2018 Hull colors

Are there only two hull colors available for 2018? Thanks

Yes - Dune and Hibiscus. (Papaya was discontinued for Islands in 2018 - sorry.)

_________________
Jacques Bernier
http://www.hobie.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HobieCatCompany

My opinion is it's a shame they discontinued the yellow (papaya) color. Out of the 8 or so Hobies we have owned all but 1 were yellow. We did own a red (hybiscus) Oasis for a few years, but we hated it because if it sat in the hot Florida sun it would get too hot to sit in quickly. Also the boat color was fading in the hot intense Florida sun, (pretty obvious). Also as a plastics expert ( I work for one of the biggest plastics color providers, (my day job)). I know red to be the worst color of all pigments to resist sun damage, (our red uv package is the most difficult and expensive, we cringe when people ask for it (lol).
I never liked the dune color specifically because out in open water from my eyes anyway the dune boats are much more difficult to see offshore.
Islands are very popular down here in Florida, I think we have a higher concentration of Island type boat over anywhere else, (because kayaking and sailing is a very popular year round activity down here because we are by the ocean and it's warm all year round).
Of the many Island type boats I have seen down here, 3/4 of them are yellow over the last 7-8 yrs, we have owned three, (all yellow), and 7 of our last 8 hobies were all yellow because we feel yellow has the highest visibility of all the available colors. There are tons of powerboats and go fast boats around here, we have had many close calls with powerboats, and I want to be easily seen out on the water.
Please bring back the yellow.
FE

FE +1

Yes, I too find it amazing that Hobie would discontinue the papaya (yellow) hull color. Why? All my Islands have been yellow except for my dune 2015 AI2...I wanted a little more stealth with that boat. Yellow is the easiest color to see on the water if you want to avoid boat to boat collisions or simply being found if you are drifting. Like the disappearing side handles, the disappearance of the papaya hull color is mystifying.

Keith

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2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

Maybe they are awaiting the release of the new Super Excursion series Ilands, and the only color available will be yellow.... and they want to clear the floor of all the other yellow islands so there is a clear difrenciation between the regular island and the new super island when it comes.
Hopefully the way to tell the difference will the color and handles ( for portage).
Of course if the new boat has a really cool paint and decal scheme like the Americas cup special wave series, and if the yellow clashes with the cool paint scheme, I can live without the yellow (lol).
FE

FE + 1 too.

In the twenty years of buying kayaks, I've always bought yellow. They are just much more visible on the water than any other color.