Quest 13

The Quest 13 kayak, produced by Hobie, is a solo paddle kayak with a sleek and swift hull. It has the ability for light touring but is more for the serious angler. The 13’ length along with the fully rigged weight of approx. 70 lbs. make this kayak easy to carry and maneuver by anyone. The hull features a large below deck stowage, ample space for tackle boxes or camping gear and built in molded rod holders for your trolling pleasure. Another large, bungee-secured stern cargo area accommodates everything from additional tackle to live bait and the optional Twist and Stow rudder with foot control will help keep you moving in the right direction. We highly recommend the Quest 13 as an all-around light touring boat or heavy use angler platform.

I bought my first and only kayak back in 2009 and it is the Hobie Quest 13. This has been a great boat to have. It's pretty darn stable for a SOT kayak that's 13 feet long. It's length is also a positive because you can get to different locations on a lake for fishing and/or move on down the river quickly! The only gripe I have and this is due to me--not the boat! This is a lot of boat! It's a long and heavy boat and has become to cumbersome for me but for someone who fishes a lot it's a great boat!

My first yak was a Hobie Quest and I don't think I appreciated how awesome it was until I paddled a lot more kayaks. I have purchased two more kayaks since then. A Malibu Pro Explorer and an Ocean Kayak T-11. The Quest is the best of the bunch. It is fast, stable and very well designed and constructed. I'm a short guy and started to wish it was about two feet shorter. Wouldn't you know it Hobie came out with the Quest 11 a few years after I bought mine. Storage is fantastic. I've taken it on over night river/ camping trips many times. About the only negative is the tracking. It definitely needs a rudder. I installed one and it's now the best in the fleet. Can't recommend enough.

Have always liked the Hobie brand since my days on a Hobie 16 Cat. Just purchased a new Quest 13 after cutting my teeth on a Wilderness Ride 13.5. Some immediate observations after several hours out on a variety of water. Two most important are... I have a dry seat ! and the yak can be placed on top of my Rav4 alone. I am over 6' and 230 lbs. I quickly learned to plug the scuppers closest to my seat to ensure a dry ride. The handles on the bow and stern are flimsy and could be designed to be more sturdy. The hatches are great and DRY !. I traded out the original seat for a rather high fishing model and glad I did... real comfort on long trips.

The Quest 13 tracks reasonably well but does require concentration to stay online. I intentionally did not get the rudder (At the suggestion of the dealer) to learn the proper handling and paddling skills first. Good Choice !

Finally, I really purchased the Quest at a good price and after selling my Wilderness on Craig's I would tell my friends to buy a Quest. I did water test both the 11 & 13 and both were great. My size dictated the 13 made more sense. I remain a loyal Hobie fan !!! Good design, good price, great dealers...

I have used my Quest a couple of dozen times and now know the kayak pretty well. I would not buy another Quest if I had it to do over (Customer Service).

Pros:
1. Tracks pretty well when not windy.
2. Workmanship is ok but could be a whole lot better. A lot of flaws in the hull.
3. The side compartments are very useful for holding map, lotion, pliers, etc.
4. The 8" hatch is terrific with an easy open latch.
5. The molded in paddle holders are handy but a little hard to strap paddle down
6. The paddle that comes with the boat is great quality and I see no need replace.
7. The forward hatch is huge and great for storing bulky items.
8. Hobie has been a first class company for 40 years but their customer service really sucks.

Cons:
1. Wish it was 10 pounds lighter.
2. Need a rudder to track in any wind.
3. Needs better hand grips to lift comfortably
4. The hand grips on the bow and stern are attached with a small line. I like the straps used on the Tarpon series much better.
5. Like may of these sit-on-tops there is too much water on the cockpit, Hobie doesn't give you enough scuppers.
6. Last, Hobie sold me a 2009 model, but checking the serial number it was a 2008. After many lies by the dealer (central Florida Panhandle) and Hobie, they agreed to exchange. I had to drive another 240 miles at my expense to exchange.

I purchased my Hobie Quest in mid-summer '07. In my area my options were really limited, and a demo was not possible so it was a bit of a gamble.
One thing to look at when comparing the Quest to other models is what they come with. There were much less inexpensive yaks out their, but by the time you add all the standard gear that comes with the Quest they are comparable in price, the paddle, seat and hatches are included, and the seat is definitely not a cheapie.

As far as the basics this kayak has you pretty much covered, a top notch quality hull with a flat finish on top and smooth on the bottom, and the following goodies:

1. a big, easy-to-access, water tight front hatch - if you're on the water and you want to access the hatch, you'll have to get used to shimmying forward on the yak with your feet dangling over the side, this is the only way to do it with good stability, it's really simple to open with one hand, no straps to wrestle, just a single bungie.
2. 8" water tight round hatch - excellent hatch, easy to access while sitting, holds a hobie dry bag or plastic trays or just gives access to hull storage.
3. side pockets with mesh retainers - perfect for pliers, lip grabbers or even a spare bottle of water, and even packs of plastic bait, love these things.
4. deluxe seat - the seat is really well padded, some say it's much better than the '06 model seat, however I think the older model was a little taller at the back, if you are approaching 6 feet tall, you might find it a little short. Handy pocket in the back, I keep keys and wallet etc. here, it's not waterproof so I keep my wallet and cell in a ziploc.
5. drink holder ...will fit some pretty big beverage containers, or a small container in some sort of individual cooler
6. an area for rigging stuff between the legs with a tray - plenty of space here for various mounts, and a tray for a small tackle box. Only thing I find with the mount location, if you don't mount to the front it makes for a long reach.
7. rod holders - these are kind of loose and shallow, so just make sure you keep your rod leashed. I haven't had a rod pop out yet, but then again I rarely use them for trolling, more as holders. ok for bigger rods
8. foot pedals - easy to adjust, can be adapted to control a rudder, if your under 6 feet you'll probably have a couple recesses in front of the pedals to keep stuff, I often have a bottle of water or a small bait container up their.
9. behind seat recessed storage area - this area is huge, my 7 year old can sit back their comfortably. You could easily stash a crate and a couple dry bags back their. Combined with the front storage I'm sure you could carry a weekend's worth of necessity type camping gear.

