PADDLE, PEDAL OR MOTOR—THE
CHOICE IS HIS, OR HERS. PHOTO: COURTESY OF HOBIE FISHING
FISH FRIENDLY FEATURES: [S P LAS H] DOUBLE TROUBLE
I had to stand in line to get my first ride in Hobie’s 17T tandem kayak. The boat was at Outdoor Retailer’s Summer Market Demo Day (the largest outdoor tradeshow in the world) and it was getting a lot of attention. When my turn came, I grabbed the guy standing next to me and we pushed off onto Pineview Reservoir outside Salt Lake City. The 17T is 17 feet long, 43.5 inches wide and weighs over 200 pounds fully rigged. At first glance, it doesn’t look like a kayak. But on the water, Hobie’s engineering makes the two-seater fast, quiet and easy to operate—a worthy complement to their long line of pedal-driven boats. My pedaling partner and I started out
using the Vantage XT seats in the forward facing position. With both of us working our legs at a good clip, the boat zipped across the choppy lake. Turn the rudder and the boat responds with a surprisingly tight turn. Then, the guy in the bow reversed the front seat to face the stern and changed the MirageDrive to the “social” seating po- sition. Looking my new friend in the eye, we couldn’t help but try to out-pedal each other until laughter made it impossible to kick. The seats can also be arranged for a
Hobie Fishing 17T tandem floats like a boat and stings like a kayak
single pedaler working from the center of the boat. While the 17T is fun to pedal, the boat is built for fishing. Start with 10 horizontal rod holders and four molded-in vertical holders. Add Hobie’s new H-Rail accessory mount- ing system running up each gunnel of the kayak. Anglers can attach a rod holder, cup holder or tackle tray anywhere along the H-Rail. Fans of Hobie’s Pro Angler will appreciate the high gunnels and flat floor. Three flat hatches in the deck allow the 17T to be packed with a week’s worth of camp- ing gear and a covered front hatch with a removable liner is perfectly sized for a fam- ily picnic. There is even a battery compart- ment and available motor mount to convert the 17T into a proper motorboat. The line of people waiting for a ride was getting longer, so we pedaled back to the beach. I could picture families load- ing the 17T with a day’s worth of adven- ture and professional guides pedaling their clients to the most remote skinny water. From the looks of the queue at the launch, a lot of people were sold on the 17T. RIC BURNLEY
• Fully adjustable Vantage XT Seats
• H-Rail cup
holders, horizontal rod racks and mounting plates
• MirageDrive with ST Turbo Fin
• Pivoting Tackle Management System
Hobie 17T SPECS
Length: Width: Weight:
Capacity: Price:
17’ 43.5”
244 lbs 900 lbs $5,399
www.hobiefishing.com www.kayakanglermag.com…61
DIGITAL EXTRA: Click here to watch the 17T in action.
• Tracking skeg
• Large rectangular hatches
• Front hatch with removable liner
• H-Rail
• Horizontal rod storage for 10 rods
• Molded-in vertical rod storage
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