Hello there.
New to the Hobie Kayak world. I attended a demo day a few months ago, pedaled a Revo 13. Liked it. Did not feel particularly unstable on it.
Shops in my area only carry the 13, the 16 is special order only.
I ordered a 16. Shop folks told me they did not think there was a significant stability difference 13 vs 16 Revos.
My boat shows up, I take it out a couple of times. Man, the thing seems "tippy". I've already ended up in the water involuntarily a few times. One wrong move, bloop, in I go.
I'm not the most experienced kayaker in the world, but I have owned a couple of traditional sea kayaks. The most recent one was a Valley Aquanaut HV. That is a fairly narrow, fairly long, fairly speedy sea kayak. I had zero problem in that boat.
I find that with the Revo 16, once you start going over, wham, you're over. Not much chance to recover. Since your paddle is stowed, typically, when you're pedaling, you can't brace. You're just in the water.
Questions:
1. Is is just me, or is there a noticeable difference in how "tender" the 16 feels versus the 13? I feel that the 13 feels considerably more stable. Everyone at my shop, prior to purchase, said the boats are equivalent in this regard, the only difference being speed.
2. Anyone else feel pretty nervous on their 16 at first, but later learned to deal with it, i.e. adapted to the boat?
I have considered getting an AMA kit, but the downside of that to me is that it is just one more thing to lug around and hassle with. The other alternative is to take a hit and trade the boat back in on a Revo 13.
I'm going to give it some more time, but I regrettably have to admit I'm a bit disappointed at this point.
Thank you for any feedback.