For those that follow my Instagram account this is no secret. For anyone that doesn’t, I have finally done it. I bought a pedal kayak, specifically a 2019 Hobie Revo 13. After searching around craigslist and FB Marketplace for a deal, I found a boat that checked my boxes out in Amsterdam NY. It was a floor model from last year at the Adirondack Kayak Warehouse. I spoke with the owner Joe Giardino and found out he actually had two of them; an interesting development. The Old Man has expressed some mild interest in joining me in my quest for a new boat and here was a chance to get a great deal on two boats that were brand new. It didn’t take much convincing and a few hours later we were driving over three hours to a small NY city north of Schenectady.
Joe and his son welcomed us at their showroom on a Sunday evening, after hours, and were more than accommodating. The boats looked beautiful and, to be honest, bit overwhelming. There is just so much more going on than in our old paddle boats. The boys at the shop were more than willing to answer any questions we had and before we knew it we were loaded up and heading home having just made one of the more expensive purchases in my life.
I have owned the boat now for one week. In that time I’ve had it on the water three times. I don’t even have rod holders on it yet, save the two molded in the hull behind the seat. I have experienced enough however to have some strong first impressions. I’m not going to get heavily into the specs of the boat as that information can be found all over the internet but I will explore what I like about it and some of its quirks.
1. I love pedaling. That’s not to say that I dislike paddling but for a fishing platform pedaling just can’t be beat. I have talked in the past about the gate keeping that happens in this sport. There are many who would have you think that a paddle kayak is unacceptable for a fishing platform. That couldn’t be further from the truth. I, and many that I fish with use or used paddle boats for years with great success. That being said, having gone to a pedal kayak I have seen the light. Because you can move and fish at the same time it opens up many locations for fishing that would be impossible if you were paddling. Already I have used it to to fight wind and strong current to achieve a slow drift across Black Sea bass grounds in Buzzards Bay and fight the fierce rips created by the western mouth of the Cape Cod Canal while being able to effectively and productively fish it.
2. This boat is fast. It really cuts through the water. Even paddling, which I anticipate I will do on occasion, is efficient. The hull is also light and fairly easy to maneuver on dry land thanks to the bow and stern handles as well as two very nice midship gunwale handles. The empty hull weighs about the same, if not slightly less than my old boat.
3. It is comfortable. The Vantage seat is very comfortable, much more so than my old molded seat. Keeping my butt up off the hull is so nice. In calm water, I’m dry. In my old boat I was wet no matter the conditions.
4. It is a wet ride. I was surprised at how wet it is. The bow of the boat is shaped so as to slice through the water however there is no flair at the top. This causes the bow to pierce through chop which then washes over the bow. The flat sides near the bow also seem to cause a decent amount of splash-over from cross waves. The dry butt I referenced above is nonexistent in choppier conditions. Water taken over the sides likes to collect in the seat well and soak my bottom. It is still far better than sitting on a soaked pad against the hull but I was anticipating a drier ride. The one disclaimer to this: there is a drain in the seat well. It theoretically works via the Venturi principal and sucks water out when the plug is lifted. I’m not sure why this method was chosen over standard scupper holes. It could be my weight as I am not a light man, but my drain does not seem to be very effective even when left open. I’m certainly not discounting user error and will continue to play with this to see if I can improve its performance. My initial impression is that that it is both over, and under, engineered.
5. Space is at a premium. When compared to a paddle kayak that has a lot of real estate in the cockpit, the revo can seem a bit cramped. It is a machine meant for the minimalist fisher. If you look at an Outback, there is so much space on the sides to make up for the lack of space up front. This front space is of course occupied by the Mirage Drive. The Revo doesn’t have these side storage areas. Instead it is narrow, sleek and fast. I don’t mind this, I generally try to make my packing and rigging as efficient as possible. But, it will take some getting used to.
Obvious no boat is perfect. Sacrifices in one area will always be necessary to accommodate features in another area. So far though I am in love with this boat. I cannot wait for my gear tracks to arrive I’m the mail so I can finish my rigging. Once I get the boat dialed I will really have a full appreciation for it. I am also still engineering my crate/bucket in the rear. I was never fully satisfied with my old bucket system and I hope I can make this one more efficient.
I hope this post was coherent as I’m running on about 6 hours of sleep for the weekend, I couldn’t stop fishing out of this new machine. Below are a few pictures of fish taken over the weekend.
Hook & Spoke 