Just back from kayaking in Maine

I've been on vacation in Maine where I took the Oasis down the Saco River... my first fresh-water excursion with the new kayak. The Mirage drive was a thing of magic and mystery for everyone else on the river. They couldn't believe it, and I received so many question about how the heck my boat was cruising so quickly... and how the darned thing steers.

I knew it was a dangerous prospect bringing the drive to the river, as the Saco river is full of shallows, rocks, and tree trunks. I bent a mast within 5 minutes of putting in. But this only served to show me how robust the Mirage drive system is! Even with a bent mast (about 4 inches off the center line at the tip), the drive performed well all day. I could barely tell the difference.

I had to keep yanking the drive out of the well whenever trunks loomed under the water ahead, but it was a fun day and I didn't mind at all.

The rest of the vacation was spent playing in the waves just off of Old Orchard Beach. Wow! A Mirage drive kayak is a superior surfing machine! I couldn't believe it! I've never truly surfed in my life until this past week. It was an absolute blast (and slightly terrifying) to catch waves and have them hurtle you towards the shore. There were swimmers in the water, so I had to work out a system of veering off the wave without capsizing before getting too close to shore. It was scary, but I avoided capsizing and stayed within the good graces of the life guards.

I wasn't sure it would be worth it to lug a large, heavy kayak 6 hours up to Maine, but I'm glad I did. I thank my little car for the effort, and I'll certainly do it again next year!

Amazing!

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I really got a kick out of your post. I grew up on the Saco River in the Town of Hiram, the next town down the river from Brownfield and Fryeburg, which is where I assume you put in. What’s really funny is now I live in Old Orchard Beach. I own and AI and I’ve already taken it down the Saco 4 times this year in kayak mode. I know exactly what you mean about relentlessly being questioned by people on the river. On busier weekends in the summer there can be as many as 2000 canoers and kayakers on the Saco just between Fryeburg and Brownfield, many of whom are a bit intoxicated and it seems like every one of them has something to say when they see me peddle by. The comments I tend to get the most often are stuff like “Hey that’s cheating”, “How do you steer that thing?”, “No fair”. It’s pretty nice being the only person on the river who doesn’t have to put down their beer to propel themselves. Last year I even had the river patrol chase me down because they thought was drinking while operating a motorized boat.

I’ve kayaked a lot of the shallower sections of the Saco for the past few years and have yet to cause any permanent damage to my mirage drive or the boat. There’s really no need to pull the drive out, just always be aware of position of the fins under the boat. The trick is to flutter the fins up against the hull when in shallow water and just getting into the habit of always having the fins up against the hull when not being used. It’s also best to not have the rudder line locked down with the jam cleat, so it can swing up if it snags on a submerged tree branch. If you plan to go again, I would definitely recommend ordering one of the larger sailing rudders from Hobie. It makes a big difference when trying to dodge those hidden underwater tree limbs that just seem to come out of no ware.

As for Old Orchard, I have yet to take my boat in the surf, but I’m constantly sailing up and down the length of beach. If you come back to the area next year, I would also definitely recommend kayaking the Scarborough marsh just a couple miles up the road from OOB. When I do that run, I typically put in at the mouth of the marsh about two hours before high tied and ride in with the current. Then turn around and have it help carry me back out again.

I Google Earthed your locations....Nice.....We Have some great water here in South Jersey if you get down this way.


http://www.youtube.com/user/spinfisherbob

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Hobie Fishing Team Rider
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SpinfisherBob
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