Depending on how my upcoming visit to the orthopedic doc goes, I’m thinking about getting a pedal type fishing kayak for both leisure type cruising and fishing. Currently thinking along the lines of either a Hobie Outback or Old Town “Sportsman” 120…
I’ve got a July 6 appointment with the orthopedic doc and it won’t surprise me a bit if he recommends at least a replacement of my right knee….
My little JRT would be going with me….

I loved my Hobie 14' Angler, but it was a genuine chore to get that beast up on top of my SUV. Now that the Hobie patent has expired, there are several other companies making pedal-style 'yaks. A small trailer is the best option for any of them. Next best is sliding them into a truck bed.

As to pedaling effort, it is no more stressful than walking.

Last year we encountered a guy in one and he had a problem. He had a pulley on the stern for his anchor. He was in the middle of the lake and anchored. He had too small of a rope on the anchor and it had wedged down between the pulley and the housing. He couldn't go up or down with it. He was way overweight and it was impossible for him to turn around on the boat to reach the pulley without swamping it. In short, he was literally dead in the water. He couldn't go anywhere. We we just paddled up behind him, jerked the rope out of the pulley, and he was good to go.

Pedal kayaks are a great way to get out on the water. They are so much more efficient than a paddle yak, and the hands free fishing is fantastic. For someone with a bum shoulder, they are certainly a relief! I have two. A Hobie Compass and a Native Slayer Propel 10. The Propel 10 is the lightest pedal drive on the market, coming in under 60 pounds sans pedal drive. I find myself using it more often than the Hobie. The Hobie is a much better big water boat though.

I like them and looked at then real hard but the weight of them was problem. There are heavy and you are not carrying them far if at all. 1/2 of the water that I fish is difficult to get to. My kayak (perception 10.5 angler) weights 50lbs and I can carry it a good ways from the truck over some very unfriedly ground. The sit on top pedal yaks start at about 100 pounds. You need wheels on one end to move them far by yourself. Loading them on top of vehicle is another story! They do have some very confortable seats and you can stand up on them. Last they cost at least 1K or more!

Nice pic… weight in a big consideration but so is the ability to order parts for the pedal drive if needed. I think Hobie is the only one that you can rebuild if needed. Old Town at least has a 5 year warranty on the pedals.

No, you're still really, really wrong on that, you're peddling poor information.

They are by FAR not more efficient, they are considerably more expensive, and weigh a lot more than your adverage paddle style kayak.
Weight is EVERYTHING when you're trying to manually move a small boat through the water under human power.

We've put this to the test, in windy conditions a pedal style kayak will be blowing out to sea while a paddle style kayak will bring you safely to shore.
If you ever find yourself battling a tide or current along with wind, you're really screwed.

If a guy suffers arm, shoulder, back or any other upper body limitations and chooses a pedal style kayak for that reason he'd better plan on trailering it to a boat ramp for putting in and taking out because he's never going to be able to hustle one of the heavy sob's around with the limitations that prompted him to buy such a beast.

You like to pedal your bike so naturally you'd prefer to pedal your boat. Sell them for what they are but more efficient they will never be.

Gotta ask, have you ever used one? I’ve known two people who had them and claimed they were a game changer for kayaking any distance. I realize paddles MAY be more efficient, but a persons leg muscles are by far stronger than arm shoulder… unless maybe you walk around on your hands for a mile or two every day.

Respectfully disagree with some of what you say, Jeff. I think the many guys who pedal Hobies miles out to sea from La Jolla would, too.

Where you are correct is that sit-on-tops are heavy and hard to maneuver - on land. On water, the biggest factor in battling wind is your own body acting like a sail. That would be identical for a pedal or paddle SOT kayak. And the pedal drive IS more efficient than a paddle. In my own experience, when I've tried both the Hobie drive and a paddle in the same conditions, the paddle came out woefully short on progress made versus energy expended, and was a lot slower, too. I carried a standard two-ended kayak paddle as a backup, but would never choose it over the Hobie drive.

Kayak Wheeled Dolly

Trailer Hitch Bed Extender

Got both at Fleet Farm cheap - to save back

My wife uses and loves a Perception “Crank 10.0” pedal kayak. It is much quicker on the water than I expected. It easily keeps up with me in my solo canoe and with folks paddling a kayak. It seems perfect for hands free fishing but I haven’t tried it for that. I’m a traditionalist and really like my canoe. The pedal kayak is heavy (not 100 pounds) and is not a shallow water boat since the prop is underneath and needs to be raised when the water is shallow. My wife always has a standard kayak paddle in the boat for use when necessary but she says the pedal boat is much less nimble than a standard kayak when using the paddle.

No place for the dog, guns, fishin poles….

All boats, regardless of size, are compromises. Just which traits do you want in a boat? Hint: inexpensive and/or lightweight pretty much rule out a majority of pedal boats ( boats, not kayaks. If you can’t Eskimo roll it, it’s not a kayak…)

That’s not to say one might just not be perfect for your needs, but again, all boats are compromises….

MM, I had below-deck storage for seven rods, and vertical holders for two more. I could carry my grandson on a cooler behind me - or a dog if I had one. Also built-in storage for seven tackle boxes with room for three more under the seat. That Hobie Pro Angler was a fishing machine.

That PA with the 360 drive would be nice, but I’m still gonna have to wait until I see the orthopedic surgeon and see what he thinks. Right now, and for the past couple weeks, I’ve been pretty much a cripple. I’ve known my knees were bad for the past twenty years but didn’t realize just how bad they were until I quit smoking and started exercising a little bit…. The good news is that I’ve managed to get my blood pressure down to what it was 50 years ago
This morning it was 112/63

I most sincerely wish you the best of luck, MM.

