My Hobie Outback is ready to go.

Having had my Outback a couple of months now I’ve pretty much finished setting it up and buying the various pieces of kit to get myself on the water safely. I’m a couple of weeks behind where I expected to be, it’s been very easy to go over budget starting from scratch. After my drysuit arrived back from Typhoon this week with a convenience zip fitted I reckon I’m now pretty much good to go.

It's now named, a slant on one of my favourite films and one of the best anti-war movies ever made.

My mate Jamie at Bad Panda Graphics took my request and put this together for me. I’ll get it put in place after Jamie has it printed shortly. We intend to do some self rescue practice on the water together on Monday, should be fun!

This being the first time I’ve gone through this process I’ve had a number of headaches along the way. Everything from a dive reel to roof bars was new to me and there was some serious internet searching done along the way. The  Anglers Afloat forum  has been a massive help, everything you need is there, in fact I don't think I've had to ask a question after using the search facility. Also, Saltwater Kayak Fisherman  has been really handy given that he's rigged a similar boat and in a fashion that seemed to suit my needs.

I'm in no position to review anything thus far, that is a long way off for the minute. I may need to make a few changes in the future as I work with the gear, maybe somebody will however find this useful if they find themselves in a similar position.

I wasn’t a fan of the anchor trolley kit that I got with my boat and I did in fact nearly bin the lot. I did however end up using the running line and pulleys.  I got this as part of the deal but I wouldn’t purchase it if I had to do so today. I’ve added a carabiner, two stainless rings, double piece of knotted bungee and two plastic rope stops.  The stainless fittings will be more robust than the plastic ones provided and the rope stops will prevent the knots on the running line jamming in the pulleys. With this set up I will also be able to disconnect the carabiner from the ring and use it to pull the boat through the shallows or utilise it as a tow point.

I removed the screw in holders for the paddle retainer and replaced these with screw in pad eyes. I understand that these used to come with the trolley kit but have been replaced with the well nut eyelets. The supplied instructions suggested that these were to be fitted to the paddle supports, you can’t see these in the picture but drilling two significant holes here made no sense to me. I contacted my supplier; they agreed and sent me the screw in pad eyes FOC, job done. The supplied parts would have allowed the installed kit to be fitted to the bottom running line but I don’t believe this will be an issue in practice. In addition I also fitted a bungee button to prevent the top running line encroaching in to the boat. I found this to be a bit of pain and really awkward for me to reach. I actually bruised my ribs leaning in to the hatch and reaching around to tighten the locking nut. It would have been much easier if someone else was there, also, if I had not had to use a shifter to lock off the nut while screwing the button down.

I went with the low profile GT 175 rails from YakAttack. These are quality fittings which come with everything you need including the drill bit and screws. I did however add backing plates to these to spread the load and give what should be a really robust mounting platform for any gear that I attach to them in the future. I should also point out that anything which has been drilled has had a liberal coating of Marine Goop as a back up to any potential water ingress in the future.

Scotty gear head track adapters will provide some flexibility for mounting a variety items. These slot in to the rails perfectly and screw down providing a solid mounting point.

                                                   In this case a Scotty extender and rod holder.

I chose a RAM mount for my fishfinder. It has two ball joints which provide a range of movement enabling me to adjust this towards me in easy reach when attached to the rails.

The  Outback comes Lowrance ready and has a transducer pocket built in to the hull. You can of course fit other brands with a few adjustments.  I have used Lowrance on my boat in the past as well as a mobile unit when I’ve been fishing abroad. On the whole I like them and have found them easy enough to use so went with a 5 HDI plotter combo which has both downscan and broadband sonar.

I can see this being really useful on my hunt for big Perch on large waters which was another reason I went with it.
The fact that these were on sale in the Vegas Bass Pro when a friend was on holiday was a big help. I managed to take some cost out of a number of items thanks to this trip. A word of warning though, some of the Lowrance units, namely the HDS range are geo-locked so you won’t be able to use any bought outside of Europe in the UK. The HDI range is fine.

The 2015 Outback has the new Vantage seat with multiple adjustments points including a lumbar support. It even has 4 fold down legs to enable it be used as a camp chair.

Lynne got me a really nice  top spec PFD for Christmas but sadly I had to sell it recently.  I found it incompatible with the seat. I went for the Kokatat Bahia Tour which is way more comfortable sitting in this chair than the Kaikoura was. This is down to Bahia Tour being a high back PFD with the floatation up towards the shoulders leaving the small of my back fitting the curvature of the chair much better, massive improvement in fact. Given I was sat in the chair adjusting the seat for a minute or two and my back was sore, using the Palm was not an option.

                                                Not a great picture but you can see what I mean

I’ve fitted a 10l Orteleib folding wash bowl to the centre hatch to assist in storing items but mainly to prevent them moving around inside the hull.

        

                                                 The supplied tackle tub sits neatly on top.

                            The new Mirage Drive Glide system, the boat also comes with a paddle.

I went with a rear installation with the Hobie battery kit which I negotiated in my deal. Unlike the anchor trolley kit I’m initially pleased with this. It provides a really tidy finish and has quality components. Some online checks and a few calculations suggests the battery capacity should be fine to drive the Lowrance for about 8 hours. This will depend on the settings but I’m crossing my fingers with this a little.

 As I learn what works or needs changing I'll post as I go.