New and confused

[Howling1]

Hey Guys, I'm new to the whole Kayak scene and was looking at buying a Hobie sport, I'm 5"8 at 75kg, I'm wondering if this kayak is a good purchase?http://www.gumtree.com.au/s-ad/trafalga ... 1125523359

[4liters]

Probably depends on what you want to do with it

[Howling1]

bit of everything, estuary, lakes, bay.
i think i like the price of it being under $2000, I'm finding it hard to get a decent peddle setup, as it being my first yak I'm not wanting to spend loads of cash

[laneends]

Just be aware of its limitations once it gets lumpy on the bay. N older model outback would be a better alrounder for that price

[Wind Waker]

Just gotta be careful with a short yak in the wind but the sport is ok for your height and weight. My partner has one and its a ripper little thing when I use it. I wouldn't be going offshore and be careful about high winds as it won't track as well as a revo or outback.

[Anthony]

Might be a bit short for the bays, generally people recommend 12ft/3.6m or longer for bay work. You might be better off looking for an outback or revo if you want a pedal kayak. I've seen a few go for under $2000 but this time of year is when everyone is buying so it might be harder to find a good deal.

[shane]

Guys like Bruyaka do OK in a Sport on the bay and at your height you may just fit (but I'd want to try one on the water first). However you may be better off looking for an outback or a revo as they're just that bit longer and so more versatile. There are also more of them around second hand.

[Steve_R]

Don't buy pedal if you don't need it. If you need pedal for the style of fishing you plan, the following videos may help you make a decision about different Hobie models.





Revo 13 has great secondary stability (not demonstrated in the video). It is a far better choice for open water than a Sport. Outback would also be a better choice for open water. At the risk of argument from Outback owners defending their choice, Revo 13 handles waves better but you will end up with a wetter bum. The Outback is a dryer ride in choppy conditions. The Outback hull is noisier than a Revo. When I test pedaled, the noise from the Outback hull drove me crazy. I could not have lived with it. All this is only building up to a suggestion that not all features are mentioned in videos; we owners tend to not remember everything; and, what is important to one owner may not matter to another. Visit a Hobie dealer near you (I never met an unfriendly one yet). Chat for a while and see if you can have a test paddle of the kayaks that remain on your list after that.

Once you make up your mind what kayak to buy, if you are interested in a Revo 13 I would let mine go under $2000 (but nowhere near as low as $1700). It was bought 2013 and was used twice in estuary before tendinitis in elbows restricted me to surf launch. Now I'm feeling that as well and need something lighter (just not sure how to find a 13-footer that tips the scales close to 20kg rigged).

That's the Revo catching salmon in my sig. It has Beach wheels, turbo fins, sailing rudder and Lowrance Elite 4X fish finder. It has a few very minor scratches from sand - what people might describe as less than the usual scratches.

A Revo is a Revo. I won't people's bandwidth posting photos here. If you want more photos, open the zip file from the following link. Right-click The choose 'Save link as...' and save them on your PC is more efficient than opening the link.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/72480025/Kayak.7z

The downside is that I live in Eden. You'd have a bit of a trip to collect it.

NOTE: I do not recommend Revo for surf launch. They are pigs to handle in breaking waves (as would be any other pedal kayak).

[Howling1]

Thank you so much for all the feedback, i think ill have to keep searching a little more, hopefully not to long into the warmer weather.
i couldn't open the file for the Revo, maybe because I'm using a Mac and it cannot format the images, sounds like a good deal but the 6.5 hours drive one way is a fair bit out of the way.

Really thanks again for taking the time to write a reply.

[laneends]

Keep in mind what you plan to do and what you end up doing is often 2 different things. Hence the usual advice of 13 foot allrounder