New hobie owner, mirage drive DIY 36lb questions

I recently bought a PA12 which has been so much fun thus (landed a 114cm/14kg Mulloway on SP's my second outing, which just so happened to be the first Jewie I've ever pulled in and a amazing 45 minute fight being towed up and down the system - I LOVE YAKKING ).

The question I have is a DIY one related to the Hobie Mirage Drive - I suffered a knee injury earlier this year playing football (soccer) and I've tried most different seat/peddle settings and I can't find one that doesn't stress my knee, the downward pushing motion is unfortunately the exact motion that seems to trigger the ligaments/cartilage I tore (even worse so is that my friends Native has probably the perfect motion for my knee ).

After some research I've found out about the Watersnake T18 and T24, Mirage Drive DIY which doesn't look difficult at all. But I was concerned about not being able to keep up with my buddy on his Native (he gets around real quick) so I was wondering if anybody out there had found a trolling motor a little bigger that still fit through the Mirage Drive? I've found this http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00VYP3R82/ref=pe_140030_150030030_em_1p_1_ti which seems like it might be a middle ground between the larger props and the smaller props. The guys at Newport Vessels sent me this when I enquired about it's dimensions 'The complete dimensions are 9.25 x 9.25 x 1.5. So the width/depth is 1.5"'.

I'm overseas at the moment so I can't measure up the Mirage Drive hole but I was hoping somebody could maybe shine a little light on it for me.

Thanks in advance

They sell a Torqueedo electric motor for the PA, you should check into it.

Just a thought, you might be able to clip a 2-3 ft piece of rope to the pedal with a small pull handle, so you can assist your bad knee thru the power down stroke (it's kind of like a cane works, the rope goes on the strong side). Your leg still goes thru the motion, but the down force is much less on your bad knee with the arm assist. I also have an old knee injury (from martial arts) that bothers me after a few hrs of pedaling, I just keep the rope in my mesh pocket, when my knee gets tired, I just clip it on to the pedal when I need it. I usually pop a couple Aleve before going out, helps with all the old war injuries from the young and stupid days (lol).
FE

Hobie makes the Evolve if you want something that fits the Mirage Drive opening ......... Should be ai least as fast as your buddies with a smaller foot print.

The Torqeedo has the rear mount that can be installed so you can steer using the rudder control handle ......... Again ...... Should be at least as fast

If I was going to install a torqeedo I think I would prefer the 403 mounted at the rear of the boat vs the evolve. It's the same exact motor but a little cheaper, and you don't lose your mirage drive, and more important if you hit something, it doesn't get wrecked, it just kicks up. You can rig it to steer with the regular rudder controls too, same GPS, same throttle control too. In my opinion the best setup out there, the battery only weighs 6 lbs.
I learned my lesson on batteries a while back, carrying around two 60 lb batteries is not fun.
FE

+1

Thanks for all the replies guys



Ultimately I would love something rear mounted, but I can't afford Torqeedo (nor the evolve) and I'm not quite crafty enough to make my own rear mount. But this on the other hand is very doable and very cheap in comparison;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=97nyXz-STgc



This is also fantastic, thank you so much. It will definitely help out till I complete this little project. Damn our bum knees hah.