Bought a New Kayak for the 09 Season
 

After fishing a blue Hobie Adventure for the past 2 years I decided to give another model a try.
I bought a new 09 Revolution (in blue).

Someone made me an offer on my Adventure and the timing seemed right.

There are a few things I had come to appreciate about the Revo.
Easier access to the front hatch on the water. A slightly drier ride, its maneuverability, and all the new improvements for 09.

I was kind of sad to see the old boat go, but I will get over that as soon as I get the 1st hook up on the new boat.

Sweet. I think that will be my next swap or upgrade too:D

LUCKY!

Right on! :cheers1:

Hey Billy,

I have an '08 Revo. I have not kept up on the changes. What did Hobie do to improve this kayak. I heard that they planned to fix the rudder raising system. Anything else?

Bob

Hobie made quite a few design changes for 09, some are major improvements.

The good news is that some of these upgrades can be retrofitted to earlier models.

1. Hobie has redesigned the Mirage drive in a couple of areas, they no longer have a set screw holding the mast into the sprockets. Now the mast rod is threaded into the sprockets and is received by a brass insert. Its a very solid fit and does not loosen up.

They also redesigned the drums to eliminate pedal shaft twist, and to promote better pin engagement. The new drums also make it easier to lace up with drive cables.
All 3 of these new parts can be retrofitted to your 08 mirage drive.

2. There are no longer Cam Knobs in the drive well, now Hobie uses a drop in system that operates similar to how your car door locks against a pin.
Click-and-go. The drive locks into a set of stainless brackets on both sides.
They also beefed up the drive well area to accept the new hardware.
-This new system is not upgradable to older models.

3. The rudder system is all new. There is a separate up / down handle to raise and lower the rudder. Each operate off their own pulley system, and the rudder can be locked into the down position. This new system give positive engagement when lifting or lowering the rudder.
I heard hobie is working on a retrofit kit for earlier models.
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Nate from OEX shot a vid of an 09 model that covers most of what I just wrote.

Check it out here...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C54dp4ka06k

Both the drive receiver upgrade and the rudder upgrade make a world of difference!
I tried everything in my 08... I tightened the lines, loosened the lines, etc. I could not for the life of me get the rudder to work well in any situation where there was any heavy pressure on the rudder... it would just lift, causing the steering to become sluggish and in extreme situations non-existent. With the new 09 system the rudder not only has a little catch to help lock the rudder into place it clamps off the rudder down line so that it is solid. I use a sailing rudder now and I can turn on a dime, even in the most demanding situations with no steering loss at all.
The new drive is especially helpful when coming in in the surf. I go in as far as I think it is safe to at full bore then just lift the peddals out and use the paddle to guide me in the last few feet without ever losing the inertia from the peddles. It's pretty slick! Easy in, easy out.:D