Hobie revolution 13

[slothparade]

I decided to upgrade to a hobie revo 13, it has come with a bunch of star port mounts. 

I plan to take this offshore but have come to the conclusion, i need more rod holders. Im in the process of getting some to go on the gunnel but the question is how many. I have my transducer and fish finder on the gunnel, I have 2 gholds for horizontal rod storage during launch and re entry, so i have the ports which i can swap to rod holder. 

My main question is, should i make like rocket launcher holders and have like 4 rod holder, -1 for the net. this would be installed into the existing flush mounts, or should I use a crate or a bullhorn rod holder (beccomes a problem with outriggers but yeah). ant advice would be great.

Any other mods I should think about, this will be primarily use offshore but sometimes in esturarys. the front hatch has been moded to seal even better, ive lubed the 8' hatches so they close properly now. Ive turned the centre hatch around to face the seat so its easier to access and find things, theres a bar at the front, bolted and sealed which allows the kayak to be towed. plenty of leash clips. 

Im also looking at fish storage options, right now looking at a fish bag as eskys are out of the question. But finding the bags are pretty pricey so looking for other options or if anyone knows of a cheaper one please let me know. 

Another thing, I need a plastic welder near dural if anyone knows of any, would be great. 

[Green Hornet]

Congratulations on the Revo, I'm sure you'll learn to love it quickly and enjoy pedalling rather than paddling.

The rocket launcher behind the seat is a good start. They're cheap to make and keep your reels up away from splashes.

The general rule when applying mods to your kayak is not to rush into it. Take it out on a few trips to get a feel for where you'd want to place rod holders and any other equipment before you start drilling holes.

I'm not too sure if you can do it to a Revo, but one mod I did to my Outback that I really liked was replacing the circular, centre hatch with one of the larger, rectangular ones, as you find on the PA. With that extra bit of room and the larger storage bucket, I could keep 3 lure boxes plus other gear in there and I would never have to go opening the front hatch while on the water. 

Although they're expensive, I think a fish bag is the best way of keeping your catch in good condition. Look after it and it will last you many years.

Its also pretty easy to make your own coiled, rod leashes out of whipper snipper line. There's plenty of "how to's" on Youtube showing you how to do this. This is one of many. For offshore work, particularly if you plan on beach launching, everything should be leashed, including rods in the rocket launcher.

 

[frankS]

If you drill any holes in the Yak try and keep the shavings to act as filler for when you are welding the plastic.

Just need a decent soldering iron to plastic weld, and cable ties make excellent material for filler as does the dividers in the tackle plastic boxes.

Frank

[slothparade]

On 6/10/2022 at 7:22 AM, Green Hornet said:

Congratulations on the Revo, I'm sure you'll learn to love it quickly and enjoy pedalling rather than paddling.

The rocket launcher behind the seat is a good start. They're cheap to make and keep your reels up away from splashes.

The general rule when applying mods to your kayak is not to rush into it. Take it out on a few trips to get a feel for where you'd want to place rod holders and any other equipment before you start drilling holes.

I'm not too sure if you can do it to a Revo, but one mod I did to my Outback that I really liked was replacing the circular, centre hatch with one of the larger, rectangular ones, as you find on the PA. With that extra bit of room and the larger storage bucket, I could keep 3 lure boxes plus other gear in there and I would never have to go opening the front hatch while on the water. 

Although they're expensive, I think a fish bag is the best way of keeping your catch in good condition. Look after it and it will last you many years.

Its also pretty easy to make your own coiled, rod leashes out of whipper snipper line. There's plenty of "how to's" on Youtube showing you how to do this. This is one of many. For offshore work, particularly if you plan on beach launching, everything should be leashed, including rods in the rocket launcher.

 

Thanks 🎉 so excited to take it out. 

Done the calculations at about $25 for the rod holders and a couple of hours of work.yeah but with only 2 flush mount and no where to put a net it's a little hard. But I'm looking at moving the rails over form the old kayak. 

Probably my favourite part of the kayak is the weight, I can pick it up and move it around with ease. The worst part is definitely the hatches, I busy open my knuckles trying to open them everytime and put blood all through the kayak, just ruins the day. The seats comfortable, it's a little squeezy but I'm pretty tall. I find I like the seak more for other things like rivers and estuaries as it's got more primary stability and U can move around and stand in it and over pack the crap out of it with food, as those who've paddled with me know, in always snacking on something lol. It's hard when you have to pack a simple meal but you love cooking so you bring a stove to cook a steak on the kayak 🤣. Any tips to lube these hatches, I've tried lithium spray, now silicon spray, going to try dry lube if that doesn't work. 

