it in each kayak, you are probably talking about saving a few minutes depending on how far you are talking about going.
6) If you decide to place a fish finder on y our kayak, Hobie has teamed up with Lowrance and molded one of the scrupper holes so that you can fit the transducer down below. There is no drilling required except when mounting the finder itself.
This means that the old days of using epoxy to glue the transducer to the bottom of the yak or even having something hanging over the edge of the yak and into the water are over (unless you decide to buy the finder from a different company).
7) Both Native and Hobie are about the same when going in the shallows. I don't feel one does better than the other. The drives will need to get pulled to prevent from bottoming out at some point. (Hobie does have advantages to this as you can leave the drive in and fold the fins or go to a flutter kick. See YouTube on these things.). The nice thing about if you do bend a rod on the mirage drive, they are not expensive to replace ($15.00 a rod). Some of the items on Hobie are designed to break so that you spend very little to replace as to spending a lot to replace the entire thing. An example would be on the twist & stow rudder. The rudder pin is only $6.00 to replace and Hobie has in one of the circular hatches on the Outback an extra pin when you buy an Outback. It's better to spend $6.00 to replace a rudder pin as opposed to damaging the entire rudder costing up to $600.00. The rudder pin is very easy to fix if it happens to break while on the water. I've had one break off on my Outback but it took three years. I do a ridiculous amount of fishing so what is three years for me might be much longer for you. The reason for going on this tangent is because the same could be said for the mirage drive. It's better to break a pin for $15.00 than to break the entire drive ($800 - $1000). Hobie has thought this design through and it has worked for many Hobie owners over the many years they have been around with kayaks.
Both Hobie and Native are close in competition with each other. My suggestion would be to rent out one each and take them for a spin. The other suggestion would be to wait until the spring and try both for free at the demo days that ACK has. ACK has two demo days a year. One is in the spring and the other is in the fall. There are five ACKs to chose from (2 in Houston, 1 in San Marcos, 1 in Austin, and 1 in San Antonio).
Good luck with whatever you choose to get and hit me up once you get your kayak and let's fish!
Tight lines!!
1) Both have reverse drives. The extra I'm about to say may not make much difference but I'm throwing it out there just in case. Native's reverse drive is simply going bicycular in reverse makes it go backwards but that isn't exactly a natural motion. Hobie makes a reverse drive. As mentioned above, you simply pull a cord. After that, you are still going in a nature elliptical motion.
2) The Native makes a lighter kayak than Hobie. It's not much lighter but credit has to be given to them on that.
3) Both platforms are very stable. I don't think you will find an advantage on one from the other for this situation.
4) If you are out on the water and you have to pull the drive up, on a Native that is all you can do. Getting to the front hatch could prove a little bit more challenging. With the Hobie mirage drive, whether you pull the drive out or fold the fins while in the drive, it makes it easy to reach the front hatch. The drive can simply lay in the front cockpit area or anywhere else on the kayak you would like. I would have to give this one to Hobie.
5) For match up purposes, I'm going to reference the Native Slayer Propel against the Hobie Outback. If each person weighs the same and has the same leg length, the Hobie would win in a race. This has been proven in a few YouTube videos. Hobie also has an additional feature to their kayaks to where you can add turbo fins and a larger rudder. Both will increase your speed and give you better turning ability even more. Even though the Hobie is faster, I don't believe there is enough speed there to justify buying one over the other. If you are trying to get to your secret spot and you did it in each kayak, you are probably talking about saving a few minutes depending on how far you are talking about going.
6) If you decide to place a fish finder on y our kayak, Hobie has teamed up with Lowrance and molded one of the scrupper holes so that you can fit the transducer down below. There is no drilling required except when mounting the finder itself.
This means that the old days of using epoxy to glue the transducer to the bottom of the yak or even having something hanging over the edge of the yak and into the water are over (unless you decide to buy the finder from a different company).
7) Both Native and Hobie are about the same when going in the shallows. I don't feel one does better than the other. The drives will need to get pulled to prevent from bottoming out at some point. (Hobie does have advantages to this as you can leave the drive in and fold the fins or go to a flutter kick. See YouTube on these things.). The nice thing about if you do bend a rod on the mirage drive, they are not expensive to replace ($15.00 a rod). Some of the items on Hobie are designed to break so that you spend very little to replace as to spending a lot to replace the entire thing. An example would be on the twist & stow rudder. The rudder pin is only $6.00 to replace and Hobie has in one of the circular hatches on the Outback an extra pin when you buy an Outback. It's better to spend $6.00 to replace a rudder pin as opposed to damaging the entire rudder costing up to $600.00. The rudder pin is very easy to fix if it happens to break while on the water. I've had one break off on my Outback but it took three years. I do a ridiculous amount of fishing so what is three years for me might be much longer for you. The reason for going on this tangent is because the same could be said for the mirage drive. It's better to break a pin for $15.00 than to break the entire drive ($800 - $1000). Hobie has thought this design through and it has worked for many Hobie owners over the many years they have been around with kayaks.
Both Hobie and Native are close in competition with each other. My suggestion would be to rent out one each and take them for a spin. The other suggestion would be to wait until the spring and try both for free at the demo days that ACK has. ACK has two demo days a year. One is in the spring and the other is in the fall. There are five ACKs to chose from (2 in Houston, 1 in San Marcos, 1 in Austin, and 1 in San Antonio).
Good luck with whatever you choose to get and hit me up once you get your kayak and let's fish!
Tight lines!!