Paddling a Hobie REVO??????

I went out on the Revolution for a couple hours yesterday, and I could not replicate the issues of turning sharp in one direction. It doesn't track as straight as my traditional sea kayak, but in general it went pretty straight whether I paddled fast or slow. The only thing that I could think of was to make sure that your seat is fastened in a very upright position. When pedalling a mirage drive kayak, you tend to recline, this would be an improper posture for paddling.

Other then that, I can't see why the boat would turn sharp in one direction and not be able to be corrected.

It's not that I don't believe you guys, its just something that makes me very curious as I've heard it mentioned here a few times, I'd like to know what's behind the issue.

_________________

After reading this post, went out and paddled my Revo last weekend to see what happened. This is what I discovered. When I paddle the revo with the fins flat against the hull, I would eventually pick up speed and spin out. This happens regardless of rudder position (up or down).

I was able to paddle the Revo in a straight line with the mirage drive in the full down position, by keeping both pedal shafts together. As soon as the drive fins start to part, the revo would start to bank to one side or the other. But if I kept the fins straight down, the Revo tracked straight.

I think the drive fins are what is causing the spin outs. I believe that when they are pushed against the hull, which ever side the front fin is resting on, is the side that the yak spins out towards.

I'm going to try again this weekend without the mirage drive in place to see if this holds up.

That would make sense, because I pulled the mirage drive to paddle.

_________________

Just a suggestion is to make sure there is a safety leash connected to the mirage drive!!

_________________
Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

I have paddled my revo pretty extensively predominately when exercising. I also paddle it in skinny water through mangrove trails and when fishing the local bay for trout and lakes for bass. I pedal to my fishing location and drift or move about via paddle unless a fish is hooked then I maneuver with pedals. The revo can tend to turn or rotate when you stop paddling and glide but I have found it tends to be caused more by edging than the tracking of the kayak. Edging for those not familiar is the ability to turn your kayak (cockpit type or SOT) while still paddling in a normal forward stroke by leaning slightly to the opposite side of the turn. I learned about edging in a paddling course I took and I have found if my weight is not perfectly centered in the revolution it will edge (turn) in a glide. I have found reshifting my weight dramatically lessens the effect. Center of gravity while pedaling it is not an issue at all, but if your weight is off center and you are paddling and trying to glide along the kayak will veer. The severity of the turn is directly proportional to how off center your weight is. You may not even notice the list in the kayak.
When at all possible it is best to use the rudder when paddling. You can even consistently paddle on one side and keep gliding straight with the rudder down.
I am no expert on paddling or kayaking but the basic paddling course I took introduced me to knowledge that is invaluable. I highly recommend a paddling course to anyone that wants to kayak regularly. You will learn different paddle strokes and the proper way to paddle for endurance as well as safety procedures in self rescue and assisted rescue.

Revo

_________________
I would rather be kayaking and think about work than to be at work thinking about kayaking.
A Thrill Ride is being dragged around in your kayak for 40 minutes by an extremely large fish.

One added note:

Yes the fins up against the hull too can cause resistance that will affect the tracking of the kayak. When I plan to just paddle the revolution I leave the pedals at home and use the provided cassette to fill the well. I have the cassette attached to parachute cord tied to a brass eyelet screwed into the plastic cassette tied off to a padeye inside the main front hatch (I am posting a separate padeye leash station). Even if I have the pedals and decide to paddle I remove the pedals which are attached to the kayak via a lanyard secured to a padeye or if water is deep enough keep pedals together to form a keel to aide in straight tracking as mentioned above.

Revo

_________________
I would rather be kayaking and think about work than to be at work thinking about kayaking.
A Thrill Ride is being dragged around in your kayak for 40 minutes by an extremely large fish.

Anyone had a Hobie paddle break? Today we were out on the Revo and Outfitter. I dug in and snap my Hobie paddle broke. I have emailed Austin Kayak to see if they will send me a new one. I have only had our two Hobie Kayaks for about 90 days. I have two more paddles that seem okay, but if their is a defect in the paddles that come with the Outfitter and Revolution I would like to know. It is kinda a pain trying to paddle with 3/4 of the unit. I use the Mirage drive, but like to mix it up. thanks.

I used to think that if I lost my rudder on my Outback, I'd have a very hard time getting anywhere. There is very little directional control with rudder up. However, I have been doing a lot of rudder-up paddling lately as I am busy removing hundreds of feet of fishing line from stumps and logs on our local lake (if you've ever seen a duck with its feet tangled in fishing line, you'd get an idea why I do this). It's actually quite fun. The bottom line is that after doing far more rudderless paddling in my Outback I have apparently honed some padding skills along the way. I am much better at keeping a heading with the rudder up. Having said that, with the larger sailing rudder down, the boat tracks extremely well when paddling ...much better than with the standard rudder, which has to be adjusted constantly when paddled or peddled.

_________________
Absolute kayaking corrupts absolutely.

After nearly 4 years of use, one of my standard Hobie paddles broke as well. Right now Hobie appears to be switching from the standard 2-peice aluminum type to the 2-peice graphite type. Maybe because of that switch, my dealer sold me a new replacement Hobie 2-peice aluminum paddle for around $50. That's pretty reasonable I think.

_________________
Absolute kayaking corrupts absolutely.