Unfortunately the revo can't fit the rectangular hatch. Worst comes to worst. If it's rough coming back in, I can get my rods in the front hatch. Im coming up with a blocker to stop stuff from rolling around to much when inside the kayak. 

Yeah I guess so, you'd think maybe like $60 to $100 max, but no $300 to $500 🤬 im going to see if I can grab one from a kayak place on special for $150 or trade my commercial grade tuna bag for something smaller. 

I bought some leashes for like $1 each and they're really good. I'll make some diy ones for cheaper stuff like the net and stuff if I need. Thanks though. 

On a side note I 3d printed some railblaza stuff and it's better than expected. For the star port I did 30% infill for the body and 100% for the sliding thing locking mechanism. 

I need to get around to making a love bait tube and a flag and then printing a live bait tub or just a storage tub for the hatch. Where would you put your fish finder battery? I plan to put it in the back hatch so its out of the way.

Thanks again 

[slothparade]

21 hours ago, frankS said:

If you drill any holes in the Yak try and keep the shavings to act as filler for when you are welding the plastic.

Just need a decent soldering iron to plastic weld, and cable ties make excellent material for filler as does the dividers in the tackle plastic boxes.

Frank

Yeah it came with a box of them lol. But thanks. Also do you recon I could just melt 3d printed scraps of abs plastic? 

Wouldn't you need a like flat head for the soldering iron? Would've thought the nose is a bit pointy to do a nice even job? 

Ahh thanks for the tip with the cable ties, that's helpful to know. 

[frankS]

A flat blade is best and most irons have one you can change to. The 3d print material should be OK but just test it on a non vital area to be sure.

Let us know how you get on.

Frank

[Green Hornet]

I can’t say I ever needed to lubricate my hatch latches. Just a good hose down at the end of the day was all they needed. I’d say with yours, the silicone spray is a good idea though you may find Inox penetrates better to initially loosen things up.

Most guys run their fish finder battery in the rear hatch and if you want to keep it up off the bottom of the yak in case you get any water inside, you can get a purpose made hatch insert or modify the one that came with the Revo.

[slothparade]

21 hours ago, frankS said:

A flat blade is best and most irons have one you can change to. The 3d print material should be OK but just test it on a non vital area to be sure.

Let us know how you get on.

Frank

Ahh alright. So the flat blade is just an attachment right? Will do, abs is the same stuff Lego is made of. 

Will do. 

[slothparade]

20 hours ago, Green Hornet said:

I can’t say I ever needed to lubricate my hatch latches. Just a good hose down at the end of the day was all they needed. I’d say with yours, the silicone spray is a good idea though you may find Inox penetrates better to initially loosen things up.

Most guys run their fish finder battery in the rear hatch and if you want to keep it up off the bottom of the yak in case you get any water inside, you can get a purpose made hatch insert or modify the one that came with the Revo.

Ahh, sweet I'll get some inox. The hatches are weird, it's an absolute pain to close and open them until they are sprayed. Might think about replacing them though the back one which is the harder one to open and close is definitely pretty new. 

I'm getting ready to print one that will fit into the hatch and is suspended. Do you think a net on the inside of the hatch like stuck right on the bottom is a good idea like the PA has to put pliers and stuff in. 

Also do you recommend a create or the ticket launcher rod holders? Create means I cant really trawl with 2 rods but it does mean more storage for other things, or the rod rack means I can trawl, live bait, put the net and gaff in there. 

Considering I already do have a crate for the other kayak but I've only use it 2 times and I never actually stored anything in it. So I'm considering it it's even useful. What do people store in their crate? 

[Green Hornet]

Regarding the netting you mention, a great idea I saw was a cheap, flexible bucket from Bunnings cut down and fitted through the hatch. It offered stacks of accessible storage and waterproof as well.

Another great idea is on the vertical arms of your rocket launcher, incorporate a 45 degree junction fitting either side. Add a short length of straight PVC pipe to these and you have a rod holder sticking out both sides that are good for trolling. Just don’t go setting your drag too heavy.

You can then set the crate behind the rods and have the best of both worlds.