Does anyone here own a tandem kayak and take it out solo? I have been thinking of getting one to take the missus out with me on camping trips etc and was wondering if I could comfortably take it out by myself in port Phillip bay as well, thinking it might be more comfortable for longer sessions then my single.
Any recommendations on model and brand? Not to fussed on speed or tracking, but would want something with a bit of storage space and mod frendly.

Hi James

I had the Hobie Oasis. Did a few trips on my own. I upgraded one set of drives to turbo. This gave me better power when I was out one up. I also had plenty more room in the front seat to store more gear.
I would highly recommend it

cheers

Adrian

try a demo day

William Johns on the TTTAF comps used a Tandem.
I think it was the Hobie Oasis.
Watching him from side on his yak looked low in the water at the stern and the bow appeared well out of the water.
He compensated by fitting his wheels to the front and putting the esky on the front seat but it still sat low at the stern and high at the bow.
I had a chat to him & he said despite using it mostly on his own he didn't regret having the tandem as he enjoyed the ability to go out with his wife when it suited her.
I contemplated a Tandem but shops advised me if not using it as a Tandem at least 80% of the time get a single.

Other option is a 2+1 kayak, designed to be used as either a double, or a single. A seat is in the middle for those solo days.

Mr tangles has just bought one, a viking brand but not sure of the model. I don't thik he has taken it out solo yet so probably can't review it for you.

I have the Viking Nemo 2+1. I bought it mainly for a family toy. It has 3 seats the middle seat is for a smaller person when 2 adults are in others. When i use it solo i use the middle seat and it's stable and easy too paddle. It has been hard to set it up with rod holders to suit 2 people & solo setup. There's not a lot of flat deck areas for fixing equipment.

Bugglz wrote:Does anyone here own a tandem kayak and take it out solo? I have been thinking of getting one to take the missus out with me on camping trips etc and was wondering if I could comfortably take it out by myself in port Phillip bay as well, thinking it might be more comfortable for longer sessions then my single.
Any recommendations on model and brand? Not to fussed on speed or tracking, but would want something with a bit of storage space and mod frendly.

If you want a Hobie, go to a dealer and try one .... they have demo days.
The Oasis is the only Hobie double to buy, while the outfitter is wider, it sits lower, so the rear person ends up sitting in water all day.... I've owned both.

There is a hobie pro angler 17. Very big yak. Can do 2 people easy. Could do solo as well however trying to move a yak that weight and size is hard.

expensive as well. Just get another single yak. She will have more enjoyment as well. Also benefit when fishing as you cover more territory and can work together to find fish.

I started out with a Hobie outfitter...was great for two larger people but found that solo the bow was much higher in the water and on one occasion on Bullen Merri the gusts off the hills just blew me around in circles. I ended up compensating the lack of weight in the front with a bag of sand (about 39 kg) and that sorted out the issue. The PA 17 has 3 seating positions when solo can remove the second seat and put one in the middle....as mentioned it is a big boat and heavy so needs to be on a trailer. I am currently considering the TI as an upgrade but not sure how that will handle solo either. I will test drive it first.

I looked at an oasis for awhile, and there's plenty who do solo them, check out YouTube some great setups. In the end I didn't get it after trialling it I found the bow was up in the air a lot and caught the wind too much, not worth it for the amount of times I used it tandem. Gave me an excuse to buy a second one later