Need help deciding which Kayak

Hi everyone,

I'm looking to upgrade our family kayaks from Kona's to mirage drives and need some help. We mostly kayak in small to medium size lakes, we do kayak fish occasionally and would like to choose a versatile fleet that outfits the 4 of us. Kids ages are 8 and 12. Our outings will be 40% all 4 of us, 20% with me and one child, 15% just me and DW, 15% just me, and 10% me and both kids.

I'm thinking of picking up 2 2011 Oasis tandems if I can swing it budget wise. However I'm kind of rethinking and getting 1 2011 Oasis and 2 revo's (used/leftovers). Do you think it would be a better choice and lend more flexibility? How well does the 2011 Oasis peddle/paddle solo vs a revolution? if I go the revo route for a leftover/used what model years should i try and get and/or avoid? Thanks so much for your help.

_________________
Currently own: 2012 AI, 2 - 2012 Revo 13's, 2012 Revo 11,
Sold: 2-2011 Oasis, 2010 Outback, 08 Outback, 08 Adventure, 06 Kona

If you are going to fish out of a tandem have have to trust the person behind you or the person in front of you. Tandems are fun for recreation, but not to sure about fishing. Fishing I would have two seperate kayaks.

Good Luck and tell us what you decided.

I'm a big fan of the tandem. It will do anything a single will (they're a great solo boat) -- and carry a second person. The problem with putting kids in their own boat is frequently they aren't really strong enough to keep up with adults and they can tire of pedaling pretty quickly. I've seen this happen. Put one in a tandem with you and you'll never leave them behind; they can pedal, paddle, sleep or just swish their hand in the water. Two kids in a tandem can cruise pretty well with a single adult in the other.

Two tandems is the only combination that will accommodate all your scenarios -- my favorite is also the Oasis. You can probably save $ by buying last year's models. The 2011 hull has been redesigned though and it's very nice! viewtopic.php?f=11&t=30997

Tandem fishing doesn't seem to be any problem, at least for one fisherman. I have a friend who fishes from the back while his wife reads her book in the front (he likes to troll); have also seen husbands fishing from the front with the wives pedaling from the back.

If you're shopping for a used boat, the '09 and newer kayaks and Drives have all the significant current improvements IMO (Click N Go and full V-2 Drives) Last 2 digits of the serial # bottom of hull, stern area) tells the year model -- always confirm it for yourself.

Roadrunner, thanks for your help and awesome review of the oasis. i guess now I just have to figure out if the 11 is $600 better than getting a 2010.

anyone have an thoughts on which colors hold up better over time (sun fade and not showing dirt)?

_________________
Currently own: 2012 AI, 2 - 2012 Revo 13's, 2012 Revo 11,
Sold: 2-2011 Oasis, 2010 Outback, 08 Outback, 08 Adventure, 06 Kona

I was faced with a similar dilemma choosing between a 2010 and 2011 Oasis . I bought the 2010 and couldn't be happier with it . Granted I have not been in a 2011 model but , the 2010 served my needs(wants) and exceeded all of my expectations . It has the turbo fins, sailing rudder and with the money I saved buying the 2010 I got the sail for it . Sailing was a blast ...

Now I want a tandem Adventure Island !!!

We have the 2009 Oasis, and once we figured out how to adjust the rudder which most Hobie shops apparently don't know how, based on the complaints of new owners re their rudders. With a properly tuned rudder, the Oasis is a great yak for touring for both of us.

For me our 2009 Oasis is a giant PIA re fly fishing or even spin/casting.

The new 2011 appears to be an excellent yak for spin or cast fishing from the front or the back with the dual controls. The wonderful Mirage system is great unless you try to fly fish with one between your legs. Then that wonderful Mirage becomes a nightmare re line tangles or worse. With the new 2011 Oasis, you could replace the front Mirage with the cassette and put the Mirage into the front storage unti and have your wife/kid pedal and guide you to fly fish.

Have your kids try the Sport. At their ages, it should be great for them. If it works, buy one for each kid or just one and keep the Kona. You can tow both yaks with the Oasis.

The Oasis Yaks can tow another or two yaks with no problem. So you can tow the Sports or your Konas to and from where you might want spend the day with your kids and one adult watching them on the towing trips. Once you are at your desired site, the kids can use their yaks.

Come spring time, I plan to tow my 12' Freedom Hawk with our Oasis with my wife. That way we can go to areas several miles from the launch sites with the mirages and beach the Oasis for a picnic/rest stop and launch the Freedom Hawk for nearby fishing. I will load chairs, coolers/fishing gear and other gear in the Freedom Hawk and tow the gear on top of it to and from our launch site. Then my wife can read her latest book and watch me trying to fish from the Freedom Hawk.

