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My brand new Outback's first adventure http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=63688	Page 1 of 1

Author:	rhanthony [ Wed Sep 12, 2018 11:56 am ]
Post subject:	My brand new Outback's first adventure
Hey all. I'm new to the Hobie forums, and Hobies in general. I've rented a few Kayaks but my new Outback is my first owned boat. I just figured I would introduce myself and share the story of the first few weeks of my Hobie's adventures in the world... This is an email I sent the Hobie staff several weeks ago: -- Dear Hobie people, I want to write you an email outlining how amazing my new Hobie Outback has been since I purchased it on June 21st on the Olympic Peninsula west of Seattle. I want to write you that letter and tell you how amazing it's been to finally go out on my own Kayak without having to rent one that is worn and beaten with dents and abuse. I want this to be like 100 other emails you probably get each month from happy Hobie customers. Unfortunately while this email is a happy one, it is going to be a bit different. Like I said, I bought my new Mirage Outback in Ivory Dune on June 21st and had it strapped to my girlfriend's car on our new Yakima Sweetroll setup. We lashed it down with the straps, including a bow and stern tie-down, and headed east. Unfortunately there were no Ivory Dune's available in the area so we had to order this one from you guys and it took about 3 weeks to arrive - so we were out of time during our stay up there to enjoy it around the Seattle and sound area. No problem really, we just decided to put a pin in it for next year when we return - and by then perhaps we would have enjoyed it so much that we'd have another to bring along as well. Our first time getting it wet would have to be in Michigan, our next stop along our travels in our RV (which we live in full-time). For the next 2 weeks it sat on our Toyota Rav4 looking amazing, and getting knowing nods of approval from other Kayak owners passing us on the road or seeing us in RV parks. We have a great shot of it on my girlfriend's roof parked in front of Devil's Tower in Wyoming even, and it just looks great. If you have sensed that I haven't gotten to that "first time I put it in the water" part yet, you're starting to see the plot-twist. On July 1st, about 10 miles short of the Michigan border near Florence Wisconsin, my girlfriend along with my 2 Italian Greyhounds were struck by a deer as she drove down the road with me following in our RV. Her Rav4 was pushed to the right into a drainage ditch where it traveled approximately 150 feet before a driveway crossed it. The car launched nose first into the air and came back down about 60 feet later on it's drivers rear corner in the adjoining field, and began to roll onto it's driver side still partially in the air. This is where your product comes in again, still strapped securely to the roof. As the car rolled violently to a roof down position, still descending out of the air, the Outback took the initial hit and held to the roof rack which sheered off of the SUV sideways - in effect shifting the car more to the side than straight down. This allowed the energy of the crash to dissipate away from the roof structure and pushed the car sideways back down into the ditch. The shape of that ditch, and the fact that the Outback changed the direction of the car saved my girlfriend's life, and our 2 small 'kids'. My hands are shaking typing about it again, but everyone walked out. A few hours in the ER and emergency Vet, and bruises were all we had to worry about thankfully. My Kayak is still stranded in Wisconsin, in the yard of the person who lived directly across the street. With no way to fit the 12' hull inside or attached it onto our RV or trailer, and no replacement car available, along with a travel deadline that kept us having to move - it's been there waiting to be recovered. Why not just write it off and buy another? Because it seems that it's just fine. Seriously. The cable to raise/lower the rudder seems to have broken or come loose, but all other functions and the hull itself seem - fine. I've gone over it closely and while I'm no expert and this is my first Kayak let alone Hobie, I'm pretty convince you guys make one HELL of a product. I would love to know where I could take it to have it reviewed by experts and tell me what it's actual state is. It's just too big to carry until we replace her car, and not the easiest thing to get a shipping company to accept and put on a truck without a 'manufacturer packaging'. I'm sure I'll figure it out though, and would love to know where I can take/send it to get a once over. I just wanted to, regardless of the fate of my Outback, thank you sincerely for making the absolute best rotoscoped polyethylene airbag on the market. Without ever having gotten it wet, you have gained a loyal and ever appreciative customer. https://www.melodicview.com/the-1st-of-july/ -- To bring everything up to date as it's been a while now, we have gotten the Hobie back in our possession and on top of a new car! Also, one of Hobie's employees has been keeping in touch regularly and they are going to arrange for the boat to have a complete physical checkup by a dealer when we are at a place we can drop it off for a few days. We travel in the RV full time and we're only now getting to a 'slow' part of our year near Washington DC (just in time for Florence!) Moving forward I'm now looking for a cover for the Outback that will hold up to being used while the boat is on top of our new Nissan Armada and moving at highway speeds (Looking at the Danuu 'Punk' cover, opinions?), and a lift system that will make raising and lowering it easier as this SUV is pretty tall. Anyway... Hey everyone. I'm new here. Can't wait to actually get my boat wet as we go down south through NC (OBX) and then FL (Everywhere) for the rest of the year!

Author:	mmiller [ Wed Sep 12, 2018 2:16 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: My brand new Outback's first adventure
This is an amazing story! So glad you guys are all OK. Crazy that the kayak survived.

Author:	kredden [ Wed Sep 12, 2018 2:39 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: My brand new Outback's first adventure
Wow! Quite a story indeed! I would get it checked before using it again though, wouldn't want to find a hidden crack while out on the water! Kevin

Author:	rhanthony [ Wed Sep 12, 2018 4:38 pm ]
Post subject:	Re: My brand new Outback's first adventure
kredden wrote: Wow! Quite a story indeed! I would get it checked before using it again though, wouldn't want to find a hidden crack while out on the water! Kevin That's the plan. I've gone over it with a fine tooth comb but, I'm not sure if I'm going to notice what I don't know to look for. It looks like it's 100% to me... but who knows. The only indication I have of an issue is that when we went back to get it from WI, the hull was full of water. I'm not sure if it was due to a cover not being locked down, or a crack I can't see.

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