I have been using Hobie Mirage Kayaks as a tender for the last 3.5 years and I find that they work very well in my warm water, coastal/inland cruising grounds. When I bought my first one, I was looking for a tender that:

1. I could tow in normal conditions with little drag and little chance of it swamping.
2. I could bring aboard in rough weather.
3. Was capable of making reasonable progress into a stiff breeze/chop under human power.
4. Was capable of carrying myself plus at least 50# of cargo.

I started with a Sport which I kept for three years. It is the smallest and lightest of the Mirage boats and it exceeded all of my requirements. For onboard storage, I found that it was light enough that I could lift it into Garhauer kayak racks that mount to my lifeline stantions. Given my weight, the Sport is capable of carrying 65# total cargo inside the two deck hatches and aft cargo deck. Speed wise, the Sport is the slowest of the Mirage boats but the average person can pedal at 3.5 mph with a level of effort similar to a fast walk. I intentionally went out to play in rough weather and found that I could make a solid 3.0 mph into two foot whitecaps. The Sport is very stable so I never felt in danger of capsizing but it was a wet ride. The biggest surprise with the Sport was how seriously fun it was. I ended up buying the sail kit and it is pretty normal to find me exploring the anchorage or marina after a day of sailing. It also provides an excellent workout. I also started to use the Sport to explore and fish all the local streams on days when I could not take the boat out. The only reason that I sold the Sport is that I wanted a faster boat for longer kayak adventures. I bought a Revo 13 which is considerably faster and has a higher cargo capacity. I am not sure I would recommend it as a tender because it is much narrower and less stable.

Two years ago, I added an Outfitter (tandem) to the fleet after I got married. The Outfitter is faster than the Sport and even more stable. Given the combined weight of the two of us, we can carry better than 150# cargo. The only thing bad about the Outfitter is that it weighs 70# so I have to use the main halyard to help lift it up to the kayak racks.

One other Mirage to consider as a tender is the Outback. It is a larger version of the Sport so it is faster and can carry a much heavier load.

The bad thing about the Mirages is that they are expensive. The tandem boats cost around $2600 new and are hard to find used. The single boats are $1600-1900 depending on the model and are a little easier to find used. If you buy the sail rig, upgrade the fins/rudder and buy a set of wheels, you will have another $500 invested.