I've been doing this for a while and one of the first things I tell a newby who goes out with me is "if you want it, leash it".
But who listens to their own advice?
Launched this morning a few blocks north of Jacksonville Beach pier (FL), not a lot of life showing itself, but a lovely morning. My buddy was already out past the breakers and a larger set caught me in the impact zone. No big deal and the Hobie punched right through as a good wave washed over the deck and gave me an early morning drenching. I looked over my shoulder to make sure the rods and gear were in place and everything was fine. Then I reached in front of me to drop in the drive,,, and its gone.
As a rule, my standard operating procedure is to drop in the drive and secure the pedals, unless I'm going through fair sized surf. Then I find the pedals can get in my way hopping on or off the boat quickly. I find its a bit easier to leash it in the tankwell or on deck.
The first two "mods" on my '06 Adventure were counterweights on the back of the pedals and a leash for the drive. The leash was not connected.
Beached the boat and spent the next couple of hours looking for a needle in a sand stack. No dice. Eventually gave up and went fishing for a bit. Caught two pogies
So does anybody have a line on a used or refurb drive? Its time for Tarpon and paddling is not the answer.
, this softened the blow a little bit but I was absolutely gutted about the drive!!