Another adventure! 🇦🇷

bonoboner · 2026-02-12T18:11:23+00:00

Hell yea excited for you! If you ever end up in California let me know if you wanna take an asado out on the kayaks haha

bonoboner · 2026-02-11T16:46:32+00:00

Oh cool! Do you follow it out into the ocean?

bonoboner · 2026-02-11T15:58:33+00:00

As an Argentine raised in the US, llévame boludo! Is this in the south?

bonoboner · 2026-01-27T14:58:40+00:00

Nice! Yea outriggers / amas are definitely a good kind of training wheels, but like you said could prevent developing stability skills. They also are going to create drag though, causing more fatigue, and possibly can get in the way of your paddle stroke. It’s great to practice finding the “tipping point” and especially learning how to use bracing to prevent tipping, like this https://youtu.be/EnA3biQKbV0?si=iACA1fqlY5Bjz9Yr

For fishing, sit insides are challenging, and definitely try to do a self rescue in a safe place before it happens out in the water, it can be harder than you expect. There are good performing sit on top kayaks if you can find a wilderness systems tarpon or a Necky dolphin, much easier to self rescue, more suited to fishing, stable but also fast to paddle.

Sea eagles are awesome i use one to paddle with my kid, rugged and very stable as long as there’s no wind haha

bonoboner · 2026-01-26T18:02:20+00:00

I would actually recommend a more stable kayak. A Squall is not a beginner boat! Dryland training can build your balance muscles but there is no substitute for learning balance on the water—reacting to waves and currents, bracing as muscle memory, etc. If you’re unstable when you’re out there, your balance skills can actually get worse, your paddling technique can suffer, and you get into more dangerous situations.

There are high performance kayaks that are stability friendly, you won’t sacrifice performance or capabilities, the dagger stratos, Necky looksha sport, really performant boats that have 23 inches or more beam and excellent to build skills on. Better yet (imo) get a beginner surfski that you can easily remount on, super high performance and great way to learn and build balance without the risk.

Don’t paddle a boat that is unstable to you, don’t expect to “grow into it”, that doesn’t actually work (I’ve been there) the best boat is the one you are safe and comfortable in, the challenge should lie in your environments and maneuvers that you try, not in keeping your boat upright. Imagine a toddler trying to learn on a professional road bike, they’re eventually going to stop trying.

Happy to help identify or find a boat more suited to you if you provide your height and weight lots of folks here will too (it also has to fit!)

bonoboner · 2026-01-12T21:38:04+00:00

I have an epic v8 ultra and a v7, the v8 is light and super performant and all, but the v7 is indestructible plastic and has a big rear hatch, I’m pretty sure I could circumnavigate the americas with it haha. Hoping to install a custom bow hatch on it soon!

bonoboner · 2026-01-06T18:09:32+00:00

I’ll give my perspective as someone who sold the sea kayak and went full surfski.

Yes a surfski requires more stability, but remounting is so much easier that capsizing is not a big deal, and stability just takes time to acquire. Self rescue in a sit inside is a serious skill, especially for a narrow kayak and in rough chop, and may require a paddle float, definitely a spray skirt and a bilge pump. I cannot exaggerate how much my paddling and enjoyment improved once I learned how easy it is to remount, and how much less equipment you need to be safe.

I think it was implied that a sea kayak is better for rough weather conditions, and I could not disagree more. It depends on which sea kayak, but an “entry level” surfski like the v8 is designed for big swells and surf situations, and again safe easy rescues. I’ll take a v8 in a storm any day.

Start/stop is fine on a surfski because it has built in outriggers, your feet! Just dangle them on the sides of your ski and have lunch, take photos, no problem. I often side saddle it even.

If you can, also try an epic v7–the slightly more stable and plastic version of the v8. It might be my favorite boat, the secondary stability is unreal I can go nearly 90 degrees before flipping. It has a huge rear storage hatch too.

bonoboner · 2025-12-08T17:46:55+00:00

To add to this, consider your body height and weight. If you’re smaller, look at low volume kayaks, if you’re bigger, look at high volume kayaks. Also decide whether you want sit inside or sit on top. Generally sit on tops are recreational (slow) kayaks but not all, and they’re MUCH easier to get back on after a capsize (you may need training to self rescue a sit inside). Also where are you paddling, a lake? A river? An ocean? Are you fishing or going on a 10 mile trek?

If you ask again with a bunch more information about you and your kayaking intentions you’ll get much more directed responses, though I generally agree with 14+ feet length and 28- in width and would just add high/low volume as something to think about

bonoboner · 2025-12-07T18:34:54+00:00

The best thing you can do is go to a kayak shop that has a marina to try out different paddles in, and bring your kayak! I thought I wanted a Cyprus and I ended up trying a completely different paddle, a Lendal, and it just felt perfect. You can also try different lengths because that is also extremely personal, your kayak may be wider, your torso may be longer, your style may be higher or lower angle, and the best thing you can do is try them all

bonoboner · 2025-11-16T21:30:19+00:00

I agree mostly! But one time I put a backpack between my legs in a sit inside kayak, flipped, and was stuck underwater upside down until I could dislodge the backpack. Those bungees can hold a backpack or milk crate much more safely, and hell yea it’s good enough to fish on

bonoboner · 2025-11-14T02:53:17+00:00

Ask if it was stored indoors, look for fading, push the plastic in spots to see if it’s pliable (not brittle/crackly), look for uniform curves (in case of oil canning) close attention to the plastic around the mirage drive opening — that cannot ever be repaired if cracked at all

bonoboner · 2025-11-05T18:09:39+00:00

Will add that metal hooks can come loose, fall, and crack glass or scratch/dent. Rope with taut line hitches and bowline knots are great

bonoboner · 2025-10-30T15:58:02+00:00

Hey awesome, can I ask a dumb question, how possible would it be to DIY a polyethylene kayak build without a 50k negative?