You can't go wrong with the 2011 Oasis as your main Yak and mother Yak.

_________________
2009 Oasis
2012 Freedom Hawk Pathfinder

I think you are on the right track with your choices, my wife and I bought an Oasis and a revo back in 2007, and just love them, they are the most versatile Kayaks out there. Most of the time it would be just the two of us out, and I would drive the oasis solo, never had any problems, except she was a little faster, the revo is like a sports car, fast and sleek, and even banks in the turns. We don't fish but I would think the Revo would also be a great fishing kayak. We are out pretty much every weekend, we would kayak and sail (with the optional sails) mostly in the ocean (inland waters) on Florida's west coast (where we live, near the water), and spend alot of time down in the keys. Most summers we are up north near Traverse City, MI or up in Wisconsin on both lakes and rivers. Last year we traded the Oasis in for the Tandem Island and I am now in heaven (I'm much more into sailing, where she is more into kayaking). We have had 4 people on our Tandem Island (TI) with the optional tramps, and also towed the empty revo at the same time (party barge, the revo carried the cooler) out to islands and sand bars. With the big sail on the TI it gets you where you want to go quickly, where once there, you can remove the sail and AMA's and use it as a regular kayak (only a little longer than the Oasis, and the hull is only a 10-15 lbs heavier (not including the AMA's and sail rigging of course)). I honestly don't notice the difference kayaking (not sailing) between the Oasis and the TI except the TI is way faster, and more stable (the old Oasis was a little tipsie). I'm not trying to sell you a TI, I'm just explaining what works for us. My opinion with way over 500 very happy miles on the old Oasis and lots of adventures (year round, almost every weekend), I see alot of really nice desirable improvements on the 2011 (well worth getting the newest model). The Revo is one of the finest Kayaks out there, my advise would be go for the 2011 Oasis, and two revos (year doesn't matter on the Revo the design has not changed enough to make any difference). Then again this is all dependent on how you transport your yaks. I only have a cartop and it limits me to the two ( the TI and 1 Revo). Trying to get 3 on a cartop might be a problem.
Good Luck
Bob

thanks to everyone that replied. i just sold my hobie kona to free up room in the garage and I'm about to order 2 2011 Oasis yaks. couple additional questions:

since it will be my wife and kids using the kayaks with me is it ok to purchase and use 2 sets of turbo fins for my wife and I? Meaning can we mix and match? Ie I'm kayaking with one of the kids and they have the standard fin and I have the turbo? If so this will also allow my wife and I to use the turbo's together when we peddle together without the kids.

when peddling solo is the front seat the best spot or the back? I'm trying to figure out the best placement for a fish finder transducer.

any other must have accessories that I should consider?

_________________
Currently own: 2012 AI, 2 - 2012 Revo 13's, 2012 Revo 11,
Sold: 2-2011 Oasis, 2010 Outback, 08 Outback, 08 Adventure, 06 Kona

Absolutely, you can mix and match any combination of fins (just not on the same Drive). You might consider one Turbo and one ST. If your wife likes the Turbos, you can add the second set later. The STs are a very good fin -- decent power with excellent efficiency, but just a little more difficult to push than the standards. Using the standard mast, they can be changed out very quickly with standard fins. If you end up with dual turbos, your kids may want to move to the STs when they get a little stronger. Having tried them all, my wife prefers the STs best. Standards are good starter fins for the kids until they learn to retract the fins near the shore -- nice and rugged. They also may be a good choice in areas where there may be contact with oyster bars for instance -- these can be very sharp and potentially damaging to STs and Turbos.

I personally like the front seat with 25# of lead in the back hatch. Or you could use water bags for ballast and "tank up" right at the water (or use no ballast at all). You might prefer the rear though (with about 55# ballast in the nose) because there is more room for fishing gear and you have additional space access both in front and behind you. Built-in rod holders are close as well. You will probably need to use the rear seat if you want to stand up at all (more foot room, better stability). Likewise, if you use a bait tank, your best access will likely be right behind the back seat in the cargo well. Before you mount gear, you might try various seating combinations and see what gives you the beat options.

If running tandem, it doesn't matter much, but the boat runs optimally with the heavier person in front.

If you can mount your transducer amidships, it will always be in the water regardless of seating arrangement and ballast (or lack of).

At least one scupper cart. I find the standard cart easiest to use, rugged, least expensive and good for all terrains except soft sand. You can extract and insert it relatively easily right in the water -- it floats but is not overly buoyant as the air-filled tires tend to be.