i11s drive well changed shape?

The shape of the drive well on my i11s appears to have changed and now the drive doesn't fit at all into the front part of the well. The drive used to just drop in and now it doesn't. The front well (not the tiny very front "fin" part of the well) seems a little narrower or something, so the drive is pushed back ~1/3 - 1/2" and thus doesn't set into the well.

This happened after the i11s had been (correctly) folded and stored in its bag which was laid flat in the garage back of our motorhome. We had planned to kayak in the Midwest but due to flooding /highwater / bad weather everywhere, we ended up not going out at all. Can storing the boat while folded "torque" the drive well??

So, after finding the drive well problem,

1) I have looked and compared to my husband's i9s and can't see any difference. Both drives work just fine in his boat and neither drive will fit into the i11s drive well. They are the new reversible Mirage drive with the Turbo fins.

2) Once when I did get the drive installed, I laid the kayak on its side to face the sun for a day and hoped that the warmth would help the well re-shape. Since we're in Phoenix AZ and it's August, this is pretty much like using a heat gun AFAIK. Unfortunately, this didn't help.

Does anyone have any ideas of what else I can try? We bought the boat around the holidays last year so it's not a year old yet.

thanks for your help!

Could have happened prior to the fold and storage. Air pressure in the chamber can squeeze the well, so if left inflated, in heat, this could be a cause. You may be able to wedge something in the well, when hot, and then cool it. Possible the fairing can be trimmed a little.

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

Thank you for replying, Matt!

I hadn't thought about air pressure deforming the well. I had inflated the i11s' chambers 1-2 pounds under the max, but perhaps I should've done a more precise calculation!

Yesterday I started following your recommendation. I got the drive back in the well, mostly deflated it, and laid the kayak across some chairs in the backyard so the sun could really hit the well. Then I packed the well with ice to cool it quickly. This morning it seems marginally better, so I think I'll look around for something a bit wider than the drive to --carefully-- wedge into the well and repeat the process.

thanks again!