Lesson for today

I set out for a fishing trip this morning. Took my Hobie Revo out into Pamlico Sound, NC. Went down wind and down sea with the tide for mile or so and started fishing. I wasn't worried about working back against the wind and tide--I had my Mirage Drive with Turbos which would bring me home easily. Moved around and drifted further from the harbor. Caught a few fish and was having a good time when....

I got that horrible mushy feeling in the Mirage pedal signaling that I had a fin failure. Pulled the Mirage drive and found that the a shaft had come loose and one fin and it was dangling by the brass adjuster screw.

Lessons for today:
1) Check the set screws every now and again. They may have worked loose.
2) Carry an allen wrench in the boat. I could have effected a repair if I had the right tool.
3) And most important! DON'T PEDAL FARTHER THAN YOU CAN PADDLE!

Sore shouldered and wiser, Greybeard

"So much water--so little time"

I second that GB!! I had the same failure and only had a small flat bladed screwdriver which fortunately fit inside the head of the set screw. It worked, but not nearly as well as a proper sized allen wrench.

Some time ago, someone posted items to keep aboard for emergencies. Does anyone know where that list is?

If not, we can start a new list...

#1 allen wrench
#2 can of spam
#3 ...............

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

Better...

Get the upgrade kit for the newer threaded masts and sprockets:

81129022 V2 SPROCKET / MAST KIT STD (PAIR)

81129122 V2 SPROCKET / MAST KIT TURBO (PAIR)

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

Amen on that!!!
If you put a drop of loctite on the screws the problem will resolve itself. I'm on the water four times a week in the bad stuff, failure isn't in the plans; even with a full repair kit in the truck. The mirage drive is the most overlooked piece of equiptment, it pays to keep an eye on everything after each outting. The chains are very soft concerning the stainless they are made out of; even mild rubbing on sand will wear them quickly. With normal use there will not be a problem, drag the mirage drive even slightly and wear is instantaneous.
Hobie offers an upgrade to the sprockets and rod with a threaded rod and socket(as Matt Miller mentioned); this prevents what was mentioned in this post....nothing now to come loose. The loctite will also solve that problem.

I have two drives both of them quite old. One has the upraded threaded spockects and one does not. Most of the time I take a friend in a second kayak and if one breaks down the other one is capable of pedaling for two.

If I am solo I have a baggy in the clear zip pocket of my crate mate which contains an allen key, a wrench, a ruddr pin, and a pin for the fin with slip ring. If I am going really far I carry an extra fin in the crate.

Not related to the mirage drive but perhaps even more important is a hand pump. A few weeks ago both the Adventure and the Revo sprung major leaks. We did not notice any degradation iin performance but both realized the kayaks felt tippy and unstable. We were easily pedaling at over 3 kts when we started to suspect something wrong. The pump, one of those yellow ones with the foam hand hold from KFS easily pumped us out through the twist and stow hatch.

Back on the subject of drives. I have noticed my drives getting noisier as they age. Small creaks and a noticable catch at the end of the pedal stroke. I keep them clean and well lubed. May question is where should I start on replacing parts?

BTW both of my drives have over 2 years of constant use the one has about 3 years on it. I use them 2-3 times per week all year round.