recommendation?

Hobie Cat sailor here.

My wife had her shoulder replaced a couple of years ago. Unfortunately, while she's got good range of motion, her strength and endurance has never come back. She was paddling a Hurricane Santee 135, but really can't paddle it anymore, and it makes her very sad.

So, what would be a good Hobie pedal drive boat for her? I look at the boats, and they all seem to be aimed at fisherman. That's not even remotely in her wheelhouse, she won't catch fish, she won't clean fish, she won't cook fish, and she certainly won't eat fish!

So she needs a light, fast, attractive boat. It needs no fishing accoutrements. The boats I look at all look like fishing boats. Or they are tiny little tubs. A 10' kayak? At the risk of sacrilege, are there other better brands for her type of kayaking?

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Yet another Bob!
"Firefly" - 2012 Hobie Getaway with wings and spinnaker
"Sparky" - 1978 Sunfish (OK, it's not a Hobie, but it's a fun little craft)
Too many canoes and kayaks

To be fair, I don't have my hobie passport yet (any day now). Just looking for some fun on the water, doubt I will be fishing. I researched all the pedal drives and tested the old town, but hobie was the winner for me.

As someone who suffers significant shoulder pain (and knee pain) the hobie pedal drives were a surprising revelation to me. No achy joints even with decades old knee problems (bikes even hurt me) after taking out. Took a Compass and Outback out for a half day each and they were both great on the water, but the weight of the outback on land too much for me, even with my so helping. I ended up going with the 12' passport for price, but if money no object I may have gone for compass. I am still slightly concerned with passport durability, but considering they suggest stacking I think it will be fine, (I've done way too much research, and can't find any issues). There is a 10.5 passport that is lighter, but the 12' just seems the way to go, especially if you can lend a hand.

Oh and I also really like the Revolution if money is no object, If you are on the ocean I am guessing its fast and sleek. I preferred storage capacity and stability of passport and compass, but the revolution is a pretty yak.

See if she can test drive one- I would be surprised if she didn't love the hobie pedal drive, and guess she would be surprised how quick even the clunky ones are.

Don't be distracted by pictures of optional fishing accessories that pander to the overwhelming fishing demographic. One approach is to focus on light weight for arm-friendly handling at launch. The new Lynx seems to be the gamechanger being way below all but the inflatable iTreks. Go into the compare models mode to cross reference fitted weight https://www.hobie.com/product-compare/? ... ultralight

Unless you build a wooden kayak from plans or a kit with a mirage drive installation, the longest skinniest pedal kayak offered ready to go today is Revolution 13. Revo13 can be found used fairly easy. You might find an older Revolution 16/Adventure (basically center hull of Adventure Island) but those are getting up there for weight.

For lightness, the inflatable have the edge. However, it might depend on your definition of fast. I have an i11s, with the kick up fins. It's been replaced with the iTrek11, without kick up fins. After going up Citico Creek off Tellico without using the paddle, thank you fluttering the peddles and kick up fins, ( edit: oops, looks like no 180) my friends and I needed to scoot around some paddle kayak anglers. They had the look on their faces of "what the heck is that pool float with a beach chair on top thing?" When I laid on the peddles "F..!! that's fast!!!" As I zipped off. It will initially accelerate well but hits a bow wave water wall by 6mph. Friend with a 14' skinny paddle kayak will pass me with a higher top speed leaving no wake when I hit the wall after out accelerating him. If you want covering distance fast, I'd go with the Revolution or Adventure Island and remove all the sailing gear when she wants to kayak tour.

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2020 i11s with kick-up fins. Whew, timed that perfect!!

The board style kayak will probably gain popularity. It saves the complications or poor performance of scuppers for the sit-on design. The ends are less easily knocked about by broach threatening waves. It's not a fast design, but with pedals you kind of make up with relentless effortless power which needs less breaks. I don't like the way waves can batter cargo on deck.


Really, no kick up? The iTrek pages seem contradictory, with just GT in their specs but 2 mentions of GT kickup on the mirage insert banners.

Oops, now I see it listed as having GT with kickup fins, not just the GT drive. Also shows a picture of MD180 with kickup but no mention of having the 180. Guess we need to wait until 2022 to see what they actually show up with. ???

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2020 i11s with kick-up fins. Whew, timed that perfect!!

LOL, that’s me 100%

Haven’t posted on these forums in years, but when I saw this question, I thought I should add my two cents.

Just like your wife, I have had shoulder surgery, great ROM, but can’t paddle a conventional kayak. When I first came across a Hobie mirage back in 2008, I was sold on the concept. Rented one of the inflatable ones for a few hours and knew I would buy a Hobie mirage kayak one day.

As it happened, my husband found an ‘09 demo at a local shop 10(?)years ago. Since the price was right, and it was the only demo they had available, I tested it for an hour and knew right away this was the one for me.
It was fast, comfortable, felt solid, secure, and seaworthy and has tons of storage. I know it has a “narrow” width at 27.5”, but with a low center of gravity, I have never felt it was tippy and even got on and off it from alongside a dock. My kayak was pre “vantage” seats.

I have taken the Adventure out in fairly rough coastal waters (San Francisco bay) and off shore in SoCal. It punches though waves and chop easily, whereas my husband’s Revolution 13 rides over them. Against the wind and tides, I will easily stay ahead of him. The Revo 13 has a better turning radius. Both kayaks have been outfitted with turbo fins and larger rudder.

The Adventure tracks very well due to its length which is a huge plus if you DO have to paddle it which will undoubtedly happen.

Weight: The Hobie kayaks have definitely gone up in weight over the years and I won’t lie: it can be a chore to wrangle two kayaks on top of a truck, but with two people it is not bad at all. My Adventure is lighter than the new models, so if your wife wants a fast kayak, you could look into getting a pre- 2014 Adventure. I believe my Adventure weighs in at 62 lbs, which is the weight of a new Revo 11!





We’ve gone kayak camping and have more than enough room for all our gear. A small cooler easily fits on the storage area behind the seat.

I have a sail kit too. It’s a lot of fun sailing the Adventure as it tracks very well, but this is where you will experience more side to side movement than the wider yaks. I never got the side kicks that will give you that extra security, but then again, the Adventure is the only stand-alone model with a dagger board slot.