# Why is it that Hobie's attract attention still ?



## suehobieadventure (Feb 17, 2009)

Going for a quiet pedal on my local section of the Murray when there is a mad scramble aboard a moored houseboat I am approaching. All six occupants wanted to look at my yak. They even photographed me which in my fishing best is not a pretty sight  So I talked them through all the wonderful features and of course I had to pop up the mirage drive for them all to oh WOW. So my question is this: are they not advertised enough ??? I am happy to share the concept but it still amuses me and this is the first time I have been photographed doing what I love to do. No fish by the way, had one taker and he wrapped me round the snag I was fishing , Oh well beautiful day.


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## Nativeman (Sep 6, 2005)

No attraction, I have been over them for some time :lol:

Although way deep deep down I do still like em :shock:

Cheers


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## outbreakmonkey (Aug 31, 2009)

I've only had mine a couple of months but pretty much every time I've taken it out someone has stopped while I was getting ready and asked about it.


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## dishley (Jan 20, 2009)

If i wasn't on this site i wouldn't know what a mirage drive is. Or a hobie, i thought people couldn't spell when i first joined


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## Shorty (May 11, 2008)

I guess they are not that well known yet, most people that come up to me are amazed by them,,,

Another few years and they will become common place i reckon,,until i took my Hobie Adventure out on the weekend i have never seen one under sail in Western Australia before,also if you look at the dealers network dealers,, are as rare as hens teeth,,,theres room for another 50 dealers around Australia.

Hopefully they become common place one day,,saves answering all the questions folks have,,,


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## seawind (Mar 29, 2007)

Not so hard on the old grannies Mingle, my wife is about to turn 60 and she loves fishing from her Hobie Revo, regularly outfishes me too I might add.
BTW with regard to the popularity of Hobies . my mate Mick just bought a new Outback from the dealer in Nowra who told him he'd sold 60 kayaks in the month of September alone.
Impressed me!


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## phil79 (Nov 7, 2008)

try unloading one from a set of hullovators,2 great designs for the lazy fisho....


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## fishnfreak (Jun 22, 2007)

Here in SA, i find that taking a kayak, not just a Hobie, out of the metro area, will have people quizzing me about the yak.


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## shappy (May 29, 2008)

i don't have the mirage drive,but the concept of fishing from a kayak gets attention at the boat ramps in my areas. also when they see the wheels and how easy i walk off to the car with the whole setup. also great when you have a nice fish for dinner and can show it off 

cheers, shappy


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## blueyak (Jan 20, 2009)

Might not just be the hobie thats grabbing attention. By the time most crew are rigged and ready to go you have a kayak pimped out with pedals, paddles, sounder, gps, ram mounts, rocket launchers with multiply rods, net, gaff, lights, one thousand lures etc etc. Lets face it we must look a little odd.

We call it the 'Hobie Talk'. When you're getting ready to lauch and a stranger comes up and asks all about your yak you get stuck doing the ''Hobie Talk'. It makes those sneaky, quiet launch spots even more attractive.


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## GregL (Jul 27, 2008)

Why?
Because they are awesome 8) 
Smeg


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## craig450 (May 11, 2007)

Yeh i get it all the time, always from beautiful women in bikini's that just want to chat, i think i lure them in with my good looks


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## solatree (May 30, 2008)

craig450 said:


> always from beautiful women in bikini's that just want to chat


Yeh...I get that too...except they also want to also fondle my flippers .....its a real pain especially at launch time when you are keen to get out there and amongst it ! 8)


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## craig450 (May 11, 2007)

solatree said:


> craig450 said:
> 
> 
> > always from beautiful women in bikini's that just want to chat
> ...