   I bought mine with the Fisherman kit, which came with a few extras;

10. a tackle bag with 3 x 8" round tackle boxes - this thing is great, I have a tray setup for each type of fishing that I do. The bag came with a leash so I hook it to a seat strap and keep it in a crate behind the seat, works well.
11. a paddle leash - this is the coil retracting type, I find it a bit heavy and the spring is too strong, it adds a fair amount of weight to the paddle feel, I'd prefer something lighter and less bulky, I realize loosing a paddle is not much of an option, but the paddle does float, and I can keep a spare pack paddle in the huge hatch.
12. a deluxe buggy with inflatable quick connect wheels - this thing is almost awesome, first thing I do is set the yak on the buggy after I unload it off the car, then I gear up and wheel it down to the water and right into the water, then I just lift up on the back and the buggy drops out, it can then be stored either upside down in the rear scuppers or in the hatch. My only peeve is with trying to get the buggy back under the yak when heading in, for some reason I just can't do the reverse. I usually end up tying everything down, partially unloading then tipping the yak to get the buggy back on. Otherwise this buggy makes for really light effort even over sand and rocks.

I'm 5'11" 215lbs and I find with about 30lbs of gear it sits perfect in the water and paddles nice, it's quick with little paddle effort. It's great in chop under 2' and handles boat wake quite well. I got out about a dozen times and have not tipped yet, however one of the first things I did after purchase was take it into the shallows and played around with it to determine it's limits and proper ways to move around in it to ensure stability. I do find I get about 1" of water in the foot wells, so I do use scupper plugs. The only time I got a wet butt was when I sat side saddle for a while without plugs and some of the water drained into the seat area. I have loaded this kayak with ~340lbs and it still paddled well although it did sit a couple inches lower in the water.

Why a 8 out of 10 rating? The boat itself was a little wetter than I anticipated, sure if I was lighter it would probably be fine, but with a 350lb capacity I expected a little drier, not a biggie tho I can use scupper plugs, however if I could have demo'd it first I might have gone with a drier option. The tracking isn't great, I knew that when I bought it, it's not an issue when slow paddling, but if your trying to carry some speed and cover some distance it's a PITA, I will be putting the rudder on soon. The accessories, getting the buggy back on after a day on the water can be a pita, the seat could be a little higher, and the rod leash could be better.

The part I really like about the issues is they can all be corrected and I can make this work, I'll be paddling this for many years to come.

Just back from a 6 hour paddle up the Silver River (Ocala, FL) into Silver Springs to dodge glass bottom boats and back. This is a fast boat. Oddly I didn't have the rudder and thought the boat tracked very well. In fact it doesn't like to turn. Found it very easy to fall into a rythmn and stroke away. Fast current on an angle will try to grab you, but directly into it is not a problem. I LOVE the wheels!! What a great invention!! Made lanching a breeze. Just loaded boat by my car wheeled it down to the river - stored the wheels in front hatch and off I went. Coming out of the water was super easy. Was nice to do it all in one trip.

My only beef is the footwell stays wet, but you can ride your feet higher on the footrests to compensate.

I bought my quest about 6 weeks ago. Tried in Lake Mendocino first and noticed it did not track very well. I thought it may have been the wind. So I chalked it off to the wind and paddled it for about an hour. I mostly dive off my yak and found it extremely easy to get off and on. It was stable enough to stand in and dive off, not a beautiful swan dive though. I like the front hatch and had an extra strap riveted on as I thought the bungee was insufficient. I really like the molded in pockets with the mesh net. I always have little things that I like access to when I am out playing and I found them a great asset.

My next trip with the Quest was out in the ocean off the coast of Mendocino. It took some effort getting through the surf, but with persistence I made it with only moderate heavy breathing. Once out in the ocean I again noticed my yak didn't track. Again I thought it was the wind but started having some doubts. I spent most of my paddling time concentrating on going in a straight line. If you like spinning around in random circles gawking at mother natures amazing beauty then by this kayak without a rudder. You will absolutely love it!

At one point I swapped yaks with my buddy. He has a Tarpon 120. It tracked very well without a rudder. I found his Tarpon way uncomfortable, but trackable. So I got back into mine and new I needed a rudder.

So now I have a rudder on my Quest and I absolutely love this kayak. I have rated it an 8 out of ten because I am pissed off about not getting a rudder when I bought the boat. That was just stupid and the sales people didn't educate me to this. Perhaps they did not know since it is so new to the kayak market.

That being said, this kayak is great. If you want a pretty fast yak that is probably the most comfortable SOT today, buy a Quest. The rudder system kicks ass and is very user friendly and intuitive. The adjustable foot rests are one of the points that sold me on this model. They are adjustable enough for me to get a tight, yet controlled fit... I feel as if I am in a Porsche 911.

The hatches are big and friendly. I ended up with some water inside, so I configured another secret bungee system and this seemed to help. The 8" nut hatch needs a bag inside so items stay easily accessed. What I really love is the HUGE tank well on the back. Room for two air tanks, or abalone gear, or milk crates, or bait boxes, or whatever. The more stuff I can get onto my yak the happier I am!

I paid about $1200 for the yak, seat, paddle, rudder, anchor, some extra straps, and of course... Uncle Sam.

If you did not read this whole review, DO NOT BUY THE QUEST WITHOUT A RUDDER!!!