Mirage Drive: Do You Pedal Most Of The Time?

Had my new 2015 out on salt water for the first time today.

Wind a reasonably-steady 8-12 mph from about 12:30 to 15:30.
viz: https://picasaweb.google.com/1081497986 ... 5954221602

Occasionally there would be a little puff and I would stop pedaling and find myself going 6 or 6.1 mph... but I pedaled most of the time to hold high fives, maybe 6.1 if I pushed it.

Is this typical?

_________________
2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

I usually pedal away from where I launch, and if the wind dies. I am new to sailing, so right now I am challenging myself to get where I want to go using the sail and rudder. I have to say, I'm amazed at how quickly the Mirage drive can move the AI when I do use it.

I normally pedal in and out of the launch and all of my blown tacks (happens more than I'd like to admit). But I'm also quite happy to pedal around sometimes.

Sent from my SPH-L720T using Tapatalk

_________________
2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

• Trampolines
• Hobie cover
• Davis Spar Fly
• Kayakbob's Sprayskirts
• Spine Board Hakas

First off I'm one of the guys that pedals 100% of the time whenever I'm out. I do this for two reasons. First and foremost it's good excercise and we all need that. I don't pedal like a mad man trying to win a race, I just pedal at a walking type pace 40-50 cycles per minute (CPM), I am often out sometimes ten hrs (I do 50-60 milers often).
I'm also a pretty big proponent of the tri-power capability of the TI, why expend all your energy on just one power source at a time when you have several available to you. My thought is use a little of each to get your total power without over using any of them (like pedaling till your too tired to proceed, would be over taxing one of your power sources).
The second reason is I am out most of the time in winds 5-7 mph (very seldom do I go out in higher), and in winds that low on a TI without massive sails (which I have BTW) your only going to be going 1-2 mph unless your willing to pedal. If you have 20 miles to cover that day in my case in the Hot Florida sun, sitting in my TI is like sitting in a frying pan and I'm the yoke (lol but true). With no wind to keep you cool, it's actually dangerouse out there. I have actually taken some of my kids out with me who are from up north sailing (obviously without thinking DAH) and they suffered heat exposure, and I had to rush them back in to get them out of the intense sun and heat.

You can pretty much count on a stock TI to go .6 times wind speed (sailing only, not pedaling). Obviously you need to have a minimum wind speed for the sail to do anything, which I think is around 5mph. It's a pretty smooth curve from 5mph wind up to around 12 mph where you can pretty much count on the .6 wind speed factor. Once over 12 mph winds, then the sail can be over powered and most of us start to reef the sail a little.
I'm out there most weekends and 90% of the time when I'm out the winds are between 4-7 mph (I don't select that, this is normal wind in our area). Because of the climate here in So Fl and the Keys (it's really hot and sunny) I have personal preferences as to comfortable speeds. I have my boat rigged specifically for the typical conditions I'm usually in. My minimum cruise speed is 8 mph (anything lower than that I fry out there), my preferred cruise speed is 8-12 mph (obviously dependent on how much natural wind I have to work with and the smart use of my Tri-power system). Obviously the boat will do much better in strong winds and the strategic use of power I select to use. but I simply no longer go out in those conditions (I have a really bad back).
FE

Since I have an Outback as well, I only take the TI when I want to sail or if I want/need the bigger / more stable platform. As such, I rarely pedal.

I'll pedal getting to/from the boat ramp since I generally use protected boat ramps in harbors and there's not room to tack. Or when tacking, as I only occasionally get it right such that I can complete the tack without. (Which is why I prefer jibing instead.) Or when the wind drops very low or dies, of course.

I'll also pedal if I'm trying to push very far upwind, it does seem to help get me a few degrees more upwind ability. The lake I most often go to has a cove that funnels the wind such that I almost always need to go directly into the wind to get back to the harbor. The higher I can point the fewer tacks are required and the quicker I get back to the ramp.

If it's windy enough I like hiking out, so definitely not pedaling on those days.

Randomjoe brings up a very good point (sailing upwind), pedaling always helps you to be able to sail much closer to the wind (less tacks, better VMG (velocity made good (look it up))). Thats just the way I think.

Because of the geography of our area (intercoastal is very narrow and long, with normal winds coming from either the north or the south) I find myself sailing upwind 90% of the time (I always set off on an upwind leg, and return downwind if I can). The stock TI with it's smallish single boomless sail doesn't point into the wind all that well, typical is around 45 degrees off the wind, if your willing to pedal some you can sail closer to the wind. Keep in mind my TI is pretty modified (typical disclaimer) and It's been 5 1/2 yrs since I have tried to sail a stock TI (without a jib), so my results are different from most so take what I say with a grain of salt.
Personally I feel the TI is the most versatile boat on the market today (our family SUV), and can easily be modified to make it do anything you want it to do without fear of it not being class legal, obviously I'm no man vs sea sailing purist and never will be, and have my boat setup and rigged to perform the best in the typical conditions I'm out in to basically get me and my family where we want to go with the least amount of effort and fuel cost, ( filling up the 80 gallon tank on our Sea Ray was very painful every weekend)). Bottom line we use the heck out of ours. I consider the TI with it's mirage pedal drives to be the perfect boat for our needs and have never tried to pretend it's a sunfish (used to have a sunfish (hated it)), I will probably never be into chasing little bouys around a small course (just not my thing), I could care less what anyone else uses, I'm no athelete by any stretch of the imagination so I cheat by any means possible (lol). Obviously the TI will never be the fastest kid on the block when compared to something like an H16, but then again I don't know of any conditions short of small craft advisories that you can't take your TI out in and have an absolute blast, like the saying goes "No wind no problem with an adventure boat", I live by that one (lol).
Thats my story and I'm sticking with it.
FE

