Hi Everyone,

I am interested in purchasing a fishing Kayak for use in Port Phillip bay and was hoping for some recommendations.

The kayak would be stored in a beach box which is about 15-20 metres from the water's edge down a gentle sloping sandy beach.

I have been looking at a Hobie Outback, Hobie Mirage Sports or Hobie PA12.

I would be manually pulling the kayak up and down the beach to and from the beach box and was wondering whether this would be feasible with the above models.

Thanks

Put the Hobie Compass in that list.

Ensure you get the beach wheels instead of the hard wheels. Makes a difference pushing over the sand. Also when resting the yak ensure you don't rest the yak on the wheels.

vicyak wrote:Put the Hobie Compass in that list.

Ensure you get the beach wheels instead of the hard wheels. Makes a difference pushing over the sand. Also when resting the yak ensure you don't rest the yak on the wheels.

Thanks - Will check out Compass as well.

Will it damage the bottom of the yak if I just pull the hull over the sand? Or are they too heavy to do so without wheels?

logoderm wrote:.

Will it damage the bottom of the yak if I just pull the hull over the sand? Or are they too heavy to do so without wheels?

The Hobies are made from rotomolded plastic. Polyethylene I think. Whilst dragging over soft sand will not do too much damage in the short term over an extended period of time....years...it is an abrasive surface..... A few extra dollars for a set of wheels is worth the money and will certainly make the job easier'

Yes that is true. The beach in question does have very soft sand so even sand wheels may get a bit bogged in it. How about if I strap the kayak to a toboggan / Sleigh and pull it up or winch it up the beach on that?

mate even if you drag your boat over sand, if you are tired after a long day and you miss a rock poking out of the sand, suddenly there is now a big gouge in your hull

do not drag your boat over anything (except water) - always have wheels

logoderm wrote:Yes that is true. The beach in question does have very soft sand so even sand wheels may get a bit bogged in it. How about if I strap the kayak to a toboggan / Sleigh and pull it up or winch it up the beach on that?

since man invented the wheel and it had been quite a while now - man found that things rolled on wheels easier than dragging them

Ok that was a bit tongue in cheek - really sand wheels float over soft sand pretty well and Hobies aren't a light weight kayak but they still aren't that heavy to bog sand wheels to much
if you did have a problem unload some of the weight from your kayak before wheeling up the beach
and of cause another trick is to mount the trolley more rearward on the kayak that way the wheels are holding less weight and you are carrying more - less weight on the wheels the less they will bog

cheaterparts wrote:

logoderm wrote:Yes that is true. The beach in question does have very soft sand so even sand wheels may get a bit bogged in it. How about if I strap the kayak to a toboggan / Sleigh and pull it up or winch it up the beach on that?

- really sand wheels float over soft sand pretty well and Hobies aren't a light weight kayak but they still aren't that heavy to bog sand wheels to much
if you did have a problem unload some of the weight from your kayak before wheeling up the beach
and of cause another trick is to mount the trolley more rearward on the kayak that way the wheels are holding less weight and you are carrying more - less weight on the wheels the less they will bog

Thanks - That's Great advice! I'm just a little hesitant now to make the jump from boat fishing to kayak fishing. A little worried about the stability of a kayak vs. being able to move around freely in a boat....

Have you considered a Native Watercraft yak...

I personally have a titan 10.5 propel drive and it is awesome, stable etc...and more realistically priced than the Hobies

logoderm wrote:
Thanks - That's Great advice! I'm just a little hesitant now to make the jump from boat fishing to kayak fishing. A little worried about the stability of a kayak vs. being able to move around freely in a boat....

Kayak fishing is a lot more compact and you do need to organise your self but for many of us would not have it any other way

all good brand kayaks are quite stable but of cause some work better than others and depends on what you need in a craft - sometimes what you think is stable can be a liability -

myself I have gone narrower with each upgrade from a 76 cm wide kayak to a 74 cm kayak now a 61 cm wide and am planning a strip build that will be quite narrow at 59 cm wide at the beam and about 54 -55 cm wide at water line beam but of cause this will be quite long at about 5.75 meters long
these figures look pretty tippy on paper but should be quite good for the type of fishing I need it for and my weight and height

your best bet is to test a few kayaks and see what suits you like most thing it's not a one size fits all needs - some guys even like pedal boats go figure