I picked up a Hobie Quest yesterday (Made sure it was yellow in case I needed to sell it on the Paddle-Fishing.com forum) and took it dor a couple mile test paddle on the river. It was quite breezy, perfect conditions to see just what this boat was capable of or lacking in. I took minimal gear with only a single rod and my Optio W90.
Upon launching, my first thoughts were comfortable seat, great thought went into the planning of the molded in handles, side storage compartments, oversized foot rests, and rear rod holders. Even the placement of the front third party rod holder is mounted by designed due to the way Hobie molds the boat. The front hatch is easy access. The hatch uses a "toilet seat" style lid that is held shut by a single bungee and is water tight thanks to a replaceable rubber gasket.
I set out from my own personal, private boat ramp and paddled straight out with a gusty wind at my back. When I got far enough out to leave the protection of the surrounding structures, I played around with the boat to see how it handled in the full brunt of the wind. At first drift, I noticed how the wind turns the boat sideways. I made a short paddle crosswindand it was not as bad as I imagined. The boat turns on a dime even in the wind. I turned into the wind and was impressed at how easy it was to get a forward momentum going. The wind does not affect this boat as much as other boats I have paddled. Having built some confidence in the new ride, I decided to take it for a paddle out to the main river. My sister in-law jumped in a borrowed sit-inside and tagged along.
We paddled crosswind for about 1/2 mile. We made out way out to the main river and ventured through some mangrove islands that created a wind tunnel effect. The headwind was strong enough to blow the hat off her head but the Quest punched through it with little extra effort. We came to a protected section that is known to hold some dink trout this time of year so I tossed a jig a couple of times. The trout did not disappoint. As we made our way back towards home, I pitched at a dock and found one of the smallest snook I have ever caught by hook. Judging by its size, I am willing to bet he was just hatched this spring. I could not believe he had the entire grubtail jig in his mouth. It was almost as big as he was! Luckily, he was not gut hooked and the jig popped right out. The little guy swam away with as much spunk as he had when he hit. By this time I started noticing the cockpit of the Quest was shrinking.
I started feeling like the kayak was getting smaller and smaller. The back on the seat needs to be higher and the foot rests do not extend out far enough. I wondered if the people at Hobie might be midgets. Paddlers with a 34"-36" inseam will find the boat to be a bit short. There is another notch on the rails that appears I may be able to move the foot rests out a little further but I have not figured out how to get them into them. The rails are too close to the end of the footwell and the rests cannot be rotated into place. If anyone knows a trick to getting them in, please let me know. Other than that, I believe the boat will work for me for a while. I will be putting a rudder on so that it tracks better. It's not the speed demon my old boat was but it's not a barge either. Overall, my opinion is that the Hobie Quest is a very under rated, overlooked vessel in the kayak fishing scene. I would rate it better than some of the more popular makes and models that I would dare say are only popular due to the latest fad.
