# Hobie Oasis



## MikeBiondo (Nov 3, 2012)

Hello folks,

I've been in the market for a kayak, mainly for fishing in the Gulf, and Inshore. My budget is in the used boat range.

An aquaintence has a Hobie Mirage Oasis he wants to unload - forgot to ask what is the age. This is a two-person boat (14'6" length;33" beam; about 75lbs for the basic boat) that comes in new at about $2800, with two Mirage drives. Currently the Twist & Stow rudder blade is broken, the seats are pretty sun-worn, no paddles, one of the hatch covers is missing, and one of the Mirage drives is currently sitting at the bottom of a lake under 30 feet of water. He says: Make me an offer!

Please, could you give me some opinions. First of all, would this be a suitable, solo fishing craft? Secondly, what would a reasonable offer?

The little research I've done so far:
I would need a paddle. A rudder blade is about $35, haven't found a price for the missing hatch cover, and of course, if I wanted to replace the missing drive, is big bucks at about $550. But, would I even need the second drive if I was planning on using the boat solo? Then of course, if I can round up some scuba gear, there's the chance I can retrieve the missing drive from the bottom of the lake.

The other expense would be rigging the boat for fishing - rodholder, and an anchoring system to start.

So...what would be a good starting offer???

Thanks, and much appreciation...

Mike-


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## sniperpeeps (Mar 5, 2011)

My buddy Jason has a mirage drive Hobie, single person he is trying to sell and everything works perfect on it. Hit him up, JD7.62 is his screen name on here. His is ready to fish and I think he wants a good bit less than you would need to put into that thing.

In my opinion, I wouldn't take that Oasis in that shape in the gulf, especially solo.


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## islandmanmitch (Jun 17, 2012)

So did you buy the Oasis? I fish the Gulf in my Oasis but I always have my niece fishing shotgun so I can't comment on fishing it single. I do know it peddles fine solo on the day trips I've taken. If you fished it solo you would have a lot of space for cooler, crate and such in the forward seat area.
If the hull is in good shape, replaced rudder and hatch cover, I'd take it in Gulf in a heartbeat. If you are going solo you don't need the second drive but I would going diving for it.


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## FLSalomon (Oct 3, 2007)

The age does matter - the Oasis was completely redesigned recently and improved. The older boats did not seem as popular. I know of at least one person - bduv - that fishes the Outfitter solo all the time. Compare your buddies boat to this - http://www.hobiecat.com/kayaks/mirage/oasis/

The seats are $105 each. The drive is $550-ish. You can go to Key Sailing and get prices on the missing gear or look here - http://www.austinkayak.com/subcategory/217011/Hobie-Accessories


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## Bduv (Nov 20, 2007)

The hobie tandems are great. Very stable and handle well with or without a passenger. A lot of extra room for coolers and gear in the front seat when using it solo.

Try to determine the age. As Ferd said, they completely redesigned the Oasis for 2012. I wouldn't pay much for anything older than 2006.

You will probably need to upgrade the Mirage drive to the new "V2" which will run about $200. New seats are around $100 ea. new hatch will probably be $75 or so? 

You may or may not need an anchor trolley, but they are cheap anyway. A good ff/gps unit would be recommended for fishing in the gulf (+/-$400). You can add a milk crate with rod holders instead of using Ram mounts or Scottie's to save some $$.

If the hull is in good condition and you get it for a good price, you really can't lose. Check eBay and Craigslist for comps. Only having one Mirage drive will significantly affect the price. You may be able to determine age from the serial number that is etched on the bottom of the hull at the back.

Good luck

Bryan


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## MikeBiondo (Nov 3, 2012)

Thanks for the replies - very much appreciated!

I did find out the boat is a 2003. 

Okay, given the fact that by replacing just the rudder blade, the boat would functional for solo use (I'll just be using in midwest lakes until relocating to the Pensacola area), and the fact the guy is anxious to get it out of his garage, if it were you...what would you offer the guy???

To be honest, I am a bit anxious about the Oasis, given the fact that it will be used almost exclusively solo. Just wondering if it's more boat than I really need. But then...if I can get the boat REALLY cheap, I just might be able to adapt!


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## baldona523 (Mar 2, 2008)

MikeBiondo said:


> Thanks for the replies - very much appreciated!
> 
> I did find out the boat is a 2003.
> 
> ...


I bought a used outfitter for $1100, it had both seats, both mirage drives, and both paddles. The rudder did need some work but the parts were there. Outside of general wear, I put $50 bucks into it and it works flawlessly. Given that, I got it for cheap and really could of easily been closer to $1500. It is a 2009 I think.

As said, 2 new mirage drives, 2 seats, and 2 paddles will easily run you over $1000. The boat will function fine with 1 person if it has a rudder, without a rudder in a 2 person boat it can be hard to steer with 1 person. With everything there the boat is worth as a 2003 probably around 1000-1400, so you just gotta figure out what is missing and the cost to replace it. Without a mirage drive, the hull is not worth a whole lot more than a standard hull because the mirage drives are so expensive.


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## FLSalomon (Oct 3, 2007)

You are looking at a 10 year old hull that presumably does not leak. There is 1 drive (older v1 style), no paddles, the seats sound like they need replacing and the rudder is broken. If the seats are sunworn, how is the hull? Any noticeably brittle spots? As baldona stated, you have over $1,000 of replacement parts there. Yes, I would get another drive - it is invaluable if you have another person and you can use it as a spare. I would also leak check it. I would be way under $1,000 to start. Think about what you could buy new for that kind of money... Good luck with it.


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## MikeBiondo (Nov 3, 2012)

Thanks again for the reply.

I called the guy to ask him a few more questions, and try to feel him out a little more about a price. He proceeds to tell me a friend of his tells him to put the boat up on craigslist. So he put it up for $600, and he sold it for $500 to the first guy that came and looked at it! 

Oh well...

Mike-


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## rufus1138 (Oct 29, 2012)

personally mike i think the hobies are currently inflated because of popularity, dont get me wrong they're a great product, just not 1800 bucks for a used 3yr old boat good, yeah i know the "market" and they "hold their value well" but look my 2009 tacoma holds its value well but im not going to get 1k less than new sticker price for it after three years, so why should the hobies be the same, whats happened here is that a neat innovative product was hawked on the public at a hugely inflated price an now even hobie has problems selling them like they were 3 years ago and so the showroom price has dropped and has compacted the price ceiling in the used market. i would seriously think hard about what you're going to do with your yak and try out more than just listening to people that reply to "hey i want a kayak that......" and before you finish your question are yelling "HOBIE.....GOTTTA GET A HOBIE....MIRAGE DRIVE.....EVERYONES GOT EM....GET A HOBIE"

just personal advice when getting into something new, im not bashing here but if im looking into a new used market that im unfamiliar with i usually ask the basic question, when i got into this i didnt have to someone else did it, and i got the predictable hobie freakout, and instantly decided i wasnt going to get a hobie just because its a milder form of trying to buy an ar platform rifle right now, they're popular they're everywhere and everyone wants them yesterday so the prices have skyrocketed.


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