hello eveyone, new to the site & 'yak fishing, though I've spent a lot of time paddling and on the water in general. i just bought a hobie revo and intend to troll with it, as far offshore as is feasible from Wrightsville Beach mostly. What are the feasible limits here? Not necessarily practical, but feasible with some reasonable safety margin. I've paddled a canoe solo 24 miles in a day, but that was downstream on a really slow portion of the James just before Richmond. Also, I've been out 10 miles in a jon boat a few times & once things went from clean to kinda nasty quickly so I've seen some of the potential there. I plan on getting a FF with gps & a radio of course. I figured around 5 miles would be my limit. Any personal experiences, gut feelings, or misadventures/horror stories would be appreciated.

As for hobie modifications, I plan on getting turbofins and maybe even the sail kit to aid my travels, but def not the trolling motor.

I'd appreciate suggestions on the most efficient way to outfit a revo for trolling. I chose the revo for covering distances but sacrificed space. I was thinking of installing rail mounts along the sides so I could make adjustments in the future, getting a cooler bag for my catch, maybe making some bait tubes or a livewell (the hobie livewell is so $$$, & I may not want the weight/loss of space).

Whatcha think? Anybody rigged a revo or similarly narrow/confined 'yak? And how far offshore is the line between adventurous & insanely foolish?

I have two modified RAM tube mounts for holding trolling rods just forward of the mesh pocket area. There is a guy up in VA that runs Yak ATak and he offers some rail mounting bars that you can mount in that same area. It allows you to mount several items there and move them around as you please.

The Revolution is a fast boat. With the Turbo fins you can do 7 MPH in a sprint. Or, do 3.5 MPH all day long. The standard ST fins are fine too, and can do 6 in a sprint and 2.5 to 3 or so all day long. These are what I use.

The boat sails like a champ, but due to its narrow width, a sudden gust can capsize you. Remember, you have no keel weight nor daggerboard on the Revo.

It's a fine boat. Small cockpit but plenty comfortable.

_________________
Tom Kirkman
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You never hurt the resource when you return a fish to the water.

The fish you remove from the water today is one you can't catch again tomorrow.

Carry a camera - a photo of a fish lasts a lot longer than a fish does.

I've been about 3 miles offshore by myself. I filed a float plan with my wife and had my radio/Cell and my spot tracker. I would stress that you should always try and go out with buddy or multiple buddies. You should also check the weather and keep a constant watch on the weather while you are out there. The weather and seas can change in a moments notice. If you are out 3 miles it will take you upwards of an hour to get back in. There are some nice artificial reefs that are 1-3 miles offshore along the NC and SC coast.

My new lifevest has a pocket for a radio and allows the antenna to come out a slit. One thing that I have always done prior was keep my radio tethered to the Kayak. It is completely useless if you get seperated from the kayak.

TK, good thought about the sail and the lack of a daggerboard, might give outriggers a thought... what is modified about those ram tube mounts and how do you like them.

I will have to meet some new folks if I want company out there, I don't know anybody currently with both a 'yak & the gumption. If anybody's willing to let me tag along one weekend let me know.