Hobie Outback

[Nick]

I would like feed back from people that have a Hobie Outback in regards to how good are they to fish ABT events out off eg how much do you stand to fish etc? I know the advantages of the PA but just cant realy commit to it as its a lot of $$ and bloody big!! Also for the same $$ I can have a fully rigged out Outback?

I have read and heard that the foot well fills up with water a bit and they are a wetter ride than the PA but is it that much?

Your opinions will help me decide which way to go.

[brettrobo]

Well,

I Havent got a PA but as a 120 KG bloke i can stand up in my Outback (just) and its a bit of a wet ride in the foot wells.
Id love to give a PA a shot to see how much drier i stay.
In a lake i can pretty much stay totally dry except my feet, the bay is a different matter.

While the footwells fill up with water i believe you can get a guard that stops them splashing up, i also believe its due to my size

If i had my time again i don’t know what id go, at the moment i WANT a PA but the trouble of getting it into the water and out of would be a PITA where as after a fish i just lift the Outback over my head and put it on the car.

[HaTTerS]

I'm about 65-70kg and I don't have any issue with water splashing up from around the foot well area. There is a small pool of water that hardly ever rises more than a few cm above the Mirage drive hole when I'm seated in a normal position. If I kneel up the front of the yak (say, to get something out of the front hatch) the nose of the yak pushes further under water due to all my weight being up the front and the pool of water increases in size. You will get wet feet if you put them down in it.

Although the outback is stable enough to stand in (in calm conditions) I find that there really isn't enough room to allow you to do things like turn around or move your feet half a step to get a better balance when casting etc. The PA has been designed to allow for standing and there is usable space to do so, whereas (IMO) the OB wasn't and the only spot to stand is over the center hatch.

I've never used a PA so can't comment on how dry the ride is. The OB does cop a bit of spray when you're riding up and down waves, but it's nothing I'd complain about. Being so low to the water, you can't expect to stay completely dry.

[bilby]

Hi mate, The Outbacks are an awesome fishing yak and would be perfect in an ABT event, Our own Scott Lovig won the 2009 ABT in an Outback so they have been used in comps and been very competitive. I used to have an Outback and i only ever got a wet arse once (1-1.5 mtr PPB chop will do that on just about every yak out there) I now own a PA and they are buy far a much drier and stable craft than the Outbacks, while its an awesome fishing platform the weight and transport issues are a bit of a pain, but one i can deal with.
Cheers Bilby.

[Nhibbo]

You've probably long since made your choice, but for anyone else that might be interested, the Outback is a great all rounder. For my 90kg, it seems perfectly balanced in handling all sorts of conditions....but as already pointed out you will get the occasional wet butt when heading into a nasty chop or launching through the surf. I would never stand up in it though, not even to take a leak (better to slide forward over the hatch and shoot through the well).
They are reasonably roomy, well appointed, quite fast, light enough to use your body weight as a counter balance in the rough, well behaved and responsive in a following sea, buoyant enough to lift over most incoming waves and are not going to do your back in during loading/unloading. They really are the take anywhere boat, PPB, lakes and rivers, or open sea. One more thing I like about them, is when the fishing gets a bit quiet, I can lean back and have a snooze, but as soon as a fish starts sniffing around my line, I can feel it through the whole boat and be ready in time to strike. It's so sensitive that it almost feels alive.
Yup! I love the Outbacks!

[maverick]

I made a floor for my Outback that keeps my feet dry, that is flat and you can stand on it.

But from a purely ABT Competition point of view I don't think you could beat a P.A.

Mav.

[Donkey]

Well I've fished a few of the ABT comps in my outback and I've always been happy with it. But I always assumed I'd one day get a PA, that was until the recent StGeorges Basin comp. I was fishing out of a borrowed PA and to be honest I think I've decide to stick with my outback now. Sure the PA is more stable but I'm not a big bloke and I seem to have pretty good balance so standing up is no problem in my outback but I don't stand much in comps anyway. Having the extra storage around the seat is handy in the PA too but I've got my outback pretty well organized now so it's really not an issue for me. As for the rod storage, I won't go into details but I definately prefer the way I've got my outback set up. I also prefer my outback is because I find it much easier to handle off the water as well as being less slugish and more responsive on the water. I still may get a PA some time down the track, but I'm happy with my outback for now.

[Mordy]

Yep all of the above, love my outback.
As for standing, if you do there is not much room to stand you would be right on the hatch.
Water in the well is nor really an issue for me at 78kg.
The only disadvantage of my "barge" is when you get in rough water, outbacks tend to slap through the waves while a revo spears through them.
Not that I want to be fishing in a kayaak in those conditions anyway.
But as a fishing platform the outback is great, stability, storage and has all those side trays, whilst the Revo is far more compact (tighter)
Every boats a comprimise as my wise friend said.
Tony

[luke_warni]

Hey donkey you should do a report on how you have decked out your outback. im getting a brand new one on Wednesday this week and ive got a clean slate to work with so im open for suggestions

[YakeRainer]

mate, ive been doing that much research of late, aas i too am looking at the outback, i think people have covered all the things that i could comment on and after listening to many i think that for the conditions and areas in which i will be fishing, the outback will be the way to go.

plus as you mentioned you could have either a sick pimped outback for the same price as a stock standard PA ... although if money wasnt an issue i would go for the PA

cheers, good luck deciding!