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Revolution refit
- Category: Equipment, rigging & preparation
- Published on Monday, 31 January 2011 17:31
- Written by Stuart Whitehouse
Recently I upgraded to the latest Hobie Mirage Revolution which of course meant that I had to strip all my added extras off the old model. Although it was a pain in the butt to have to start from scratch it was nice at the same time. Having had the previous model for two years, and it took two thirds of that to get something I was happy with, it was nice to be able to start with a blank slate again.
First on the list of changes was to change the standard rudder over to the larger sailing rudder. I have also found that having an extra handle on the bow is very useful. One advantage being it gives a helper their own handle to grab and another is that I have one for each hand which makes dragging the yak up the beach a bit easier.
The Scotty rod holder bases had to be fitted as before as there was no other viable option. Another change was to rotate the centre hatch as it, in my opinion, is better this way. If I need to pedal while the hatch is open, I can.
Another change I made to my first revo and again to this one was to change the screw out bungie hooks on the rear of the revo for the loop type and thread the cord through them. Any wave that hits you load from the side can pull the cord from the hooks. It has happened to me anyway. By threading them through the eye type fitting, it can't happen.
I simplified my wiring this time around and although I am not quite finished it that department, it's functional. I also elected to have the wiring/fuse holder/switch more easily accessible and mounted it in a container to the underside of the centre hatch. This is a trial run. By doing this, I can not use the hobie tackle trays I have a number of. Sponsor decals were also put on the hull but only one on each side at this point.
The front hatch is traditionally held in place with two bungie cords as in the photo below but I have had the hatched ripped open and a volume of sand and water end up in the yak on a bad surf beach landing so I changed to the solution shown in the photos below. In the 3rd photo you see the bungie cord pulled down from the centre and hooked under the mast anchor point but I only do this if it looks like being a bad landing. This method leaves the top deck of the front hatch free of anything that might get caught or ripped off if the yak gets away from you and is rolled up the beach. It only happened to me like that once but, I didn't want the same end result if it happened again so... the new tie down method was born and it hasn't failed me yet.
Finally, the sounder. A foam block was set in place with Selleys All Clear and the transducer set into that in the same fashion a day after.I previously had the diamond based ram ball mounted inside the starboard side mesh pocket at the rear of the pocket. Later I purchased another socket arm and a double ended b size ball fitting so that I was able to move the sounder further forward and outward. On this revo I have dispensed with the extras and mounted the base on top of the gunnel and the end result was that I ended up with a more solid mount with less play and the sounder where I wanted it, in the same position as before. I agonized over alternate mounting points for a while and asked Paul (PWR62) to pop over and offer suggestions and Graham (TheBigGuy) popped in as well. It was great to have their input. Thanks guys.
I have not re fitted my anchor trolley yet as I am still mulling over that one. I haven't used it that often to be honest. I also had a grab rope running around the whole yak but I have left that one off for now also. I hope this is of help to anyone that is fitting out a new yak or indeed, a revo.
7 minutes ago
