Broken drive...again

my 2015 PA 14 is now a year old and i use it for offshore fishing. I have broken the fin mast twice, the cable once and today the pedal arm. My question is why is this happening? The best guess i have is my PA is too heavy for the drive? I have a custom livewell, down rigger (sometimes), Elite 7 fishfinder, spring creek stabilizers, and then 4 rods usually and 2 tackle boxes and a go pro or two. the biggest problem i can see is the batteries for the livewell and then another for the fishfinder. They are basically the jetski style batteries so about 16 lbs each. so is it feasible that this is the reason i keep breaking my drive? I wash it off freshwater and apply lube to it and the failures have all been warrantied by hobie so no complaints there but man i spend too much time and effort getting out on the ocean to make it about 10 minutes onto the water and it break so it does get frustrating. I am wondering what the best course of action is to avoid this? To me there seems to be 2 option that might work for me but i don't know.
1. Cut weight, go back to a bait tube which eliminates the livewell and the battery that powers it so really that has to be close to 50lbs right there and not even full (which it was empty today when the pedal snapped)

2. switch the turbo fins to standard fins so there is less pressure on the drive?

I really don't know what to do, i have a love hate relationship with my kayak at this point. Was thinking about getting an AI but right now leaning towards going back to paddle kayak for offshore use and keep the PA for once i move to florida and hit some lakes with it.

Is this a growing issue with the new style drive or is it just me?


Also hope everyone is as excited as i am to watch my fellow Aquahunters on Pacific Warriors having a good premier party here next friday on Oahu!

Suggestion.....Using the "search" feature above, search for "rock solid pedal arms".

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

Thanks Dr. Checking those out and its definitely something to keep in mind. I am a little more curious if this is something that is happening quite a bit (drives breaking repeatedly) or is there something specific about my setup that is causing the failures in the drives?

The good news is, this is not a kayak weight issue. You could tow a thousand pound boat around all day without affecting the Drive. The only thing that matters is the thrust that you apply to the Drive. So you can load your boat up as much as you want with no guilt!

The first question is, when you're fishing, where do you keep your feet? On the pedals? Many fishermen tend to do this and in the excitement of working the fish, they inadvertently push down on both pedals at once with considerable force. A strong guy can break the crank arms and cables ultimately, as the Drive is not built for this kind of unyielding stress.

Regarding your masts, are you surf launching? Each time the masts are grounded and bent they are weakened. They can be bent back to their original position and re-used, although they are no longer as strong as before. After 2 or 3 times, they are relatively weak and can break unexpectedly. True, ST fins and shorter masts don't get as stressed, but you would not get the responsiveness out of your boat. You shouldn't have to make this compromise IMO.

Based on your photo, it looks like your crank arms are in the #1 (closest) position. If you have short legs, this may be correct for you -- or you may have them adjusted too close. You should be able to extend your legs fully without having the fins smack against the stops or your hull. If this is the case, move your crank arms forward to a point where you no longer hit anything at the end of your natural stroke. Extending your legs will also give you less fatigue and more thrust.

To answer your questions, these matters are not common and when they do happen, are normally isolated and associated with a defective part. Cables can stretch and weaken over time. For me it's at about 1000 to 1500 miles typically. Turbo masts last about 800 to 1400 miles with me with most pedaling at a "fast cruise" and a few hundred sprints (mostly fresh water). Any bends accelerate this accordingly.

There have been a few issues with crank arms in some relatively recent models, but yours have been reinforced. That's what makes me suspect the way the Drive is used as a possible factor in breakage.

If this makes sense, you may have the solution to your breakage problems at hand. Lets hope that's the case!

Very good info!
The drive is normally in the #4 spot for me and that one just slid to 1 as the pin isnt in it but that makes sense as far as not wanting to have it adjusted wrong.

The Fins masts- generally dont surf launch (i think once where it was a true surf launch but then the swell was tiny so not a real factor and coming in i pull the drive out so it doesn't hit at all and never have landed with them in but against the hull so that isnt the issue.) Normal launch is a protected cove or boat ramps where i can get it deep enough and insert the drive then hp in and go. The only time one fin got bent was crossing a reef area and that fin wasn't broken but i replaced it and keep it as a back up.

The point that really got my attention was the first one you made about keeping my feet on the pedals when not pedaling. I know i must do it more than i should although i have never paid attention but i have a feeling this is the most realistic one of all of them so i will really pay attention to that now. when i have broken everything it has been in mid stroke of the drive so not from this exact reason but regardless that is a point on my radar of don't do that! lol

I am glad to hear the drive can support the weight. I have a loaner drive to use for the moment until the warranty ships out so will keep driving on. Thanks for the info!

It is very surprising to hear that a 2015 drive has had these issues, so I am interested to know the drive serial number to determine it's vintage. Breaking pedal cranks is virtually unheard of these days. Drives in general have been pretty bullet proof.

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

239936 is the serial number off my drive MM.

Thanks... Looks like October 2014 production.

I'm sure our warranty guys would like to see a broken crank arm from that vintage. Cracked shaft or was this something different?

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

looks like the weak spot is where you would suspect. would like to see solid arms. And the fin masts shouldnt snap under the pressure of pedaling and to have it happen twice was a bummer. the cable was one that i understood the most because the salt water gets in there and weakens the steel cable. I wash it off really good but still you figure thats the one spot water would get into and not want to wash out as easy.

I was going to suggest that maybe it's your screen name BadKarma...LOL

Seriously, I hope you find a resolution.

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Jeff
KansasYaker
2014 - Pro Angler - 14 - Upgraded H-Rail Kit