New PA 14 vs. 17T

I will soon be a new Hobie addict like most of you all out there. I have narrowed my search to the PA 14 and 17T. I have a young family that I would like to have the option to take the kids or my wife with me. However, most of the time I will be solo. Weight is not an issue since I will trailer the vessel 100% of the time. I plan to do most of my fishing in local lakes, and a few times a year take it to the beach to tackle some saltwater adventures. My kids are too young to have their own boat, so having multiple yaks is out of the question.

In my situation would you recommend the 14 or the 17T? Thanks for your advice!

You can solo the PA-17 by placing/locating a seat in the mid position and when you wish to carry your family, it has plenty of room as two seats and mirage drives are standard.
If both PA-17 seats are located in the center and front of the kayak, you can place/add another seat aft, of the mid-position seat.
You would be hard pressed to reach the 900 pound capacity of the PA-17.

The PA-14 will carry a second person in the area behind the seat....however, if the Coast Guard or water police come along, they might ding you with a ticket since the kayak is placarded for only one person....the 600 pound capacity is a non-issue.
On my PA-14, I have carried my 7 year old grand niece behind me, sitting on a low-beach chair.....the lake I fish is not patrolled, so no issues for me.

In any case, I would demo both kayaks to see which one you fall in love with!

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

I have read about the multiple seating positions that the PA 17T offers and am excited to demo one. How much harder is it to solo the 17T vs the 14 once it is in the water?

The PA 17 is a really big boat, (I was eyeing one at the Hobie dealership and am very impressed) you might want to make sure you can solo pedal it enough to your liking.
Our TI is even bigger yet and I have no difficulty getting that around solo, actually it turned out to be the fastest kayak we ever owned I suspect because of the length ( it appears longer boats are faster).
The nice thing about the bigger boats is you can take passengers and friends along (thats a big deal to us). However If I did buy a PA 17 I would likely add a motor to it ( but thats just me)
FE

PA 17 pedals surprisingly well. I set one seat in the aft, one in the bow facing aft and added one from a PA12 to make a mini conversation space for me 3 &5 year old girls. They loved it. The boat cruised along easily even with only the one drive installed.

After a trip or two, I found my 5 year old can handle a Sport on her own. No problem reaching the pedals or steering.

It's the same on our TI, we have two sets of pedals but seems I do 90% of the pedaling. Thats a joke in our family, whenever my wife and I go out tandem kayaking she prefers the back seat, I'm pedaling like mad, it's difficult for me to turn around and check so I ask the wife 'are you pedaling' the answer is yes, I pedal a little further and ask again are you pedaling, again the answer is yes. I stop pedaling and the boat stops. She's clearly a fake peddler, we joke about it all the time.... Truth is it doesn't matter I really enjoy the company, and can pedal our TI solo just fine even with two people on board.

This is quite different from our old 2008 Oasis where if you had two people both had to peddle to keep up with our Revo 13's (we had two revos). To be fair, I understand the newer Oasis boats (2010 and up) are much more capable than our old one was.
Actually when we were both solo me in the Oasis and her in a revo (btw the revo 13's are screaming fast) she would circle around me taunting me to keep up (very humiliating), after trading the Oasis in for the TI kayak I could finally out run her and circle around her taunting her to keep up (her on her revo 13). Well that all worked great until I tried to do that on a narrow river, I passed her got sideways and hit the bank, needless to say she hit me and we both went over, now I have this reputation with the family for dumping everyone in the family whenever kayaking that I can't shake ( all in fun, everyone reminds me about it whenever we go out)....true story.
Bottom line is the mirage drives are so powerful even on the bigger boats like the TI or PA 17, the mirage drives provide ample power with one peddler even with family on board. Pretty awesome.
FE

I actually had the cash ratholed for a 17t and then got to demo it. I am still a fan of the boat for tandem pedaling, but working it (tight turns and headwind runs were a real challenge) solo, was just too much raw work for me.
I have owned several PA 14's since 2009 and am really familiar with what they feel like. I opted back down to the 14 and an Outback for a guest boat. For me this was definitely the right decision.

There are actually some situations where I prefer the Outback over the PA (although not many) and leave the PA at home. The combination of both boats was not much difference cash wise and I am not regretting my decision at all.

I have started kayak guiding again since my purchase and will add 1 more of each to my fleet as budget and my conscience allows.

Good luck with your decision, Phill Pittman

I am in a similar situation and I bought the 17t. I couldn't be happier. I often take it out by myself and don't think it is too big/long to pedal or maneuver myself. I actually enjoy all the deck space becsuse I can put a big cooler on the front. I also have an H-Bar in the middle so I can stand and cast.

As for the seating arrangement, I never use the middle location. My seat is always in the back. I don't find it much harder to pedal from the back vs the middle. Also I have the H-Bar in the middle and my fish finder is in the back so moving everything and adjusting the Hobie so I could use the middle seat just isn't worth it.

If you go the 17t make sure you get a trailer. Best thing I did for the 17t.

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Vegasvec
2015 Pro Angler 17t
Lowrance Elite 5 Chirp
Zieman Trailer w/ Cradles

Are all of you saying that rooftop carry is out of the question for the 17t? I have a T-bar on a front receiver hitch and a Yakima front roof rack on the cab of a 3/4 ton Chevy. I carry an Oasis now but was thinking of going to the 17t.

A setup like that might work. But it's a beast. How will you be using the 17t the majority of the time? Single or tandem?


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Vegasvec
2015 Pro Angler 17t
Lowrance Elite 5 Chirp
Zieman Trailer w/ Cradles

Alright! Yesterday , I went to my local Hobie Dealer in New Orleans. I laid my hands on a demo 17t. I am 52, 6'-1", 210 lbs. and able bodied. There is no way that I would be able to put that beast of a boat on my truck rack. I was able to lift the bow over my head, but could not lift the stern over my head, which is needed to load it on the rack system previously mentioned. It is definitely a trailer boat or perhaps in the bed of a truck with a hitch extension.
Thats a drag. I really like the features, but it is to much boat for my set-up. Unfortunately, my set-up is not flexible because I pull a 5th wheel camper.

Whitewater,

I don't think you can go wrong with either PA model. Think about it this way - get the PA 12 or 14 now and then in a few years when your kids are old enough, buy another newer PA or sell it and get the 17. What is most important is getting out on the water!

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Vegasvec
2015 Pro Angler 17t
Lowrance Elite 5 Chirp
Zieman Trailer w/ Cradles

I need a tandem model. I have an Oasis now. Its fine, really. It just would be nice to have a little more room and fishability.