Hobie evolve Electric Motor Kit

read this on another austrailian forum, interesting..
Hi everyone ,I have a mechanical and electrical engineering background .60 yrs young and live on the coast in Victoria .I purchased a Troqeedo U402 electric motor system about 4 months ago from Goodtime Surf in Qld for $2600 ,removed the rudder from my Outback so I could fit the motor unit in a dedicated installation ..rudder control (which I moved to the right-hand side ,so I could hold my rod in my left hand and steer with my right hand ) controls the motors direction , Rubber Up .. lifts the motor out of the water and Rudder Down .. locks the motor down for reverse

I am more than pleased with the entire system .Motor , Battery and Control unit

The range is pretty much as stated on the video on Yakabout of the U402 fitted as a prototype to the Hobie . about 8klm @ 4.5 – 5 klm/hr without using the Mirage Drive

I had ST Fins which I change to ST Turbo's to keep up with the motors speed

With the ST’s I felt like I was peddling down hill in low gear .I’m not anything like fit by any stretch of the imagination, but with and combination “peddle & motor “ and “just motor “ ( which is great for trawling @ 2 or 3 klm/hr ) I can spend 4hrs on the water in Andersons Inlet or Western Port Bay, both of which have very strong currents and still have more the half the battery’s available power left,

20 – 30klms a day at a cruising speed of 6 – 6.5 klm/h is comfortable with the occasional sprit at 10.5klm/h just plain fun

The price ! $2600 Well if you take the value of a good Saltwater motor. The Control

that tells you how much battery power you have , how far it will take you at current speed, which continually updates .(Slow down and see the range improve .Speed up and start to peddle –see the range improve etc) so you can always keep enough power to get home for virtually anywhere if used with common sense . The Speed you are travelling at and also the Watts you are consuming .Add the High Performance ,Light Weight Battery with inbuilt GPS. ( I spent a lot of time on the internet and couldn’t put a package together that would match the Torqeedo U402 with parts bought separately ) All these elements of the Torqeedo system combine to make a seriously good unit

I’m convinced my U402 is well worth the dollars .

Great review by "roadrunner"

http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=16769

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

out of interest how easy would it be to cartop the kayak with this kit on. ie would you take it apart again or face it upward and off you go

We car top with the rudder mounted version... no problem. Upside down.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Now your talking...
I have decided to buy an Outback after many months of research. I now have am Old town loon 138. I like it a lot but want something better suited for fishing. I had seen other trolling setups on other mfg's sites but did not like the idea that the unit hung rigid below the boat. Now i see the rudder mount on the Outback and...well lets just say I am going to be so happy next summer fishing from this set up.
Thanks Hobie...


Never mind... I just saw the price. I guess that will have to be sometime in the DISTANT future...

Will this motor kit fit into and work in a 2006 Hobie SPORT?

Thanks.

_________________
Fair Skies, Max.

For the drivewell mount the eVolve should work on any of the Mirage Drive boats. For the rudder mount it needs a Twist N Stow rudder. I believe this would include all '07 models and newer (except Pro Angler and inflatables). It would also work with the '06 Adventure and Outfitter, as they were the first to get the T&S (year model = the last two digits in the serial #).

Your '06 Sport looks like it has the older style rudder, so you would not be able to take advantage of the rudder mount and the hybrid opportunities it offers.

That's cool, I intend using the Drivewell, Thanks for the nod.

_________________
Fair Skies, Max.

I think the best mount for the motor is on the rudder. If you hit something, the rudder will give alittle vs in the drive area mount.

_________________
John

A couple questions for Matt Miller or anyone else who may know.

1. Would it be possible to use the Hobie eVolve through the front drivewell of an Oasis while keeping the rear mirage drive in place?

2. Any sense of whether the Hobie eVolve is more effective (or more efficient) used as either the rudder mount or the drivewell mount for the same kayak?

1) Yes!

2) No data on which is more efficient.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Tandems afford some great choices for location of the evolve motor without having to weigh the loss of the Drive function. I doubt that location seriously effects efficiency, but there are some other considerations that may be more important to you.

1. Rudder control -- the large Hobie rudder provides more of a hands free operation than the evolve rudder. There is a tendency for the evolve rudder to wander left or right depending on the amount of power is applied, so it's hard to keep it hands free at low and high power levels. Also, there is more effort in turning the evolve rudder because of the gyroscopic effect of the spinning motor.

On the other hand, the evolve rudder can really spin the boat around in a very tight circle. This may not have much practical value, but it sure is a lot of fun!

2. The evolve rudder mount requires the current pull-handle version of the Twist N Stow rudder; the the drivewell variant does not. That may or may not be a factor depending on the age of your Oasis.

3. The rudder mount gives you 3 simultaneous power options rather than 2. As a matter of practicality I doubt that this has any significance though.

4. If sailing is an option for you, the Hobie large (sailing) rudder is needed; the evolve rudder is not sufficient to control the boat under sail without power applied.

5. The drivewell position is more versatile. The evolve is easy to remove if you want to use to use the Drive there on occasion (guests, etc.), whereas the rudder position is more permanent. If you are (a) out of power or (b) don't want to use the motor, the rudder mount cannot be retracted to reduce drag without losing steering control, whereas the drivewell mount can removed with no degradation in function.

For fishing, the advantages of the drivewell mount appear to outweigh the rudder mount in most cases. You 'll have better hands free fishing, faster rudder response and much better low speed (power off) rudder authority using the large Hobie rudder.

Thanks Matt and RoadRunner.

RoadRunner, in your response you brought up a point that I did not understand (if I understand correctly).

Are you saying that to use the eVolve motor on an Oasis, that you would need to remove the larger rudder (I understand new Oasis come standard with the larger rudder) and replace it with a smaller rudder for the eVolve? If that is the case, then I think that would be a determining factor for me - I would then prefer the drive mount in the front drive and keep the larger rudder.

And to answer the rhetorical question - I do not yet own an Oasis. I was considering the purchase of a new Oasis, primarily for fishing and was trying to understand options.

Not at all. I wasn't sure what year Oasis you were talking about and wasn't addressing the '10 Oasis specifically. The large rudder is the rudder of choice (IMO) for any of the tandems and would be an upgrade for all except the newest Oasis. The rudder mount variant of the evolve of course, replaces the factory rudder regardless of size whereas the drivewell mount allows the retention of original (or upgraded) rudder. Sorry about the confusion.

Cool video on the Hobie eVolve for everyone to check out...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0ABXuP52Lk

I have used the Hobie eVolve a number of times and it has been a blast!