Ocean kayak torque vs hobie revolution

[tw1nny03]

I'm looking at these two kayaks. Its between a ocen kayak torque and a 2008 hobie revolution. I'm going to use the kayak to fish shallow waters in the daytime for redfish and fish the canals at night.

I've owned a 2009 outback and loved it. It was heavy to load and unload myself. Wasnt fun to fish in shallow water due to the mirage drive. But I love the kayak at night with the trolling motor.

Which kayak is more versitile? And which one would you choose?

[tw1nny03]

Also, those with the torque, is it easy to turn around and pull the motor out while on the water from the seat of the kayak?

[FisherFenn]

Also, those with the torque, is it easy to turn around and pull the motor out while on the water from the seat of the kayak?

I have fished in the torque and no you cant pull the motor out while in the yak, its too far back and its strapped down for.. uh.. torque reasons i guess.
You will have to get out but it takes no time to pull it out and put it back in. The normal milk crate hangs over the tip of the motor, its not much a hassle but i ended up shortening the crate a bit.
As for the yak its nice, you can easily stand in it and troll while casting, very stable. Battery is a pain, its heavy, gets you really far away but not back , and has to be charged every trip. And thats with the $200 dry cell. did i tell you it was heavy?
For me the torque was not the answer but I hope my friend needs me to store it again soon. Fun boat.
I do have an outback and love it but it has its issues as well.

fenn

[tw1nny03]

If I end up getting the revo, I will put a trolling motor in the mirage drive. I like the option of paddle, pedal, and motor on the revo. But I like the built in motor of the torque and the ability to paddle it like a trident 13 with the motor pulled out. But, u can't pedal the torque.

Both are within my price range. Just don't know which one to get.

[pdt818]

Also, those with the torque, is it easy to turn around and pull the motor out while on the water from the seat of the kayak?

I have fished in the torque and no you cant pull the motor out while in the yak, its too far back and its strapped down for.. uh.. torque reasons i guess.
You will have to get out but it takes no time to pull it out and put it back in. The normal milk crate hangs over the tip of the motor, its not much a hassle but i ended up shortening the crate a bit.
As for the yak its nice, you can easily stand in it and troll while casting, very stable. Battery is a pain, its heavy, gets you really far away but not back , and has to be charged every trip. And thats with the $200 dry cell. did i tell you it was heavy?
For me the torque was not the answer but I hope my friend needs me to store it again soon. Fun boat.
I do have an outback and love it but it has its issues as well.

fenn

Gotta disagree bud. I can easily take the motor out while in the yak by sitting side saddle and adjusting my seat accordingly to allow me to do so. I also have a gone fishing seat so it eliminates me having to have a crate in the tank well. Whole process takes less than 30 seconds tops. Either boat is a great option allowing you to do multiple options.

Jerron

[Bad Luck Guy]

I am going to get a Torque next year when Gander is clearancing them out again. I think very highly of it but at the root of your question, I would not want either of those yaks for shallow water fishing. If your definition of shallow is the same as mine, either of those will be a nightmare to deal with. For either of thos two yaks to be of any advantage to me, I would have to be in at least 12" water for the Torque and 18" for the Revo. I am often in 6" or less of water and recently started to have to hop out and drag over 1-'2" water areas where I go almost knee deep in mud where I assure you I would not want to be dragging either of those two yaks. On a side, I have had ACL reconstruction on both my knees one at 17 and the other at 33(soccer player) and hated peddling the Revo and moved much faster in a long boat and paddle. Didn't you just have Achilles surgery?

[CrazyAl]

I am going to get a Torque next year when Gander is clearancing them out again. I think very highly of it but at the root of your question, I would not want either of those yaks for shallow water fishing. If your definition of shallow is the same as mine, either of those will be a nightmare to deal with. For either of thos two yaks to be of any advantage to me, I would have to be in at least 12" water for the Torque and 18" for the Revo. I am often in 6" or less of water and recently started to have to hop out and drag over 1-'2" water areas where I go almost knee deep in mud where I assure you I would not want to be dragging either of those two yaks. On a side, I have had ACL reconstruction on both my knees one at 17 and the other at 33(soccer player) and hated peddling the Revo and moved much faster in a long boat and paddle. Didn't you just have Achilles surgery?

