2019 Hobie Outback

[rogerdodger]

Lots of buzz in the kayak fishing community about the 2019 Hobie Outback and for good reason. I wanted a fast, stable boat with room up front for all my gear, including 2 crab pots on the bow, leaving the back deck clear for a large canine companion. First outing was 6 hours on Siltcoos and this boat did not disappoint.



It glides and goes as expected, sides are low (it's like they sliced 3" right off the top), It is so nice to have steering control on both sides again and the drop down rudder does not disappoint, this boat tracks and turns better than either my PA12 or Oasis.. The rectangular hatch that opens with a smooth 1/4 turn is way better than the round ones that would get sand in the o-rings and become hard to open..

Wind came up in the afternoon and organized some small whitecaps, I 'quartered' them at speed for a while and the bow split them nicely, sending all the spray off to the side. This is going to be a great ocean boat.

Here is the video from our first test outing:

https://youtu.be/q0hMrdWc7VQ

A cool new feature is a retractable transducer mount in the hull, this lets you mount larger wide angle sonar and side-scanning transducers on the bottom (where they are most effective) and then retract them into the hull for transport or sliding along sand or boat launches. I went with a Lowrance Hook2 5" with the triplescan transducer (sonar, downscan, and side-scan), here it is mounted on the retractable thing:

https://youtu.be/V7P5EOUCPUA

I also cut some lightweight outdoor carpet to fit the back deck to provide solid footing for Pepper, next step is putting some salmon, lingcod, rockfish, and crab on the boat. cheers, roger

 

[GaryP1958]

Any Coho around yet?

 

[rogerdodger]

Any Coho around yet?

Nope

 

[hobster]

Nice Roger! Did you paint the front yourself?

 

[rogerdodger]

Nice Roger! Did you paint the front yourself?

"Flying Tigers" decals, think I got them from eBay.

Sure enjoyed that Duck game today!

 

[hobster]

Right on, so this replaces the "coho bandit" correct?

Duck game was awesome! We actually headed out to your neck of the woods after the game, camped at Tahkenitch for the night and tried out our new canoe. Caught a couple of rainbows trolling but no luck with the bass. A little windy but the mad river did great and we had a lot of fun!

It's on next week! Just read ESPN gameday will be at Pullman for the first time ever to witness the Ducks hammer the Cougs

 

[rogerdodger]

Correct, sold the "coho bandit", this new Outback weighs 20# less, lets me do more (crab and bottom fish with Pepper on board and take her with me out of Sunset Bay), plus has so many improvements and upgrades. The evolution of these SOT boats keeps reducing what is above water and refining the bottom hull design so they glide, track, and steer better, while being wider and more stable. Really amazing.

And ESPN College Gameday coming to Pullman!

 

[bass]

Congrats on the new yak, that really looks sweet! I am definitely tempted to upgrade my 2011 Outback to one of these. The plan would be to use the: "Son, it is time for you to have your own Hobie" and let my son use the 2011.

I am really impressed with the speed! I think my Outback is a really nice stable fishing platform but it is hard to get it to 4mph without working like a dog and I don't know that I ever hit 5mph without a serious tailwind.

The layout and built in trays and nooks all look really nice.My only real concern is legroom. Being over 6' 3" I am a bit scrunched up in my Outback. Do you know have any idea the legroom compares to the older Outbacks?

Lat question, is the transducer easy to remove? I share my FF among multiple craft and would really want to be able to easily move between them.

 

[rogerdodger]

Congrats on the new yak, that really looks sweet! I am definitely tempted to upgrade my 2011 Outback to one of these. The plan would be to use the: "Son, it is time for you to have your own Hobie" and let my son use the 2011.

I am really impressed with the speed! I think my Outback is a really nice stable fishing platform but it is hard to get it to 4mph without working like a dog and I don't know that I ever hit 5mph without a serious tailwind.

The layout and built in trays and nooks all look really nice.My only real concern is legroom. Being over 6' 3" I am a bit scrunched up in my Outback. Do you know have any idea the legroom compares to the older Outbacks?

Lat question, is the transducer easy to remove? I share my FF among multiple craft and would really want to be able to easily move between them.

Not sure how the legroom compares, I am 6' even and setting '5' was perfect for me.

The cable pass throughs are easy to remove, lower one takes the cable into the hull the other brings it out up top by the display, no sealer goop required, probably take 15 to 20 minutes to remove the transducer. I wouldn't want to move it back and forth between boats often but no issues doing it now and then.

 

[bass]

Thanks Roger! I am not moving the FF on a weekly basis but rather a handful of times a year. Sounds like that would not be too onerous. I will schedule a test drive (likely next spring or summer) with Next Adventure and decide if I think it is worth the upgrading.

 

[rogerdodger]

Thanks Roger! I am not moving the FF on a weekly basis but rather a handful of times a year. Sounds like that would not be too onerous. I will schedule a test drive (likely next spring or summer) with Next Adventure and decide if I think it is worth the upgrading.

The pass through covers, each one takes 3 'plugs', are excellent, you get a whole variety of 'plugs' for different diameter cables, some even have 2 holes that match the Lowrance transducer and power cable pair exactly. Well done by Hobie.

