By Paul Lebowitz
Photos by Audria Ruscitti

The majority of kayak anglers fish from plastic sit-on-top (SOT) kayaks. Unlike the fiber and resin boats favored by pure paddlers, one piece SOT hulls are tough, durable and affordable. There are no joints or welds hinting at how the boats are built. Where do these simple boats that we love come from? When Hobie Kayaks recently invited the staff of Kayak Fisherman to see how they build their line of kayaks we jumped at the opportunity. We gladly sacrificed a sunny day and good tides to meet Director of Marketing Dan Mangus at Hobie's factory in Oceanside, California. 

Each of the plastic sit-on-top kayak models that we love to fish from started out as an idea in the mind of a designer. The idea progresses from a set of plans into a prototype kayak. The prototype is tested, modified and refined until the design is fine-tuned. The prototype may be a good boat, but it can't be mass produced yet. First a mold must be made, and to make a mold you start with a plug.

A plug is hand formed out of a plaster-like material, something like a giant soap carving. The plug is shipped off to a mold maker. An aluminum mold is built around the plug, then intricately detailed to create the desired texture of the finished product.

When we arrived, Mangus ushered us into the Hobie offices. This was no stuffy Madison Avenue suite. Every wall was covered with photos and posters of people enjoying the water on sailboats and kayaks.

The staff was casually clothed West Coast style, and looked as if they'd feel at home on the beach. We were then led into an expansive metal-framed industrial building.

We passed through several large spaces where we saw orderly rows of unfinished kayaks in various stages of construction, eventually coming to a small room lined with giant bins.

Mangus walked to a bin and scooped up a handful of vividly blue powder which he let run through his fingers. Individual Hobie kayaks begin their lives as that fine powder, a high tech plastic known as Super Linear II polyethylene. The material comes from the supplier in natural color and a rainbow of bright hues.

Mangus explained that every kayak is uniquely individual.

"Specific kayak shades are created by following formulas which specify the ratios of the various colors to mix," he said. "Even primary colors are made from a mixture of varying shades so the finished kayak will appear to have depth. A close look shows every Hobie kayak to be unique due to the random distribution of the colored powder."

As we'd entered the room, we'd noticed a hand cart parked next to a precision scale. On the cart were three smaller containers filled with a blend of differently colored polyethylene powders. Mangus looked at a tag and announced we were looking at a tandem. Think about it. Every one of our fishing kayaks starts out as a few humble canisters of powdered plastic.

At the next stop just around the corner from the powder room, huge fans roared and massive machinery spun and twisted. Heat radiated from a giant rectangular structure that rocked back and forth. We were in the rotomolding area where the powdered polyethylene is essentially baked into a boat. We watched as a team of Hobie employees worked quickly and efficiently around a two piece metal framework, the mold. 

First the mold was cleaned. Next a worker poured the premeasured plastic powder into the bottom of the mold. Other workers applied logo sheets and other graphics to the top half of the mold, or installed hardware inserts to be molded into the kayak.

The top half of the mold was then carefully lowered and latched into place. The men affixed the ponderous mold to a frame and then hoisted the assemblage over their heads and into the rotomolding oven to bake.

The oven is an immense rectangle that constantly radiates heat. The entire oven rocks up and down while the mold, hidden from view inside the oven, rotates within the frame to spread the finely powdered plastic around the mold. The oven's precise movements are computer controlled. Each kayak cooks at approximately 600 degrees Fahrenheit for one hour. When the time is up the top of the huge rotomolding oven lifts to allow the mold and its frame to be removed.

We stood back as the workers hoisted the hot mold and frame onto a cooling rack. There the mold was rotated like a roast on a spit while a series of noisy fans blew cooling air against it. After a time the frame and mold were hoisted once more to the place the process began. The crew unlatched the top half of the mold and lifted it off to reveal a newly formed boat.

The workers lifted the still hot boat easily from the bottom half of the mold, then carried it to a cradle for further cooling. The rotomolding crew foreman carefully checked the new kayak for weak spots or cosmetic blemishes. It looked nearly flawless, ready to hit the water. The only clue that the boat had been formed in a two piece mold was a barely perceptible ribbon of excess plastic which was quickly scraped away.

We were escorted to the assembly room, where the new kayak hulls are fitted and finished. Here drills whined and saws whirred as workers installed hatches, rudders, bungie cords, rod holders, seat anchors and the like to the smooth and spotless hulls. Quality control crews checked over each finished boat, then sent them off to be wrapped in a protective cocoon of plastic, cardboard and bubble wrap, ready for shipping to your local kayak shop.    

There were two more stops in the kayak factory tour that are unique to Hobie. In the first we watched as a mechanic assembled row after row of Mirage's pedal systems. The drive allows Hobie's Mirage line of kayaks to be operated hands-free. The final room Mangus escorted us to was the sail room, a large open space where sails are cut and sewn. Hobie is one of the few kayak manufacturers to make its own optional sailing gear.

Somewhat disappointed the tour didn’t include free samples, we walked away enlightened and with respect for the workers at Hobie. We offer thanks to Hobie and Mangus for their hospitality and allowing us to share how plastic kayaks are manufactured.

It takes just a few adventures to forge a bond with a kayak. Ride out the wild seas of a storm squall together, or glide silently through skinny water to make a perfect cast on a tailing fish. The boat, which started as just a mere hunk of plastic at the kayak shop, becomes a faithful companion with its own distinct personality.

The next time you have your trusty kayak on the beach, pick up a handful of sand and let the grains trickle between your fingers. Isn't it remarkable how all of our rotomolded kayaks began in a similar form before getting baked like some high-tech cookie?