Hobie or Watercraft

[matt]

Hi guys,
Winter is almost here and it' time for me after my first season on the water to upgrade from my Manta Ray 14 which served me well enough.
I was thinking of going into foot operated yak which gives me two names at the moment. Will appreciate any suggestions about the Native's Mariner 12.5 and the Hobie's Pro Angler.
Thanks, Matti

[matt]

Hi Rhino
Thanks - I already tried the Mariner and I will off course take a Pro Angler for a try. The thing is that I agree with what you say about the sales but cant yet figure out why... There are advantages to each one of them and I wanted to hear some opinions here... I'll learn b4 making a decision

[Yuz]

There does seem to be a rush on PA's at the moment. The same can't be said of the watercraft. There might be something in that.

World Domination re-scheduled for mid 2011 by the look of it

[maverick]

what were your impressions of the watercraft?

[matt]

Hi Maverick
I took the Mariner 12.5 out on a 14 Knots wind with reasonable waves to check stability comfort and feel. The yak was very stable no feeling its going to tip over or anything like that. I find it a bit short cos I compare it with the Manta Ray 14 where the length is a sure advantage in where the water is not very quiet. Anchoring for half an hour left me a bit shaky.. . Other than the reverse option you have with the propeller I'm not sure which of the drives is better. I wouldn't be able to compare it to the Pro Angler yet but I plan to shortly have a try on one. Have you got more info that can help kind of hard decisions?
cheers
Matti

[SurfanFish]

Matt

I had a look at this comparison a while ago. If you google your question there is a bit of information out there although still not heaps about the Watercraft and not very scientific. I saw enough to push me towards hobie for what I want in the end.

cheers

Rob

[maverick]

From what I have seen, the PA seems to be fitted out a lot better for fishing and although more expensive? it is a purpose built fishing craft. I like the idea of the reverse and I think the draught of the NW is less than the PA.

I also like the idea of buying the NW propeller power unit and building my own yak to fit it. (fibreglass version of Tor's woody - it's ok Tor knows).

[bilby]

I've only ever seen the native craft system in books and my first impression was its over complicated, as it has a gearbox of sorts. To me it looks like more maintenance would be required than a Hobie mirage drive, i would assume there is a seal of some kind to stop water ingress into the gearbox, sand, salt etc is a gearbox seals worst enemy (look at most pre 2000 outboards ) most will have a bottom leg repair of some kind.
This is just my 2c worth, i would take Rhino's advice onboard and go check them both out and only YOU will know which is best.
Cheers Bilby.

[ELM]

I responded to a similar question on AKFF and have copied it across, there is a lot of discussion there but as I am not the author to the other responces cannot transfer them, as SurfanFish said, do a google there is heaps of info out there.

As I often fish in reverse working SP's from the Adventure and find it a pain to turn the mirage around all the time (specially if you have hooked into something) so I was very interested to see how the Propel system worked. I went into Capacity Sports - 225 Bay Rd Sandringham, Melbourne (no affiliation) for a look and to see if they demo. They do not demo but you can hire for 90 minutes at $45.00 (if you buy the kayak they will refund the hire fee), I didn't hire one as time was limited and I planned to return on a weekend when I had more time but had a good look while I was there. The drive looks very well made but is quite heavy (around 8 kg compared to around 3 kg for a mirage) and doubt very much to fitting one in a Hobie drive slot.

About a month later I met a guy off Rosebud (he was from Adelaide) with one, after a bit of a chat I let him take the AI for a spin while I had a go at the Propel. The kayak was an ultimate 12, was very stable and able to stand (don't think it was as good as a PA though). As for the drive, water depth for use was not much more than what I need for my turbo fins, it was not as efficient as the mirage drive and felt it lacked power/speed for long trips in open water ( I am use to turbo fins, but for memory of standard fins, think they are still way better as well). Reverse however was just how I would like it to be, just start pedaling and you have an instant responce. The rudder was not as hard to handle in reverse compared to the Adventure, but to be fair, the AI's rudder has a lot larger surface area.

I did find that sitting up in a seated position, the pedals were harder to use than the mirage, the stroke over the top is higher and the circular motion compared to the push/pull was uncomfortable in the hip, I felt I needed to be laying down almost. Also felt a tendency to rock from side to side a little due to the pedal motion of the Propel (specially if I tried to crank it up a bit), all in all the Propel would be ok for smaller lakes etc but no good for blue water in my opinion (to slow), think it would also be very good in slow running creeks/streams manly due to the reverse capability when working around structure or fighting breeze as some have mentioned while still having at least one hand free to fish (in reverse you almost always need one hand on the rudder control or the rudder will flip due to water pressure, would also be the same trying to hold position in current so you will only hold position while casting not retreving).

My opinion the Hobie drive is better but each to there own!!!

[matt]

elm,
Had a read in the AKFF. only one guy had the sit in model and was happy with it.
I must try the PA cos I must admit - the only thing I didn't like was about the circular motion- the position you MUST
sit or you suffer... not sure if fishing in that position is fun...
btw - the mechanism of the propel is just great - smart simple trouble free strong built machine.
another btw is that for reversing the PA or other Hobies - just turn the mechanism 180 degree and you reverse,,,,
cheers
matti