Heavy and gay.

Just kidding, they are great for fishing.

I have a Riot mako 12, it weighs about 75lbs, not to bad, I can cruise close to 3 mph easily and really push it to 3.5ish, on big water I can make a 5 mile run in about 2 hours leisurely. It has reverse so I can fish and maneuver, I can stand up and fish if I want.

I thought they went out of business but either they revamped or were bought out and reopened. The newer models are a bit more expensive, 1600.

Kent

Pedal kayaks are great for fishing the Gulf coast estuary’s. Hands free to fish, surprising “sea” worthy and not as tiring as working a paddle. When I lived in Florida they were the thing and used by a lot of fisherman and sightseers.
What’s not to like, rent one and try it out.

I've used the hobbies and the old Town I think old Town is definitely the way to go.

That is badass!

Looking good. I wish I had that and you had a feather, Paul.

Kayaks hurt my old back and I have a 22' boat that runs in 4" of water.

All of the serious kayak guys around here (Texas Gulf Coast) have peddlers.

Dinner

Thanks I caught the two of these in Panama after my accident, not bad for 7 fingers and no assistance. And they were released to fight another day

Been doing any good on the specks?

Never tried the kayak but I know some guys that use them and like them, especially the peddle style. I still fish out of a float tube since I like the ability to put in anywhere and I can air it down and carry it easily in the back seat of my F250. I can literally be fishing anywhere in 5 minutes.

I think you mean the serious *fishing* kayak guys.

Kent, Riot is part of Kayak Distribution which is the parent of several brands which includes Boreal Design

They seem to be pretty fast when needed.



This was filmed just a couple of miles from where I am sitting tonight.

I don't know squat about kayaks but a bunch of years ago before I got remarried, I was convinced by this little hottie that I was banging to go "cabrewing." Pack a bunch of sandwiches for snacks and mostly beer. Sounded like a good time until we got there and I realized the route was 11 miles and the river had absolutely no flow to it. Naturally she didn't row even the slightest bit but I remember daydreaming about how I'd give my left testicle for that canoe to turn into a pedal boat. I drunk enough beer that I should have been toasted but I burned it out via sweat the whole time and looked like a lobster when I got home. I like the pedal idea.

The outback is the biggest model that I would get. It is 80# ish.
I got the 2018 model,it is lighter then the newest model outback . If you are freshwater /bay fishing it is great. If however you are beach/ surf launching it is too big and slow. They handle big seas very well. And are comfortable. If you can, try one out.

Try out pedal and paddle yaks if you possibly can before you buy. I’ve fished from both. For warm calm water I like a sit on top and would consider pedal. Cold PNW, sit inside for me. Weight is a HUGE factor for me since I cartop and don’t want to mess with a trailer. If I trailer I’ll go to a motor boat.

I have two sit inside kayaks (SINKs) and love them, but my use is likely different from yours: BIG cold northern river with swift current, often in rain. Have done some salt water fishing for salmon and kelp fish in BC and WA State.

I fished a Hobie pedal kayak in an East Coast salt water bay for stripers and blues. Excellent boat for that use, mild currents, inside water with no big waves, and hands free for fishing. Downsides to the Hobie pedal boat: WEIGHT for solo car topping, complexity of the pedal mechanism (which went wonky and my partner had to come fix for me) and depth of draft in shallow water inshore.

I knew I would be solo cartopping, sometimes on rough logging roads, so set my upper weight limit of 40 lbs. for my yak. One of my boats weighs 41 and the other about 30. (I liked it enough to fudge one pound.) Both are 13’ 3.”

In my cold rivers and PNW salt water I prefer the warmth and spray skirt of a sit inside, the instant steering and control I have with a paddle, and the slightly more stable and lower wind profile that sitting below the waterline creates.

Problem is, kayaking is addictive. I bought mine as a gift to myself after recovering from two years of surgeries, misery and blindness. Most fun toy I ever bought. Enjoy!

We fish in mostly shallow water. I have a paddle yak where as my buddy has a peddle. Like most equipment peddle drives are not created equally. He can kick my butt into the wind. But I am a larger man than him. He likes his but he have to pull the drive up in real shallow areas.
As far as weight his yak doesnt seem any heavier than mine as he doesn't put the drive into the yak until he is in the water. I can see the advantage of a good peddle drive with reverse for fishing. Especially when hooked up to a big snook in the mangroves. Being about to back off and give yourself some room is key. Open water or drifting flats I don't see any big advantage. I might try one on my next yak. If there is one.

PS. When I started I transported my yak on the roof of my Ford Expedition. Big yak . A Ocean Big Game 2. About 12’7” long rigged out at 95 lbs. A pick up truck is the way to go for me. Trailers are great but around here it can be hard to find parking for them at the landings. Guys are complaining all the time. Theres not aways a place to hose saltwater off so your dripping saltwater down on your vehicle if you mount on top. That bothers some people. I have a Silverado crew cab short bed and I strap it in there on top of moving blankets with the tailgate down. I hook a flashing bike light on the back. I got a dolly in case I have to unload and walk it to the landing. Im looking at a new dolly now as I want one that the yak sits on and is strapped down rather than through the scupper holes.

I have been intrigued with the fishing yaks for several years , have not tried one yet! Several months ago I was given a promotion (still crap pay)and am now building composite canoes for a new start up in the region. Still perfecting my tradecraft( I knew nothing when I started). The lightest boat we build is 16' single, 32 lbs. I would do a few things different if I build one for myself, but have yet to get one in the water. The bosses get to do all the testing, but I plan to rectify that!