Hobie is best known today for its range of recreational and fishing kayaks. The team packed a lot of innovation into simple and effective tools for getting people outdoors and pushing the limits of adventure. Our parts are built to withstand the harshest ocean environments on earth from the Florida everglades to the arctic circle. My role mainly focused on industrial design, ergonomics and mechanical design.
Mirage Lynx
Lynx upends the concept of a kayak with a completely new category of light weight stable hull design that is fast and maneuvers within its own length. The kayak weighs less than half a conventional rotational molded kayak thanks to a fiberglass/PE composite called Ace-Tek. We worked closely with the manufacturer of the technology to design the toolset and features that made the Lynx a revolutionary kayak. For the first time, users can paddle in new locations with only 3" of draft.
Hull Design • Steering system design • Steering patent • Drive integration
Mirage Outback
The world's best-selling fishing kayak got a full redesign in 2019. With a completely new hull and a huge set of new features specifically designed for fishing open ocean. The work the team did to perfect the best kayak on the market led to a 3-fold increase in sales revenue and a breakout success for Hobie.
Concept Development • Hull Design • Bow hatch design • Patent protection
Mirage Pro Angler 360
I assisted in the design-to-production development of the MirageDrive 360, working from concept development, mechanical testing and usability studies to working on the mold casting and tweaking molding parameters. Being a completely new innovation, the 360 faced numerous production challenges from tolerance stacks to materials and quality issues. I worked with lead engineer Phil Dow to ensure his invention went to market on time and with a degree of quality and innovation that is unmatched in the industry. Because of these team efforts, the Mirage Pro-Angler 360 is rightfully known as the top fishing kayak in the world.
MirageDrive 360 production • Gearbox assembly design • Design for Manufacture
Compass & Compass Duo
This series aimed to reduce the cost of the kayaks and introduce more people to kayaking. The team closely focused on simple, effective cost reduction while maintaining the quality Hobie is known for.
Production design • Design for high volume manufacture
Passport
Concept Development • MirageDrive Development • Hull Design
Passport gives Hobie a cost-effective solution to the recreation. I worked with team to develop low-cost systems for entry-level kayakers. Kickup fins gave the passport more ability to go anywhere at an entry level.
