Welcome to the forum. 205 for life!!!! Congrats on the purchase. Those Hobie's are really nice and definitely a very stable boat. Much more stable than my Cobra Explorer. To answer a couple of your questions. The obvious answer is no, a fish finder is not necessary however, I love having mine and for $60 you cant go wrong. Before I go on about rigging your kayak I will say this. Personally I enjoy rigging the kayak as much as using it. It's a hobby in itself aside from the hobby of fishing in it. I've had a lot of fun rigging my yak and doing little projects for it. Of course, again, none of this is necessary.
As I mentioned above you can pick up a Humminbird Piranha Max 165 for $60 or less and the installation is super simple. Drill one hole for the wire and grommet and then inside the hull somewhere level but near the front hatch you will stick the transducer to the inside of the hull with electric/duct puddy (home depot). The puddy lasts forever and it will not move. Shoots through hull with good clarity and will accurately register temp. As mentioned in other posts the ability to see what the bottom looks like and how deep you are can be helpful. I personally like knowing the water temp now too. With all do respect I disagree with previous post about not needing it because you can see the bottom and you will never be in more than 20 feet of water. I fish Cholla Bay and during high tide I have been in 38-40 feet of water and I usually only experience clear water about once a year. I average 7-8 trips down to fish in my yak per year and rarely is the water clear enough to see past 16-18 feet. Most times visibility seems to be about 10 to 15 feet. The fish finder has added to my experience and is a great educational tool. Moving on...
Rod holders. I personally like the flush mount rod holders because of the clean recessed look. Your Hobie might already have them but if you dont that's definitely something that you might look into. Lots of guys do a crate for the stern well with rod holders attached. This gives you more storage as well inside the crate. Milk crates usually fit perfect without any modification. I personally went with a bait tank design that I made at home from write up's that I've read on the internet. Same idea as the crate without the storage. Instead I have a 5 gallon bait tank full electric and bilge pump with two rod holders attached to the bait tank. Of course now we're getting away from a basic setup.
PADDLE LEASH is a MUST! (Disregard if you only plan on using the Mirage Drive) Again, as mentioned above it can get windy quick and on high current days you dont want that paddle getting away from you. It's certainly possible for the paddle to get too far away from the boat and then you go and complicate the situation by jumping in to get it and now the boats floating away from you. This could lead to serious problems so I feel like a paddle leash is an absolute must.
Life jacket of course. This is one area that I would not skimp on. I know that you have the Mirage Drive and might not be paddling however regardless for comfort get a paddle specific life vest. I picked up a really nice one on Amazon after losing my previous life vest from Cabellas in Cholla Bay recently. The one from Amazon might fit better and is just as comfortable for half the price as the Cabellas jacket. Looks very similar as well.
Anything else is up to you. I personally like having music because I go out there by myself for 4 0r 5 hours. Again, not necessary. I also prefer to have my GoPro on board. Being out there solo it's the only way to get some good pictures.
Depending on if you have a center hatch or not I use heavy duty sticky velcro inside my center hatch to velcro little tackle boxes so they dont slide around the inside of the kayak.
None of this happens overnight. I've owned my yak for 5 years now and almost every trip I think of a new idea to make it better or more organized. A lot of times thinking, " why havent I thought of this before?". Trial and error is your friend. My suggestion is to take the yak out and use it before you decide on anything and as time goes on you might consider adding things to it or you might feel it's good enough for what you use it for. Basically DO WHATEVER YOU WOULD LIKE, it's your boat. There's definitely no right or wrong way. I dont think you'll need a SAT device. As mentioned above, who's coming to get you? Possibly the Mexicans or possibly nobody. You can pick up a COBRA VHF handheld for like $45 that will clip to your vest but again not sure it's really necessary. I've considered buying one for 5 years now but have never really gotten around to it...
This is my last piece of advice because my ramblings have already gone on long enough. I apologize for post length.
BE OBSESSIVE about the WIND and TIDE report. Study it learn it retain it. I think this is the biggest factor above anything else for having a fun safe outing. This will help calm down the wife too. I know it has been mentioned previously and in other threads to not go out when it's windy or not as calm as you would like. I disagree to some extent. Kayaking is not unlike anything else that involves repetition, balance and motor skills. The more you're out there in different conditions the quicker you're going to learn how the boat reacts and how you react in certain sea conditions. You'll learn some techniques like straddling the kayak for extreme balance and other things. Obviously I dont recommend going really far out in adverse conditions but practicing near shore when you have family on the beach or something like that might be a good thing. I mentioned this above but again, in my experience you'll rarely get "perfect condition" days unless you're in town for a week or so at a time. If you're a weekend warrior like me be prepared to kayak in non ideal water a majority of the time. Nevertheless, you and your wife shouldn't have an irrational fear of the ocean. Be smart, know your ability and know the wind and tide report for the day. You'll be fine!!
#YES205
ChollaBay4Life