 

[rogerdodger]

in this image, I circled the pass through covers in red, the one under the seat takes the transducer cable into the hull and then the one on the left side brings the power and transducer cable out to the display (there is one of these on the other side of the kayak. notice all the plugs laying on the deck, they cover every possible size cable...no need for any sealer, easy to make changes..

 

[pinstriper]

Thanks Roger! I am not moving the FF on a weekly basis but rather a handful of times a year. Sounds like that would not be too onerous. I will schedule a test drive (likely next spring or summer) with Next Adventure and decide if I think it is worth the upgrading.

Bass, I think the idea would be just buy another transducer and set of cables, then just move the battery and head unit between two boats. More than that is beyond my ambition, anyways.

 

[bass]

Thanks Roger! I watched an install video today and it looked pretty straightforward.

pinstriper, I have a fancy FF (Garmin 73SV Chirp with a GT52 Xducer). A second Xducer is a couple of hundred bucks. I don't think moving the Xducer is that hard Also as a side note, I think that FF has greatly increased my fishing success. I think SideVu (whichever brand) is unbelievably helpful for bass and sturgeon.

 

[sergiol83]

Love the color! And a well equipped kayak. I was looking for a good sit on top fishing kayak and settled on the Angler Pro 12 last summer. No regrets whatsoever.

 

[sidetech]

Great setup! Exactly what I'm looking for (same kayak, or maybe the 2020 with the kickup fins, and rig it for fishing and a spot for our 45lb boxer). We are in Tualatin and would be on the river there. Also on the Willamette.

 

[rogerdodger]

Great setup! Exactly what I'm looking for (same kayak, or maybe the 2020 with the kickup fins, and rig it for fishing and a spot for our 45lb boxer). We are in Tualatin and would be on the river there. Also on the Willamette.

kick-up fins are sweet and I want them, at this point, I am hoping for Hobie to release a new design 2021 Revo13 next summer so that I can get a kick-up fin drive with one of those, and then use that drive on either my Outback or the new Revo...

as for the Outback, yeah, it's a great and very fishy boat...

 

[my2labs]

Lots of buzz in the kayak fishing community about the 2019 Hobie Outback and for good reason. I wanted a fast, stable boat with room up front for all my gear, including 2 crab pots on the bow, leaving the back deck clear for a large canine companion. First outing was 6 hours on Siltcoos and this boat did not disappoint.



It glides and goes as expected, sides are low (it's like they sliced 3" right off the top), It is so nice to have steering control on both sides again and the drop down rudder does not disappoint, this boat tracks and turns better than either my PA12 or Oasis.. The rectangular hatch that opens with a smooth 1/4 turn is way better than the round ones that would get sand in the o-rings and become hard to open..

Wind came up in the afternoon and organized some small whitecaps, I 'quartered' them at speed for a while and the bow split them nicely, sending all the spray off to the side. This is going to be a great ocean boat.

Here is the video from our first test outing:

A cool new feature is a retractable transducer mount in the hull, this lets you mount larger wide angle sonar and side-scanning transducers on the bottom (where they are most effective) and then retract them into the hull for transport or sliding along sand or boat launches. I went with a Lowrance Hook2 5" with the triplescan transducer (sonar, downscan, and side-scan), here it is mounted on the retractable thing:

I also cut some lightweight outdoor carpet to fit the back deck to provide solid footing for Pepper, next step is putting some salmon, lingcod, rockfish, and crab on the boat. cheers, roger

I am highly considering getting an ocean fishing kayak very soon. This thread is very informative.

since it is a bit aged, can you offer any updated advice for someone who is considering entering into this sport?

13’ Is that the target length?
I also would love to take my dog with me.
And yes, I’d intend to get a peddle capable kayak.

finally, not interested in spending $6k... as some seem to be priced so that needs to be considered.

Im going to research for quite some time first... OFF will be one part of that. But since I k ow many of you do this often, and I find this site reliable, any updated insight is appreciated.

Thanks.

 

[pinstriper]

There is some kayak fishing discussion hereabouts, but NWKA is a better resource and you will find some familiar faces over there.

 

[rogerdodger]

I am highly considering getting an ocean fishing kayak very soon. This thread is very informative.

since it is a bit aged, can you offer any updated advice for someone who is considering entering into this sport?

13’ Is that the target length?
I also would love to take my dog with me.
And yes, I’d intend to get a peddle capable kayak.

finally, not interested in spending $6k... as some seem to be priced so that needs to be considered.

Im going to research for quite some time first... OFF will be one part of that. But since I k ow many of you do this often, and I find this site reliable, any updated insight is appreciated.

Thanks.

I think 12' to 14' is what most people consider a good length for all purpose and ocean going kayaks. The width is a big factor in stability, for example, Hobie PA12 is 36" wide, Outback12.7' is 34", and Revo13 is 28.5" wide. Revo is fastest, Outback next fastest and actually more stable than the PA12 due to being lower and lighter.

I'm familiar with the Hobie line of boats, some of what you are paying for is how many fishing related features are built in. Compare the Outback12.7' ($2999) and Compass12' ($2099) and you will see this.

NWKA is a great forum to get really good input on boats, especially if you narrow down what you are considering. also a good place to get info on immersion gear and safety equipment, ocean launch points and even meet-ups and events. cheers, roger