Broken cable, big problem?

No, not really. The Drive can lose any combination of cables as long as one of the chain-cables remains functional, and the Drive will still operate. In the case shown here, the front cable broke after well over 1000 miles of service, temporarily unseating the idler cable. As a result, the pedals could collapse backwards, but still operate normally forward, driving the rear fin.

Of course, if the rear cable were to break and the idler cable become unseated, the pedals could collapse forward. Then you would merely reverse the Drive and operate the boat backwards to get home.

Running with one fin in any case, the boat will rock back and forth, but you can quickly adapt to the motion and still be able to use the Drive to get home. This next picture shows the GPS track of an Adventure running with one fin at "fast cruise". Obviously a little slower with less thrust available, it nevertheless propels the boat quite adequately when properly tuned and adjusted (especially with a Turbofin).


Something to keep in mind if and when you might experience a "Drive failure". The only 2 conditions that I am aware of that would totally disable the Drive are losing both chain cables or losing both fins, neither of I've ever heard of occurring with factory equipment. Anything short of that, you're still in business (unless you'd rather paddle)!

Knowing how to respond ahead of time can save you a lot of trouble.

Glad to see the Mirage Drive will still run with a flat.

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I have had many cable and fin-mast breakages ...well, about 5 or 6... so I am very interested in this post.

On the first occasion it happened to me I tried continuing with just the one fin but I found the side to side motion too tricky in the large swells I was in and resorted to paddling home. I can't remember much about that experience except saying to myself that pedalling with one fin or cable won't work, and on every subsequent occasion I have just pulled the drive, picked up my paddle and paddled/sailed home.

On the basis of this post I might have been better to be a bit more open minded about what it might have been possible to achieve pedalling with just one fin in operation... ?!

So can somebody please remind me: when pedalling with just one fin do you still pedal with both feet or do you have to alternate between pulling and pushing with just the one leg? The reason for asking is that I have removed the footstraps from my pedals because I could never see the point of them. However, if the ability to pedal with one fin requires a 'pull' action then there is a point to the straps after all & I had better put them back on again pronto !

The pedals are always linked by at least one cable, so they will both operate in all cases regardless of which cable breaks.

I was also put off by the rock and roll motion the first time, the Adventure being the worst offender in that regard. It took about 5 minutes to gain confidence that the boat wasn't at risk of tipping over.

Once you know what to expect, it's easy to adapt to the rhythmic motion. I've tried countering the roll by leaning in the opposite direction, but in the end it's best just to relax and let the boat roll freely. The outhaul clew should be set loose to maximize thrust/minimum rocking (if not already set that way).

Doing this ahead of time and knowing what to expect is huge in successfully dealing with it in an actual situation. Sliding one fin (either one) off the mast temporarily gives a full simulation of what to expect and allows as much time to adapt to the motion as one may need.