Long Beach breakwall Satuday May 23 and 2014 Revo 13 review

[AirborneYak]

I picked up my revo 13 from Andy @ OEX and I was excited to take it out for my maiden voyage. I was deciding between Huntington harbor or the Long Beach break wall the following day.

I woke up around 0430 still undecided where to go. The weather report looked great and made my way to Claremont Pl in LBC for the launch. Two of LBC's finest was parked at the end of the roadway as I pulled up. I give them a nod as I exit my car and walk to the shore to take a look at the waves coming in. It was low tide, surf small and the water calm in the morning horizon. It looked to be a perfect morning.

As I was unloading the Revo 13, I immediately appreciate the ~10 lbs and the 5" width difference from my Outback. Although the Revo is about a foot longer than the OB, it didn't feel as cumbersome carrying it over head. Having just a 28" width on the R13, I was able to get a good and comfortable grip on each handle. Both hands on the grips and using the top of my head to take some of the load off the weight of the kayak, I was able to lower the R13 with great control to the ground. I have used the same method with my OB, but with it heavier and wider and I looked silly trying to regain my balance without smashing my car.

With my car parked in the parking stalls ( there wasn't any street parking), I make my way to the launch. Having the oversized beach wheels makes such a big difference carrying it through the sand. Hobie has reinforced the scuppers's with looks to be black PVC. I think Hobie started to do this from their 2013 models and up and I am glad they made this improvement.

Surf launching was easy to the lack of height in any of the waves and the R13 knife like like bow. Getting into the R13 was much easier than in my OB because of the width difference. I jumped into my seat and not on the side rail.
Paddling the R13 felt like I was actually paddling a kayak. Having a longer and narrow hull and coupled with a a very stream line bow, the R13 tracked very well. I could see myself paddling if I wanted to. I had no desire to paddle my OB other than to launch and coming back in.

I paddle a good distance and now was ready to see how well she did in open water. It took a little more effort to get my much larger sailing rudder down, but glad for this very inexpensive upgrade. People talk about the hull slapping in the OB. It's kind of like the ticking of a clock. Once you get use to it, it drowns out and becomes part of the ambient noise. However, the ride in the R13 was very quiet. My only complaint is when fully extending the mirage drive, the fins would hit the bottom of the hull.

My 10 mins or so ride from shore to Chaffee Island was fast. I notice immediately she was a different beast from the wider OB. Where the OB felt like I could not tip over if I wanted to, the R13 felt tippy. Coming from a Perception Pescador 12, any movement I made felt like I was going to the drink. The R13 didn't feel as vulnerable and having been in PP12 I acquired and retained and was grateful for learning some balancing on that yak.

Approaching the rocky shores of the Chaffee island, I lean back and grab my pole from the Hobie H-crate ( I can do a review of the H-crate if anyone is interested). My first cast with a Carolina rigged white fluke towards a patch of kelp is rewarded with some nibbles. Second cast into the same area and I get hit like a freight train. The drags starts screaming! Every time I reel, the fish takes off and I lose twice the line. This goes on for about 10 or 15 mins and then makes its way into the kelp and then pop. I reel in my limp line and see the end frayed from the fight. I start to make my way towards the south side of the island with the break wall as the final destination.

The water still calm I could see Nacho's bait barge in the distance. As I get closer to the break wall, I notice more and more boat headed for Nacho. My first wake from a speed-demon-possessed boater almost gave me a heart attack. I take the wake broad side and felt like I was going over. In my OB, I took a wake broad side and went about my business. The OB was a brute and having a ~ 33" width gave it some ridiculous stability. The next wake and every wake after, I made sure to go bow first into it. The R13 sharp bow cut through the wake like a warm knife to butter. The water splashed over and out and not into the cockpit unlike the OB.

Boaters start to line up for their turn at Nachos. I felt like I was crossing a freeway in a tricycle trying to reach the BW. People were saying how bad the boating traffic was going to be and now I was almost regretting my decision to come out. However, my excitement to be on my new yak and finally fish the BW kept me motivated.

I wish I could say it was WFO at the wall, but it was far from it. I spent about and hour and a half with not one bite. I make my way towards Chaffee Island. By this time I have a about couple of hours in the Revo. My butt was soaked bc I forgot to open the drainage plug and was so sore. I was doing hip thrusters to trying to give my butt a break from the seat.

Approaching the Chaffee again, I take a seat and start to throw some more plastic. Trying to get comfortable , I straddle the yak and I felt much better. I tried to do this my with OB once and only my heels would touch the water. Next I side straddle the Revo and was pleasantly surprised how comfortable and stable it felt. I cast into a pile of kelp and give my my fluke time to sink. I pop my rod every so often as I reel and get hit. The line feels heavy and was expecting a calico at the end, but I was surprised to pull in about a 2 foot barracuda. Those things are so cool looking! I let the juvenile go and keep fishing. In the next hour or so, I catch only 3 small calicos and decide to call it a day.

With Chaffee island to my back, I realize I have no idea where I launched from. I could see Belmont pier to my north and the jetties to my south. I looked for any discernible landmark so I could dead rekon it. I ended up using google maps and until I was able to make out the public restrooms on shore.

Surf landing was easy. A small wave coasted me in and I was out of the water in no time. My butt was so happy not to be sitting anymore.

Overview:
-I noticed that the cockpit was noticeably smaller than the OB. Whereas the OB had very spacious side rails, the R13 was designed to be fast and took away unneeded space.
-Having been use to a lot of deck space I sorely missed it.
-Not having forward rod holders, made it challenge tying on lures and such.
-The revo is fast, but not by much than the OB.
-Being ~10 lbs lighter and 5" narrower made it so much easier to load and unload by yourself. This to me is a big plus. I dont have a truck so I have top load this on my WRX.

Overall, fist impression is I like it. The Revo felt like I was actually fishing from a kayak and not a mini barge. To me, the Revo 13 and the Outback are two different fishing platform. I enjoyed the plug and play aspect of the OB, but I am excited to build that balance fishing from a Revo. I would sometime bring too much gear with me when fishing on the OB and with the limited deck and side railing on the R13 I might have take a minimalist approach to my gear. I cant wait to take her out again. Im glad that I didnt get skunk on my first date with her.

Thanks for reading!

Paul