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PostPosted: Mon Aug 06, 2018 7:25 pm 
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I have a 2015 Outback. I have seen threads where guys say they are getting the Bixpy but haven’t seen a ton of reviews. I do have a couple questions as I am thinking of purchasing. My main goal is to get from point A to B faster. Typically I am fishing the Great Lakes and go 1.5 to 3 miles to my spots. If I use the rudder adapter and pedal at the same time how much faster should I expect to go. On a flat lake I average about 3.25 mph at a normal pace. My other question is what is the performance of the new rudder with the jet attached? Will it feel much different than my current sailing rudder (the larger one). I just don’t want to spend a grand for like an additional mph and an awkward rudder feel where I can’t turn on a dime any longer.


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 9:04 am 
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I have a Torqeedo, not quite the same as the Bixby, but similiar electric motor.

Here are my thoughts in general about what the motor provides us, and maybe what your expectations should be.

I rarely use just the motor alone. I use Tom Kirkman's idea of mounting the motor in a PVC adapter that plugs into my rear rod holder (I can still put my rod into the top of the adapter, so I don't lose that capability). So I also pedal along with the motor. That roughly gives me an additional .5 to 1 mph boost with a bit reduced pedaling effort. I also use it to help tow my wife around to the other fishing spots. She LOVES it!

The only times I would use the motor alone is when I am rigging up on route. Otherwise I guess I'm too bored to just use the motor alone and my legs have been Hobie trained to be constantly in motion :)


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:05 pm 
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Thank you. Do you happen to have a link to Tom Kirkman’s idea ?


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PostPosted: Tue Aug 07, 2018 1:15 pm 
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Joined: Sun Apr 20, 2008 6:18 am
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
I’m the same, I pedal all the time, your legs aren’t doing anything anyway, might as well use them is my motto.
I wouldn’t mount the bixby on the rudder, ever. When not using the motor it creates a lot of drag, and probably effects steering. I would get their universal kayak mount, I’m pretty sure it swings up like the Torqeedo 403 mount, so the motor is out of the water when not using. Same with the mirage drive mount, I would never use that either, you want to be able to peddle while using the motor. Plus with the motor in mirage slot you can’t go in shallow water.
Let us know how the Bixby works out, everyone is curious.
FE


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 6:16 am 
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Location: Missoula, Montana
It seems to me that if you mounted a Bixby jet on a twist and stow rudder, you'd quickly damage or break the rudder, which isn't designed to be pushed from behind. I'd be interested in hearing reports from Hobie owners who have tried mounting a Bixby jet on the rudder of their kayak.


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 7:21 am 
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I use the Bixpy on a "regular" kayak rudder/non twist and stow- no reason it wouldn't work. Plenty of videos out there on hobie rudders without any negative feedback.

You don't need to tighten the rudder line down because the force of the jet (when moving) will keep it down - if you hit shallow it will still push back- no harm done.

My only concern would be how hard/ the stress would be in pulling it up and out of the water. I leave mine down/loose and just manually lift it when I come back to shore.


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PostPosted: Wed Aug 08, 2018 7:37 pm 
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I can’t seem to find much on YouTube discussing the rudder mount.


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PostPosted: Thu Aug 09, 2018 6:47 pm 
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The rudder feel is diminished, but pretty good. At high speeds the torque on the motor makes steering very difficult.The steering handle wants to peg hard to one side or the other. Fast and straight is fine, but you need to back off to steer.

Reverse is very nice too. I didn't expect I'd use it as much as I have.


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 5:54 am 
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Location: Sarasota,Key West FL
Do you notice any drag while pedaling with the rudder down and the motor off, ( I always wondered about that). We ran a weighted swinging keel for a while for kayak sailing, (we had really big kayak sails) but didn’t like how much drag the keel caused when not sailing, ( the keel weight was similar in shape and size to the bixby).
We like to dive and snorkle, (mostly in the keys), the ideal setup for us would be a bixby on a swing down kayak mount, with the ability to remove the motor and put the motor on a swim jet when out snorkeling, then put the motor back on the kayak mount to get back home. I wonder how easy it is to switch back and forth, and if here is any danger if the stuff gets wet when disconnected.
I couldn’t care less if the battery lasts for 8 hrs at 1mph, (I’m never going to go 1mph), I can pedal at 3mph, so why would I use the motor, (I can pedal faster).
I would be rather disappointed if the battery only lasts 20 minutes at 4-5 mph.
Ideal setup for me would be pedaling at 3mph, then add the bixby power, that would get me to 4-5mph cruise power while still pedaling at a moderate pace (40cpm), for around 3hrs. Sure we can pedal 4-5mph but we get exhausted after a couple miles at that pace. I can pedal all day at the slower pace. But unfortunately the current around here is usually faster than that so you end up going backwards, or not moving at all. Same thing when pedaling into the wind, (we end up pedaling 1/2mph upwind, or in rough water).
I’m hoping people start publishing their performance results on different Hobies, actually using the bixby’s in real life.
Our greatest fear is getting washed out to sea, then not being able to get back to the island and getting exhausted trying, usually a planned 1hr outing ends up being a 8-15 hr horror show for us, (has happened to us too many times to count).
FE


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PostPosted: Fri Aug 10, 2018 9:07 am 
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Water in connectors is very bad and causes shorts. So be careful of that. I don't notice the drag from the motor, but I'm doing low speed fishing. Something to be cognizant of is that the hull design gets massively inefficient 4.5mph and up. Motor cruises easily 3-4.5mph. the slowest speed (1 of 10) gets me to about 1.8mph with fully loaded outback. I think Bixpy said optimal speed in Hobie is around 5 or 6.

If I were you I would use the motor as a way to take a break from pedaling all together either on the way in or way out, or just do 15 min pedal, 15 min motor. I love pedaling, but it is also relaxing just to cruise.

Motor comes off rudder easy enough, but I would not do on the water. If you mounted it at the side of the yak, I still wouldn't bother. Any water in connectors causes malfunctions and it would be a pain to mess with.

Initial install on rudder mount was about 10-15min.


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