frappa11 wrote:I have modified and sailed my revo 13. The hobie outriggers are fine and not toys - i sailed in 15 knot winds with gusts to 20 and they did the job fine - which was to "bounce" me off the water when wind gusts hit and give me a bit of time to let out more of the main sheet to stop me from capsizing.

In terms of drag - if you are sailing for speed you should not have the hobie outriggers in the water anyway - you should set it to high position and they should not be touching much water at all.

But then again I have modified my sails with stays in all 4 directions and added a sail boom so I do not get mast bend like the normal hobie sail and can hike out a bit to keep the boat in a near upright position most of the time.

Hi Ron,
Coming from a catamaran sailing background, and also having a Revo 13, I read your post with a lot of interest. I have been considering a set of Hobie amas for added security offshore, and was very curious as to the effectiveness of the amas, and whether they would be an advantage or a liability in rough conditions. Adding a sail (if it worked on a Revo) would make the longer offshore trips i.e. Portland more achievable
Do you find that the stays get in the way while you are fishing? Paul

maverick wrote:My first Hobie was 14 foot cat, in 1983

Yeah good fun. I wouldn’t mind having a go on a Wild Cat

Isn’t the Revo just an A.I Centre section without the Akas & amas & a few bits n pieces?

I honestly havent fished much when I am sailing - but the few times I sailed with the stays and fished you can basically only fish the back half of the boat (imagine an invisible horizontal line down to where the mast is - you cannot fish beyond that line.)

Having the sail certainly did extend my range - I was sailing out of mornington on a easterly and I kinda didnt keep watch on the time and the next thing I knew I was at 21m deep. Was surprised since I didnt even paddle (I was 6-7kmph I think for speed).

So if you just troll or fish from the side (assuming when you fight the fish it stays on 1 side of the boat) then its ok but it certainly does impose restrictions and makes things complicated.

ANother benefit of the Sidekicks - I have rod holders mounted on the side kicks that are reinforced by a PVC joint to the rear moulded rod holders. This gives me 2 rod holders on each side of me at shoulder height. When sailing I can leave my rods in these 2 holders and they do not interfere with sailing.

Regarding the sidekicks in rough conditions - i guess it depends on how rough. For me so far they have been very useful as I have not been in conditions where they can become a liability (i guess when the waves are so big they can push on your amas and actually help flip you - but this means the waves have to be like higher then you are ?).

Thanks Ron, for your very informative and helpful response. I guess it would be a case of choosing the amas and the sail on some but not all occasions. Fishing for gummies in WPB would not be ideal, with the gummy's desire to swim laps of the kayak.
I was thinking more about their value if fishing for tuna (or anything else) off Portland, where long distances may need to be covered. I think realistically the amas and sail might work, but without the stays to get in the way.
Re the amas: My concern was not so much about being capsized, but simply the strength of the mounting points (of the amas) on the deck of a Revo, and whether a wave lifting the ama so that the hull is suspended, might cause the mountings to tear out of the deck (which would not be ideal 20 kilometres from shore)?

Has anyone used the STAR aftermarket sail for Hobie yaks.(seen it on eBay for some time now) Seems to have a lot more sail area (comes in different sizes). Would this be more helpful in going upwind? Not really a sailor, but I suppose it should help? Question on strain to the sail mounting comes to mind also.

Yes the AMA mount points are a concern as the default installation uses neoprene wellnuts to secure. Many accounts of them popping out in high seas. There are even some accounts of the arm breaking, but that is much more rarer (I only heard of this happening to 1 guy on the hobie sailing forums).

However, after MUCH experimentation and fustration - I have found a way to install by myself (and no luck required !) the sidekick cross bar at the position just behind the seats using stainless bolts, washers and nuts and a thick (5mm) HDPE backing plate. My installation is so secure now I can easily carry my kayak just using the AMA cross bar if I so wish (dont do this if you are just using the default neoprene well nuts !)

PM me if you want the procedure.

outback paul wrote:Thanks Ron, for your very informative and helpful response. I guess it would be a case of choosing the amas and the sail on some but not all occasions. Fishing for gummies in WPB would not be ideal, with the gummy's desire to swim laps of the kayak.
I was thinking more about their value if fishing for tuna (or anything else) off Portland, where long distances may need to be covered. I think realistically the amas and sail might work, but without the stays to get in the way.
Re the amas: My concern was not so much about being capsized, but simply the strength of the mounting points (of the amas) on the deck of a Revo, and whether a wave lifting the ama so that the hull is suspended, might cause the mountings to tear out of the deck (which would not be ideal 20 kilometres from shore)?

Heard favoriable reviews on the STAR sail on the hobie forums - the sail being big is countered by the mast being more flexible so it spills wind more easily. But based on what I know going upwind for kayaks the limitation is the need for a good daggerboard rather then the sail itself. This is present on the hobie adventure 16 I think and no other. A workaround is leeboards similar to the kayak sailor (its a brand of sail for paddle kayaks) setup.

Re strain on the sail mount I am planning to install a diy version of the v sail brace/cross bar the adventure islands have on my revo 13 - this may be overkill but gives me a bit of a piece of mind. The front cross bar also gives me the option to put in lee boards like kayak sailor later on (another project in the pipeline).

pots wrote:Has anyone used the STAR aftermarket sail for Hobie yaks.(seen it on eBay for some time now) Seems to have a lot more sail area (comes in different sizes). Would this be more helpful in going upwind? Not really a sailor, but I suppose it should help? Question on strain to the sail mounting comes to mind also.

pots wrote:Has anyone used the STAR aftermarket sail for Hobie yaks.(seen it on eBay for some time now) Seems to have a lot more sail area (comes in different sizes). Would this be more helpful in going upwind? Not really a sailor, but I suppose it should help? Question on strain to the sail mounting comes to mind also.

Are these the ones that was used in the PA 14 setup from W.A.?

Please don’t laugh, but has anyone tried using a large golf/beach umbrella with any success !!! Would be easy to stow - would look stupid tho

I was wondering if anyone had put/used rod outriggers before, so i did a search and of course i got sidetracked reading about outriggers for sailing it seem the general consensus on after market sails to suite kayaks is not the best idea! As it generally just makes you want an AI/TI all the more

This bothers me somewhat as i want an AI already, but to be honest after watch the video of the PA with outriggers and i think the star sail, that got along at a decent rate and wow what an awesome platform for fishing, the only problem is the outriggers are fixed in position and this i dont think suites fishing