You can certainly use the mirage drive in pretty skinny water once you master the fluttering. I very often run mine in 6" or maybe even less while fishing. Now granted, you aren't going very fast, but usually it doesn't matter if you are trying to fish. The mirage drive gives you the option to incrementally use it rather than "all or none", like with the electric drives. This is the main reason I chose the mirage drive over any of the other non-paddle methods of propulsion.

I've had my Revo for 2 years with no regrets at all. It's been in all kinds of water and done well in all of it. The only big drawback is that it really doesn't paddle nearly as well as it should. It should paddle similar to tarpons and tridents and it just doesn't (at least mine doesn't). Tracking is very fickle without the rudder and the rudder is a pain in the butt to use while paddling because it's hand controlled. It's usually a non issue for me becase I'm peddaling it 90% of the time.

GOOD LUCK

[Bad Luck Guy]

Like I said, "to be of any advantage to me", it would need more water. I'm sure anything is possible but take that ability from the Revo and I don't see it be advantageous. I have only paddled a Revo one day in my life so I am by no means an expert but I do know I paddled it the same day that I rented a Trident 15 way back then. I also know I ended up in the Trident 15.

[Txoldsubsailor75]

I, also have a Torque. And as it has been said all yaks have limitations. The Torque is heavy to load withe the battery in place. With the over sized rudder ( for better turning and straight running ) it is a paid in the rear in shallow water. I have had to get out of the yak and pull up the rudder and drag it to deeper water. But at times everyone has had to do it. Overall I really like the Torque, I could not yak fish without it because I have mobility issues and arthritis. Lastly with very little trouble, managing the battery life you can fish for most of a day 5 to 6 hours of good fishing. And if someoneis sick or can't paddle you can tow another Yak, I towed teen-aged daughter from the north side of Christmas Bay back to the south side. I hope this has helped.

[c-dawg]

I can't speak to the Hobie, but I have the Torque and like it fairly well. I don't have any problem pulling the motor and putting in the paddling insert, which makes it easier to paddle. It rides low in the water and takes on a lot of splash but if I lost 25lb. that would probably help! It is heavy and poorly balanced and a kayak cart is a must for me to move it around.

[tw1nny03]

I am going to get a Torque next year when Gander is clearancing them out again. I think very highly of it but at the root of your question, I would not want either of those yaks for shallow water fishing. If your definition of shallow is the same as mine, either of those will be a nightmare to deal with. For either of thos two yaks to be of any advantage to me, I would have to be in at least 12" water for the Torque and 18" for the Revo. I am often in 6" or less of water and recently started to have to hop out and drag over 1-'2" water areas where I go almost knee deep in mud where I assure you I would not want to be dragging either of those two yaks. On a side, I have had ACL reconstruction on both my knees one at 17 and the other at 33(soccer player) and hated peddling the Revo and moved much faster in a long boat and paddle. Didn't you just have Achilles surgery?

You are right. I had Achilles surgery about 3.5months ago. I'm super lazy to paddle. I've never fished in skinny waters for redfish, but i would love to try it. But i also love to fish the canals at night and I motor is the easiest way to do it.

Don't want go buy a second kayak. Have a baby on the way. So, its either the revo or torque for both duties.

[jbwilli]

Have you seen the Ocean Kayak Peekaboo Angler? Stumbled on it yesterday on the internet. I am not sure if it is offered in the USA? They have placed the trolling motor in the viewing opening on a bracket that tilts in and out of the water. You direct steer via the short trolling motor handle. Shorter, lighter and faster than the torque. Here are the links:

http://www.oceankayak.net.au/FishingKay ... fault.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm4jY7_5JEU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[tw1nny03]

How much does the torque weigh with the battery?

Im thinking the revo would be good to fish the marshes. I can use the mirage drive to get me to my spot. Pull the mirage drive and drag and paddle the kayak in shallow water. And on my way back to the launch, i could use the mirage drive to get home.

