Satisfied Customer

I bought a Hobie Adventure kayak about 2 months ago. For quite a few years I have paddled standard fiberglass (paddle) kayaks but in recent months developed a wrist injury that was a problem especially when paddling into the wind. Therefore a pedal kayak became an attractive option and allowed me to proceed with a trip that I had planned.

I had about 4 weeks to get used to the Adventure before setting off on a three week 490km trip down the Murray River from Renmark to Wellington in South Australia with camping out of the kayak most nights on the river bank. At first, during those 4 weeks, my back was a bit sore but with more practice my back muscles seemed to become accustomed to the pedalling action. Extra padding in the seat (closed cell foam about 3cm thick) and backrest (a small cushion) also helped. After buying the kayak I was told about this forum. After looking at it I became concerned about the reliability of the parts and was wondering whether it was a case of customers more likely to post a message if there is a problem. However, reading other people's experiences enabled me to prepare myself for possible problems. I assembled a spare parts kit as recommended, always avoided getting sand and mud in the Mirage Drive by removing it in shallow water and at the end of the day I inspected the cables and chains and sprayed with WD40.

Fortunately the trip went well without any problems. I pedalled most of the time but when I had a tailwind I would paddle. I found that paddling every now and then helped prevent back soreness, due to different seating position, which allowed me to go further in a day. I averaged 33km per day (usually 8am to 2-3pm) with a maximum of 44km in one day.

About half way through the trip I tightened each chain a bit although I don't know if it was necessary. I also found that on each fin one of the two phillips head screws in the sprocket guard would remain tight and the other screw would loosen. Each of these loose screws do not seem to be able to be tightened completely (perhaps the threads are damaged). Each day I checked these screws and fortunately they did not become so loose as to fall out.

Anyway, overall I was happy with the performance of the kayak and I wanted to provide this feedback for other potential customers. I also would like to thank other members for their contributions in a forum that is a goldmine of useful information.