Lake craft recommendation

Northern said:
@wanderingrichard
Oh, and re the weight of the Hobie -
Yep, it's heavy. Too heavy for my 5'3", pushing-60 self to be lifting onto anything!
I have a double kayak trailer, with a second Hobie hull (my husband's) usually occupying the other side for towing balance.
It makes launching & retrieving a breeze. A thru-scupper wheel cart is easy to pop under it if an actual boat launch isn't available where I want to fish.

A bonus feature of having the big drive hole thru the middle of the kayak is that it's easy to cable it down for theft prevention
Click to expand...
I just slide the Hobie into and out of the bed of my pickup, which is easy using a Hobie scupper cart. With the tailgate down about four feet of kayak hangs out the back....which is supported by a couple of NRS straps hooked onto a climbing sling looped around the end of the kayak. I can carry both Hobies in the same manner.

Putting a Hobie (or any of my other kayaks) on a roof rack just ain't gonna happen for this 73 year man!

Carrying my Ocean Prowler BGII 13' kayak in a similar fashion below...
20220425_081703.jpg
 
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Northern said:
@wanderingrichard
Oh, and re the weight of the Hobie -
Yep, it's heavy. Too heavy for my 5'3", pushing-60 self to be lifting onto anything!
I have a double kayak trailer, with a second Hobie hull (my husband's) usually occupying the other side for towing balance.
It makes launching & retrieving a breeze. A thru-scupper wheel cart is easy to pop under it if an actual boat launch isn't available where I want to fish.

A bonus feature of having the big drive hole thru the middle of the kayak is that it's easy to cable it down for theft prevention
Click to expand...
Yeah I definitely know they're heavy. My old T15 weighs 74 lbs with just the seat, paddle and rigging. By comparison a hobie roughly the same size from the same time period ('08-09) weighed roughly 90lbs. And suffered major drive well cracks. And didn't go in reverse.

Remember, kayak fishing is supposed to be simple, fun, amd relatively cheap. With the following as an example of what NOT to call a kayak

 
wanderingrichard said:
Yeah I definitely know they're heavy. My old T15 weighs 74 lbs with just the seat, paddle and rigging. By comparison a hobie roughly the same size from the same time period ('08-09) weighed roughly 90lbs. And suffered major drive well cracks. And didn't go in reverse.

Remember, kayak fishing is supposed to be simple, fun, amd relatively cheap. With the following as an example of what NOT to call a kayak

Click to expand...

Some of the fishing kayaks are so big and wide that they actually can't be paddled...which means you could be in a world of hurt if the drive breaks down or your battery powered motor ceases to function.

I think the emphasis on being able to stand up and carry tons of gear has resulted in the creation of 'kayaks' that are basically mini-bass boats.
 
krusty said:
Some of the fishing kayaks are so big and wide that they actually can't be paddled...which means you could be in a world of hurt if the drive breaks down or your battery powered motor ceases to function.

I think the emphasis on being able to stand up and carry tons of gear has resulted in the creation of 'kayaks' that are basically mini-bass boats.
Click to expand...
Absolutely agree. If you want a bass boat, buy a bass boat.
 
Coming off one of the volcano lakes yesterday, mid 50's or so couple had gotten to the ramp about 10 mins before me were in the other launch lane still stripping down accessories off of what were fully loaded Hobie peddle kayaks so they could lift them onto the cab high truck bed rack. Had my boat retrieved, strapped and the folks had one kayak up on the racks and were starting to push the other one up from behind. Back and shoulders ached just looking at them.
Conversely, was on Crane Prairie a few years back on the Cultus Channel, middle aged guy with only one arm was out fishing from his pedal kayak with spinning gear, had a hook on the end of it that he slipped under his belt while pinching the length between his knees so he could spin with his hand. .
Wondered HTH was he going to retrieve it, so when he was headed in I reeled up and followed behind thinking I'd offer a hand. Dude lands and walks off, a few minutes later he's backing down a flatbed one ton with an electric side mounted arm winch, clips a hook strap onto front and back, has it on the flatbed in minutes.
 
SurfnFish said:
Coming off one of the volcano lakes yesterday, mid 50's or so couple had gotten to the ramp about 10 mins before me were in the other launch lane still stripping down accessories off of what were fully loaded Hobie peddle kayaks so they could lift them onto the cab high truck bed rack. Had my boat retrieved, strapped and the folks had one kayak up on the racks and were starting to push the other one up from behind. Back and shoulders ached just looking at them.
Conversely, was on Crane Prairie a few years back on the Cultus Channel, middle aged guy with only one arm was out fishing from his pedal kayak with spinning gear, had a hook on the end of it that he slipped under his belt while pinching the length between his knees so he could spin with his hand. .
Wondered HTH was he going to retrieve it, so when he was headed in I reeled up and followed behind thinking I'd offer a hand. Dude lands and walks off, a few minutes later he's backing down a flatbed one ton with an electric side mounted arm winch, clips a hook strap onto front and back, has it on the flatbed in minutes.
Click to expand...
I've long operated on the axiom that anything that's difficult to use soon sits permanently idle.

My neighborhood is full of beautiful powerboats and RVs that haven't been used in years....and I suspect that much of stuff that resides in RV storage facilities suffers the same fate.
 
SurfnFish said:
Coming off one of the volcano lakes yesterday, mid 50's or so couple had gotten to the ramp about 10 mins before me were in the other launch lane still stripping down accessories off of what were fully loaded Hobie peddle kayaks so they could lift them onto the cab high truck bed rack. Had my boat retrieved, strapped and the folks had one kayak up on the racks and were starting to push the other one up from behind. Back and shoulders ached just looking at them.
Conversely, was on Crane Prairie a few years back on the Cultus Channel, middle aged guy with only one arm was out fishing from his pedal kayak with spinning gear, had a hook on the end of it that he slipped under his belt while pinching the length between his knees so he could spin with his hand. .
Wondered HTH was he going to retrieve it, so when he was headed in I reeled up and followed behind thinking I'd offer a hand. Dude lands and walks off, a few minutes later he's backing down a flatbed one ton with an electric side mounted arm winch, clips a hook strap onto front and back, has it on the flatbed in minutes.
Click to expand...
Good on ya for caring enough to want to offer help. Lots of peeps wouldn't

Knew an old man who owned a rock quarry. Drove a 10 speed manual shift Mack dump truck, ran a 10 ton HOUGH scoop loader etc.. Had lost the lower portion of his left arm to a rock crusher in his 20's.
Hunted deer with a pump shotgun. Not much stopped him.
 
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