How stable a kayak is on big waters?

Hi everyone!
Last year we were on the Keys and rented a sit-on-top tandem kayak. I have no idea about its make and model. But what I remember, it was rather uncomfortable and pretty difficult to keep it from capsizing. We were crossing about a mile from the shore to the nearest small island, the waves were almost non-existent, we did not have any gear except for a two bottles of water, but we were on the verge of flipping over several times. Instead of a relaxing trip it turned out to be tense and tiring.

On another occasion I rented a sit-on-top again. And again, I had to pay a lot of attention (which I failed several times) to keep it from flipping over.

Now I read all these posts and see all these pictures how people fish in the ocean sitting in a Hobie kayak, or cross miles of open water to go to an island. I see that people do all that with a lot of gear, with children, and all other stuff...

So I'm asking how do you all do this? Why was I capzising, but you guys were having fun? How are these AIs, Adventures, Revolutions on the water? Being a sailor, I incline more to AI to go fishing and snorkeling...

Thank you!

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Yuri
Hobie 16
Laser Vago

rental operators all buy the cheapest boat they can get there hands on. Usually a crappy box store brand, which are cheap, uncomfortable and very unstable. The entire Hobie line of Kayaks are very very stable, the Kona is one of my favorite boats, right behind the outfitter.

You will notice a significant stability increase in the singles over the tandems, this is true for all brands. My boat of choice it the Revolution and I love it, very stable fast quiet through the water, I've thrown if off the boat 25+ miles in the gulf and bottom fished outa it, no problems, seas were very light 2'-4'

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Brad Stephens
[email protected]
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I am a fairly new Oasis owner. Last weekend I had no hesitation taking my two small kids for a cruise up a river. The 7 year old sat in the front seat and the 5 year old sat on a cushion against the front hatch. Of course, both kids are good swimmers and we all wore flotation. We didn't once feel unstable although the water was flat.

I guess the stability of these Hobie boats is inherent in the design - the profile and width. I'm not a kayak expert, but I think the stability benefit comes at the cost of extra weight.

Yuri, as a sailor, you know what it's like to get your "sea legs". Adjusting to the motion of a kayak can be like that for some people. When my wife first rode in our Oasis, she was a little tense, but after awhile she started to feel the stability and was able to relax and enjoy the ride.

If you're thinking of buying a Hobie, ask for a demonstration ride first and rock the boat a few times, spin around and sit side saddle near the shore until you get comfortable with the feel of it. As long as you don't have a balance problem, this will become second nature to you in no time.

Yep--I agree with Brad and Roadrunner. I think most new folks automatically assume that all kayaks are somehow unstable because that is what they have heard somewhere, or just assume because of the narrow beam of most yaks. As a result, their first trips usually result in a lot of white-knuckle gripping of the gunwales, when not paddling. Once folks get over that notion, they should get in some shallow water and TRY to capsize a well-designed SOT kayak such as a Hobie. I think they will find that it is actually pretty difficult to capsize a well-made SOT yak. Once they realize that, then it is all pretty much smooth sailing, err, paddlling, err, pedaling after that. Just my $.02.

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thank you all for your replies!

I have contacted a good Hobie dealer in Fletcher, NC and guess what - they are going to have demo day in April with a bunch of boats. I'm going!

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Yuri
Hobie 16
Laser Vago

You'll know within the first minute of sitting in a demo Hobie that you NEED to buy one. The hard part is choosing which model to get.

You probably are right, man, but I already have two boats.

Not that I'm complaining, but I wish I had more time to spend on the existing ones and on the ones I will get in the future.

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Yuri
Hobie 16
Laser Vago

Don't we all.....

Its funny, you really have to make a big effort to flip an Outback. These are def different yaks than you tried before. The Revo is very stable, and you can pretty much hang your whole body off the side of an Outback without flipping it. If you generally feel a bit tippy in a yak, get the OB and you won't have to worry about it anymore. You may find that the Revo is plenty stable as well though.

BTW, I see you live in upstate SC - I am in Greenville, SC. I don't know if you are considering a used Hobie, but I do have my barely used 07 OB for sale in the classifieds section if you are interested. I don't want to discourage you from going to try them out at a dealer, but if you are only looking at an OB or Revo, I have both, so you could try out both of them (but only OB is for sale) and decide.

Yes, I'm in Greenville, SC too. Thanks a lot for your opinion and offer to try them.
I don't know if I'm really considering purchase yet. For now I'm more curious.
Do you ever go out on lake Robinson or is this too small?

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Yuri
Hobie 16
Laser Vago

They are pricey so it took me a little while before I decided to get one too. I love them and think they are great. The only reason I am selling the OB is actually so I can replace it with an Adventure. That yak is more tippy but will give me a slightly extended range.

I think lake Robinson is perfect. Its a good size, but not so huge that I can't fish the whole lake. You need a pass for it, but the pass also includes lake Cunningham which is just a few miles away. That lake is shallower, but has great cover for bass. The Hobies are def capable of handling bigger water, but those two lakes are my favorite so far (though I have only been looking for fishable lakes for the last two months of summer last year after I purchased them). I had them up at Jocasse with no problems other than not having the right tackle to get deeper where the fish were.

So the offer stands. No pressure and if you don't want to buy it or say prefer the Revo after you try both (or just don't like the color!), its no big deal. Its for sale until it sells, but in the meantime I will be using it often. I know I wasn't totally sold until I tried them and then I knew I def wanted one. If you get a little bit more serious about buying, just let me know and you can come try them out (if I still have the OB). I will be taking them out every weekend very soon if the weather warms up a tad, so you can just meet me out at the lake and go for a spin with me.

Ok, sure!

When on the lake (Robinson or Hartwell), I rarely go to Jocassee, look for Hobie cat with sail 110096 or for RS Feva XL dingy.

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Yuri
Hobie 16
Laser Vago

Oh, I may have seen you last summer while I was on my way back to the ramp. I have never seen anyone else out with a Hobie, but I remember the very first time we went to Robinson, we saw someone out there sailing and thought it might have been a Hobie w/ sail kit. We never got close enough to tell exactly what it was. If it was you, you may remember seeing two kayaks in the distance, one sandy white color and the other is that electric blue color. I seem to remember it being a white craft with a white sail, but its been awhile.

If I see you out there, I will surely see if I can flag you down. We think the sailing kits look cool and may get them, but don't know how to sail, so then you can give us a few pointers. Do you do any fishing while you are out there, or mostly just sailing? The AIs look pretty awesome, but the $1600 a piece for the Hobies I have now caused a bit of sticker shock, so the $3k for the AI is kinda out of the question for now. How does the AI compare to the HobieCat you have now?

Man, email me at [email protected].

Nope, I don't have an AI - I sail 16 foot Hobie catamaran and a British 12 foot dingy from RS Boats - RS Feva XL. It has a wonderful lilac spinnaker!

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Yuri
Hobie 16
Laser Vago