Unless the wind is very light, I almost never pedal unless I'm tacking, at which time I take advantage of the pedals to get the bow around to complete the tack. Just takes a couple or three kicks to do it.

Beyond that, if the wind is blowing in the high singles or double digits, the boat will outsail the pedal speed. So I don't bother.

Wow!..... I'm about tapped out holding 6 mph in the AI over the long haul.

Maybe my initial reaction that this thing needs 7 or 8 meters of sail instead of six isn't so far off base.

_________________
2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

I think fusioneng is talking wind speed, and you are talking boat speed........

_________________
2012 Hobie Kona
2014 Hobie Tandem Island

The red emphasis is mine. People should realize that fusioneng has a heavily modified Tandem. Most people would have a hard time recognizing that it is a Hobie Tandem if they saw him on the water. He has two 2.3 hp (correction from 25 hp) 4-stroke engines on his boat, a wing sail plus a jib. With those engines, he has to add additional floatation in the stern. He might correct me on that but that is my understanding. He prefers to go out in very light winds. With his engines, he can always get back or get to shelter. So, unless you want to emulate him, take his cruising speeds (>8 mph) and preferred winds (4-7 mph) with a proper understanding of his equipment.

Keith

_________________
2015 AI 2, 2014 Tandem

"Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex ... It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction." A. Einstein

"Less is more" Anon

Pete, that is the perfect speed on the TI for me. Anything over 6 mph is almost getting too fast for the type of trolling I'm doing. 5mph, is my ideal avg. speed to maintain, sailing 6, no more. When using the motor I maintain 4 to 5 mph.

_________________
Mark
Tandem Island- 2013
2 - Sports - 2014

I like to pedal and honestly, when i bought my AI i expected also to paddle. The fact that paddling is very uncomfortable because the presence of the Akas is the only negative point of my AI experience. I am crazily satisfied of all the rest.
When I go upwind I always pedal in order to increase the cruise speed. For example with 6 knots wind the .6 factor should give me a sailing speed of 3 knots but pedaling I can reach 4.5 knots.
I usually don't pedal when i sail downwing and the wind is stronger than 6 knots (and usually there are also waves in your direction) because in this case the boat speed is between 7 and 9 knots and this is enough for me. Consider that I dont have a 2015 version and the submarining effect on the bow is stronger.

I am accepting that paddling is only for getting out of close/shallow and/or surf situations and am carrying just a single-blade within easy reach (2-blade stashed in the hull)......Might come back to the two-blade if it turns out that it's whisker-pole functionality makes sense for me.

Besides the sheer weight, my main disappointment is the feel of the Mirage Drive with my long legs: the stroke is too short - analogous bike-wise to pedaling a kid's bike with 155 mm cranks instead of the 180's that I am used to.

Somebody posted about making longer lever arms some years ago and I tried emailing them about how the system held up over time with that extra leverage, but did not hear back.....But it is something I would try if I thought there were no downside.

_________________
2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]

Given that there were reports of broken cranks in the aborted EC challenge, and these were standard length cranks, I would be extremely cautious about increasing the leverage from standard... The extra pedalling force could overcome other parts of the Miragedrive.

Besides, you are ignoring a critically important feature of the Miragedrive.... You DON'T need to even take the pedals to the full extent of travel to develop maximum powerr. All you need is to increase the cadence, and as you push hard on the pedals, the fins flex to increase the pitch of the "virtual propeller" created by each fin.

This makes full use of the "power band" of your legs, ignoring the extremities of travel of your knees where leverage is at a minimum.

Give it a try and you will see why the Miragedrive "stepper" action is more efficient than the rotary "bike pedal" action.

_________________
Tony Stott
2012 Tandem Island "SIC EM" with Hobie spinnaker

It is not a matter of efficiency; rather it is a "feelgood" thing.

But it is what it is and I do enjoy coffee and beer - even though neither tasted at all good at first....

For me, the main attraction of the AI is that I get to work my legs while "sailing" instead of just passively sitting there for hours at a time....so I will probably learn to like it.

The surf ski offers that too - and feels much better - but I can only paddle so hard for so long which limits the exploratory aspect....

_________________
2015 AI in "Dune" - "The Grey Pig"
2017 Trailex 450 Trailer
Pre-September 2015 cradles
(anybody want to buy a slightly-used AI SpinKit?)
eMail: [email protected]