 :lol: :lol: :lol: fondling your flippers!!! that must be annoying


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## YakN00b (Jun 9, 2008)

Strangely I get similar reactions. Must be the sleek lines of the glass and the gadgets, definitely cant be me


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## bungy (Jan 1, 2008)

Supposed to fish with clothes on........!!!! :lol:


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## Cid (Nov 14, 2005)

A few years ago when Peril and I were fishing in the Ausbream social comps, at the weigh-ins the people would walk past the Skeeters and Stratos's and Hornets (dirty filthy stinkboats :twisted: ) to have a gander at the Hobie and it's Mirage Drive. I guess they've all seen a boat but one of these new fan-dangled kayaky things, well that's different. They were always pretty amazed at how it worked and most assumed it was a propellor system.

cheers,
Cid


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## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

I'd only seen one Hobie with a mirage drive before I bought mine but it was already in action and I was intrigued about what was under there and how the guy was steering it. I saw them coming out of a creek on the Gold Coast and there was two of them. Must have been REALLY early models because they looked like sik's if I remember correctly. I noticed the Hobie logo and knew they made little cats and eventually found out all about them on AKFF.

I'd have to say most of the locals who see me out and about are usually more interested in who the d1ckhead on the f67king little plastic canoe is! Not much interest in the actual Hobie at all.....they do that in whispered tones over a beer amongst themselves _"I've heard he gets good fish off that thing, must be something about it, f67king mad though, would catch me in it"_

The backbackers and grey nomads are more interested though. Having usually travelled from southern states the grey nomads have seen them before. The backpackers usually just think I'm a bronzed aussie hero, luckily the PFD pads out my chest a bit and hides the beer gut!


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## hackonayak (Oct 15, 2008)

I think the interest people have with the hobies is that there looking as to why they are so expensive..... :lol: hehe


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## mustrumr (Feb 27, 2009)

I reckon I should be on commission from Hobie -every time I launch the damn thing somebody comes over and the next thing you know I'm into the sales spiel :lol:

I think that the Hobie is still relatively unknown outside the kayak fishing fraternity - most of the people I've talked to have never heard of them or seen one before. And when they do see them they get the same AHAH!!!! moment I got the first time I saw one: hands-free fishing; relatively affordable; no queuing at boat ramps; it'll fit in my garage - bugger the stink boat I was thinking about, I want a Hobie :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

And yes, as people have already pointed out, a fully-kitted out Hobie (or other fishing yak) is a pretty impressive sight. Most people seem pretty amazed that you can have a sounder on a yak, plus all the other gadgets. They can see that a kayak is a very functional fishing platform. But hands-down, the thing that most people are impressed with is the Mirage drive.

Cheers,


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## Guest (Oct 8, 2009)

I dont think its the hobie at all, but rather the whole fishing kayak thing. Myself, and everyone I know generally catch a crowd at the boat ramp of interested spectators. I think its yak fishing talk rather than hobie talk, as its the whole concept of yak fishing that draws the attraction rather then the propulsion means.


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## tomca (Dec 1, 2007)

A lot less attention than even 2 years ago, but the hobie still gets looked at by all and sundry. There is no dealer in Brisbane so I guess that helps keep the mystery. Either you stumble across a shop on the Gold coast or find them online, and most people don't know where Cooroy is. 8)


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## bunburykayakfisher (Apr 26, 2009)

Yeah im pretty sure that im the only guy in bunbury WA who owns a hobie (revo), and boy does she attract a heap of attention, the few usual questions like hows it work? how much? where can you buy it? 
The amount of stares i get when im on the water, its amazing :shock: 
But good news, ranger outdoors are opening a shop in bunbury here, around the start of november and they will make an absolute killing ;-) 
will hopefully see much more hobies on the water in bunbury  
cheers jordan


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## Cid (Nov 14, 2005)

> ...its even funnier when I whip out the pics of the big red knob ...


LOL :lol: :lol: :lol: Sunburn???

cheers,
Cid


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## outbackjoe (May 2, 2009)

I would have to say everytime I launch my outback without fail whoever walks past always stops for a chat and a look at how it works, the mirage drive and the livewell are always the main things they look at with puzzled look on their face.

I would love to open up a hobie shop on the north side of brizzy (hopefully bribie island) just cant find the right shop front at the moment

Even setting up a "Hobie Hire" would be a gold mine for people wanting to go out on the yak for a day trip with no running costs.

They don't advertise very well in queensland either, you look in all the fishing mags and not one ad. the only reason i stumbled on them was the brisbane boat show. I Had my heart set on the viking profish untill I saw the outback.