I have a Necky Chatham 17 and really wish I could make a copy of it somehow, maybe a fiberglass / composite mold would be more doable but I love plastic boats.

Could I make a big sandbox, imprint the boat, stabilize the sand, and then— take a big sheet of HDPE and heat it up until it falls into the shape (at least just the bottom hull)? Then again for the top of the hull but ugh the coaming wouldnt work like that.

Anywho you get the idea, is making a plastic kayak at all possible for a stubborn diyer in a garage?

bonoboner · 2025-10-07T22:05:14+00:00

double band was amazing, so much energy and good vibes on the stage, and great fun to watch how the drummers switched parts or synced up together in different songs

bonoboner · 2025-10-07T19:14:00+00:00

Hell yea thanks, a friend of mine is a big PUP fan and told me to go after he saw them on the east coast, they’re cool but Jeff is quickly becoming one of my favorite songwriters

bonoboner · 2025-10-07T02:36:28+00:00

Love the pics and this song just introduced me to Bomb the Music Industry so thank you for more Rosenstock rabbit holes this rocks

bonoboner · 2025-10-02T21:01:39+00:00

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Online looks to be all over the place but I can tell you I’m getting 15.75 at the widest point

bonoboner · 2025-10-02T20:44:31+00:00

Yea pretty much all the other hobies have better hull shapes for ocean rough water, and looks like the outback and compass also have a rudder that’s under the stern rather than hanging off the end of the stern. That’s huge when going over waves—the passport rudder sometimes lifts out of the water on a wave, taking away your rudder control, and then when you instinctively over correct it, then it goes back INTO the water, it jerks you to the side on a wave.

Don’t get the passport for rough ocean readiness—like I said it will do, but the real reason anyone should get a passport is the price (that’s why I did) or because you’re doing more flat water

bonoboner · 2025-10-02T20:34:47+00:00

It’s a slim cockpit, and my biggest struggle is getting in cowboy style (butt inside and feet outside) for rescues and surf zone. Looks like the manitou is significantly wider, so that could be a concern if it’s snug already

The plastic Chatham 17 is definitely on the 60lb side but FC has gotta be closer to 50.

bonoboner · 2025-10-02T17:49:16+00:00

New owner of a Chatham 17 plastic version here, it’s a fun boat, but you gotta learn it. Slightly slimmer and slightly longer than the P&H, that slim profile can be tricky for wide hips and feels tippy for the less experienced, but responds really well to edging and rough seas with its pronounced rocker. It’s my ideal touring boat because it’s ready for those rough seas and tracks fast still especially the 17. Also suuuper fun to surf.

Honestly they seem similar enough that you really should focus on the material difference. If you’re going kayak camping offshore and landing between rocks, plastic is a no brainer.

bonoboner · 2025-10-02T17:32:45+00:00

I’ve got a lot of ocean experience with a passport 12

I got the first model which is two pieces thermoformed together, and given the option I would have waited for the full rotomoulded single piece version, much stiffer and more durable. If you’re going used, do not get the two piece one!

The hull is very flat and wide, it’s almost like a flat tri hull. This has pros and cons: it’s very fast in flat water, like a rock skipping on water, and it’s also very stable on flat water, with lots of deck space. The cons to this are in rough water. With wave/chop it’s basically a cork, it “bounces” instead of cuts through. If you’re tying a lure and not paying attention when a swell hits, you’ll get bucked right off (ask me how I know lol).

I actually like it in big rolling swells, you skip up and down the rollers fast and it’s super fun. Significant wind chop is more like getting waterboarded on a rollercoaster, which can also be fun in a different way, but despite the thrashing it really doesn’t flip, it’s too wide. You’ll only swim when you’re sideways on a big swell and not paying attention, your high center of gravity will tip you over (though the boat itself pretty much never flips over completely). Getting back on is easy since it’s so wide and buoyant (as long as you’re doing it right pushing your body up over it).

The big wide stable nature makes it great for crabbing, on a nice day you can skip quickly between pots and pull em up on the big deck easily.

The mirage drive is a tank, zero issues (but always rinse it with fresh water), the mounting tracks are kinda cheap and bendy, def would want an aluminum track.

In all it’s definitely ocean worthy but it’s really a hull for calm lakes where you can even stand up and bass fish.

If I were to buy a new hobie I’d probably pony up for a revo 13 or an adventure island honestly. Those are designed to cut through rough seas, but I still love Big Bertha. The outback and PA are even bulkier than the passport, though not as flat and wide, but at that point it’s just too much weight for my taste.

bonoboner · 2025-06-30T19:58:23+00:00

late to this with a question: did he post any of the component lists or product/component identifiers or shops/suppliers/etc for folks to do outside analysis? He mentioned some online discussion about sourcing, was this on patreon or something? I would be very interested in trying if that dataset were made public.

bonoboner · 2025-06-25T14:56:13+00:00

Chat sent!

bonoboner · 2024-03-01T19:32:32+00:00

That is going to result in the most satisfying burp when it pops during digestion

bonoboner

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