And when I night fish, i can put the trolling motor in the mirage drive and be good to go.

What do yall think?

[Dragnet]

Can't speak about the torque; however, I had a Revo and recently sold it because I mostly fish LHL and other shallow areas. The mirage drive was great for crossing the channels, but it always had to come up in the shallows. Then the boat must be paddled like every other regular kayak, and there it is just average IMO. I just got a Tarpon 160 and paddled it side-by-side with my wife in her Revo (she wouldn't sell it if she doubled her money!!!!). It was effortless and I didn't have to mess with the Mirage. If you're mostly in water that is Mirage depth, buy the Hobie. If it's mostly shallower than that, I'd stay away from anything with a drop-down. Hope this helps a little.

Now I remember why I need 4 different yaks. LOL

[CARS]

Well seem likes there is no perfect kayak, but to me my malibu x_13 has served me well both shallow and long distance. Similar to this one. I can use the motor @ten miles with out ever lifting the padel. I know my friend has a torque and I managed to go farther than him. Plus he always complains of running over his anchor line, then he needs to get off and untangle it. Just my 2 cents

[CARS]

My two cents sorry twice

[hipshot]

I don't have either, so I may be way off base here. I really like the Torque because I've been told that it's not too difficult to lift the unit out of the slot while seated in the cockpit. I fish mostly shallow water; too shallow for alternate propulsion systems. But the electric motor would be very handy for long expanses of open water in the wind. For me the boat would be primarily a paddlecraft with an alternate propulsion source available for occasional use, when paddling alone just isn't efficient. It's like a laser on a pistol; it doesn't replace the sights, but it's available if a low-light crisis evolves. If I had the money I'd probably go for a Torque at replacement time. Since I'm already in a Trident 13, the change would probably be pretty seamless. But it's all conjecture on my part for now.

[Flats stalker]

I hated my torque and sold it, it was a wet ride, a pain to load the battery and motor when you get to shallow. I also broke my sheer pin on the motor when I was 2 miles out then had to paddle back with all that weight, I've learned to keep it simple and light, go with the hobie

[tw1nny03]

Have you seen the Ocean Kayak Peekaboo Angler? Stumbled on it yesterday on the internet. I am not sure if it is offered in the USA? They have placed the trolling motor in the viewing opening on a bracket that tilts in and out of the water. You direct steer via the short trolling motor handle. Shorter, lighter and faster than the torque. Here are the links:

http://www.oceankayak.net.au/FishingKay ... fault.aspx" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gm4jY7_5JEU" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That's a nice kayak! I was thinking about doing the same thing with the revo. I was gonna put the trolling motor in the mirage drive.

[vincent]

Well seem likes there is no perfect kayak, but to me my malibu x_13 has served me well both shallow and long distance. Similar to this one. I can use the motor @ten miles with out ever lifting the padel. I know my friend has a torque and I managed to go farther than him. Plus he always complains of running over his anchor line, then he needs to get off and untangle it. Just my 2 cents

Your buddy must have a bum or inefficient battery....I did 10.5mi. on saturday in my Torque and came back to the launch with almost a full charge...I've done over 15 miles pulling someone on a single charge...but I use an Optima blue top AGM battery......running over the anchor line seems to me like
operator error...aren't you supposed to pull up your anchor prior to engaging the motor...I think they run better that way

As far as lifting the motor...I don't have any problems turning around and lifting it up in shallow water....but if I did...it is shallow isn't it? why would stepping out of the kayak in 18" of water to lift the motor be a problem?

Spare prop blades are cheap.....the MKP-2 minnkota speed prop will add .5mph to the overall speed and conserve battery power giving you a longer range...they run 14.99 at Academy and a spare shear pin is included...I keep a spare prop and shear pin in the front hatch....busting a shear pin can happen in any type of motor and is a good thing...not bad...think about the alternatives to breaking a shear pin....like bending the prop shaft....I've never noticed this kayak to be a wet ride? it has an elevated seat well that is higher than the foot wells.....if it was a wet ride you might have been pushing the weight capacity of the kayak which will cause any kayak to be a wet ride..