The native Kayaks are another that dont advertise enough, They would have a large market in the area to if people knew about them.

Joe


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## Shorty (May 11, 2008)

outbackjoe said:


> They don't advertise very well in queensland either, you look in all the fishing mags and not one ad.
> 
> Joe


No advertising in the 4 major fishing mags in the West either, it suprises me theres nothing in Brisbane, a great opening for a smart operator.

Hiring might cost a fortune in broken mirage drives etc,,,


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## mustrumr (Feb 27, 2009)

The only ads I've ever seen for Hobie are in Modern Fishing, and that's only been in recent months. Hobie need to spend a bit more on marketing I think.

Cheers,


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## shappy (May 29, 2008)

Cid said:


> > ...its even funnier when I whip out the pics of the big red knob ...
> 
> 
> LOL :lol: :lol: :lol: Sunburn???
> ...


i'm shaw you can put sunscreen on it, but it shouldn't be left hanging for that long!!!! :twisted: :lol: :lol:


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## Guest (Oct 11, 2009)

Shorty said:


> outbackjoe said:
> 
> 
> > They don't advertise very well in queensland either, you look in all the fishing mags and not one ad.
> ...


I dont know about WA, but are some of you must be blind. In Queensland, they have full page adverts in QFM, and the same down here in Victoria in VFM which are the main magazines in these two states. Im pretty sure they do them in the NSW fishing monthly also. I have seen full spreads in freshwater fishing and Fishing world which are two of the biggest mags in the country. This by the way isnt a once off thing, I see it just about every month in the QFM and VFM (fishing monthly) mags. Generally the inside cover front or back.

They have done a hobie dvd, multiple stories on varies fishing shows, an ABT comp, and full colour page adverts on most major medias I would go as far to say that Hobie market more than any other make of kayak in this country.

I think Hobie hve the best marketing stratagy there is in the kayak market in Australia. I dont know what else there is for them to do that they havnt already done. What more do you want from them, television adverts? ;-)

give em a break, they have done a fantastic job, why do you think so many people have em?


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## Barrabundy (Sep 29, 2008)

Some of the curious locals I chat to tell me they've seen them on one of the fishing shows on tv and also in the mags like keljad says.


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## platypus01 (Mar 25, 2008)

I have to say, I think Hobie is pretty invisible to the non-fishing world. Except maybe for the sailing crowd.

Two friends who live on the Brisbane River visited me in Canberra recently said they were interested "canoeing" on the river. They'd just put in a pontoon, but didn't want to buy a boat. I showed them the Hobie site and brought up some YouTube vids of the Hobies in action. They were stunned. They had never seen it before. They have the cash (2 incomes, no kids) so I think I've pretty much sold two Revo's to them. Hobie should pay me commission ;-)

Cheers,
JohnG


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## koich (Jul 25, 2007)

patwah said:


> I just saw one on telly (OneHD) just then, admittedly it was for a local store in Canberra,


I saw that ad during the today show.

I made a face similar to this.

:lol:

Wetspot and Karl Stefanovic go hand in hand, so to speak.


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## fishnsurf (Jul 20, 2009)

I want an AKFF sticker for my hobie that says IF YOU ARE WEARING A BIKINI YOU CAN ASK QUESTIONS.


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## wetroots (Oct 31, 2007)

Hobie had a vision many years ago ....... and they sort of got it right. Also the leisure market is growing rapidly ( or was ) so they could not lose. They were at the top of their game in a rising market. Well done Mr Hobie ! There are other remarkable Yaks out there as well. And they will all get better.


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## soggypilchard (Dec 1, 2008)

that's why i wrote "NOT HERE FOR A YARN" on both sides of my kayak in big black texta.
usually i am the most friendly person and friends are amazed that i start up conversations with strangers all the time.
but this kayak attention talk is just too much...

if i wanted people to look at me i would buy a lowered ute with big stickers on the windows and do laps of the main drag.


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## yaktopia (Nov 30, 2008)

I don't know if it's the Hobie or because I often fish nude


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