Hobie to the rescue!

This morning on my way back to the landing, I came across a boat adrift and closing in on an overgrown shoreline. It was one of those inboard Bayliner models (not a lightweight boat). As is so often the case, it was a first time skipper with a stalled motor.

I had them toss me a line and went to work. It took quite a bit to get them turned into the wind, since it was hard getting any steerage way. Finally we got going upwind at a breakneck speed of 1.2 MPH (GPS).

In a short time we arrived at the dock where they had to endure the mock scorn and embarassment of being brought in by a kayak! One of the people on board took a picture and promised to send it. The skipper had reservations, however about letting the evidence out -- he'd never live it down! If it shows up, I'll post it.

I secretly always wanted to try this, just to see what the Mirage drive could do. I was impressed and I know they were too! Yes, I was using Turbofins.

Apparently as a reward for this good deed, I managed to snag the best wake ride ever from some boat going out. It was one of those flashy fast looking inboards filled with a bunch of kids (young adults). I caught about a 15 (?) second ride (felt like forever!) on one swell and got up to 10.7 MPH (GPS). Stablizing on the swell at that speed was undescribeable! My previous best was about 3 - 5 seconds and 8.3 MPH -- not even close. It was simply sublime!!! There are only two things better in life -- one is a catapult shot off an aircraft carrier.

Roadrunner? Your new nickname should be ThunderThighs!!

Great Job and what a great story!

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"If I'm not at work, I'm Outback"

Roadrunner,

Maybe the Coast Guard should start using hobies. The torque these pedalers
put out is amazing. There is something special about these pedal drive mechanisms and you proved it. Two incredible experiences in one day although the wake ride sounds like the most fun. Roadrunner, do you have an outback or adventure?

RR said

And the second is--ummm, never mind! I have heard of other OB owners doing the same thing, but never towing as big a boat as that one. WTG, RR! And your fuel cost was probably no more than a sixer of Heinekens--right?!

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The nice thing about the Mirage drive is that it works in a continuous motion, and therefore provides tremendous power even at low speeds. This is similar (but much more efficient than) the old-style sculling.

I have moved large cruising boats using this method, and saw fishermen move 45-50' fishing boats around their moorage. Very low speed, but you can move many tons with a simple blade.

I believe the Mirage drive has the same effect. It works well for speed on kayaks because they are such light boats, but works also very well pulling heavy loads because the motion is continuous and the load can build momentum. This little machine is truly a miracle...

Roadrunner, that is fantastic! Love the picture. I've thought about the same thing but didn't know how to get the boat started. I thought about pushing the boat at first, then grabbing a line and pulling.

How did you stop it?

Got to give credit to my Adventure here. It did a yeoman's job! Here's a better picture of it.




Come to think of it, they still owe me some fuel!


It worked out pretty well. As we approached the dock, we were crabbing into the wind, which was coming from starboard. The only tricky part was getting the kayak up to the dock in a parallel fashon so I could reach a cleat. This I was able to do by giving them some slack temporarily so I could turn independently. When I got to the dock, I tied their bowline off to the lee side. As the wind swung them around, I was able to back out under their bow. The cleat held them fast from that point.

RR,
Got another question--it looks like from your pic that you just held the other boat's bow line over your shoulder. I have thought about how I would tow another boat in such a situation, and figured that I might have to rig a Navy-style towing bridle to the rear eyepads, so as to clear the Hobie rudder assembly and to prevent yawing. But I guess your "hand-holding" worked OK, and didn't dislocate the ole shoulder?

P.S. Man, you gotta be fast around here--someone just posted this whole thread over on the KFS board, with the same heading: "Hobie to the rescue", but without the exclamation mark(!).

http://kfs.infopop.cc/eve/forums/a/tpc/ ... 6861070252

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I couldn't come up with any brilliant solutions on where to hook up -- there wasn't a lot of time. But the "over the shoulder" style worked pretty well. Even with the Turbofins, I wouldn't be able to dislocate my shoulder! Also, being able to play the line out and reel myself in helped when turning. Keep in mind, that Adventure doesn't exactly spin on a dime so being able to manipulate the line was really helpful. The Sport would actually be a superior tow vehicle because of its manuverability!

Your Bridal idea would probably work great with a lighter tow where you could get more speed and rudder control, or where you had an extended tow. You would probably want some sort of a shock-cord mount though, especially in any kind of sea conditions. The only problems I could see would be inaccessability to tend the line or for an emergency disconnect; keep in mind that you might still foul the rudder assembly when turning.

Dick, what would you think about launching a "Hobie rescue squad" where Hobie would provide members with the proper rescue gear, consisting of a free Hobie rescue hat? Heck, the great PR would probably pay for the hats!!

RR,
Now you're thinking "outside of the box"--I like it! But don't forget a glow-in-the-dark vest complete with official patch and whistle, in addition to the cap, natch! And mebbe a sticker and siren for the yak--man, the possibilities are almost endless here.

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