Oasis maiden voyage: the good, the bad, and the newbies

The Good
My wife and I finally got to take our new Oasis out! We watched the sun set on one side of the lake and the harvest moon rise on the other--what a lovely way to christen our boating together.

And, man, this boat is fast! Even without the turbofins, we motored. I couldn't believe how much of a wake we made. Other kayakers noticed and chased us down to ask about it. It also felt very stable too us--not "tippy" at all.

The Bad
The bad is that the boat wouldn't steer properly. Even before it was on the water, I saw that the rudder would turn much farther left than right. I called the dealer, and he said that this was a normal--compensation for the twist of the rudder that exists because of the ability to pull the rudder up. "Wait til you get it on the water," I was told.

Well, like I thought, I could carve it to the left but not to the right. And, on a hard right turn, the rudder system would lose tension, "pop," and then go slack. The boat's back at the shop where they're trying to figure out the problem. They say Hobie doesn't provide a cabling diagram and specs.

The other "bad" was more of a disappointment. We both felt frustrated that the paddles mounted on the side in a way that interferes with using the holding handles.

The Newbie
Despite practicing putting the Mirage drives in and out at home (in the garage w/the boat up on stands), we had a devil of the time doing it at the lake. Turns out, we were doing that thing where the drive isn't level--it's nose down--and so now the tops of both rear fins are wrinkled; damage, I suppose from pedaling with the drives improperly installed.

It's too bad that the drives can lock (or seem to) in an improper position. Is there a trick to it?

We've a lot of fun exploring to do and I'm looking forward to getting the boat "right." Thanks for reading!

Austin, thanks for the excellent report! You brought up some good points.

The steering is easy to adjust and I'm sore your dealer will figure it out. Be sure you're locking the rudder down when deploying it.

Yes, it is an unpleasant surprise but there aren't any good alternatives. By sliding the paddle around you can keep the blade clear of your partner's handle, and it's not too difficult to reach past the shaft for a grip. The good part is, the Oasis never had a seat grip at all till now -- not perfect, but nice improvement.

I carry one paddle at all times. IMO, there is no practical reason to carry a second paddle on the Oasis, so the interference is minimal.


IMO, the new drivewells are too long for the Drives. The older wells were about 1/4" shorter and generally did not have this problem. This is unfortunate and I think avoidable.

With experience you'll be able to recognize when the Drive is rotated forward -- it has too much fore and aft slack and the pedal position will look odd. With those deep Oasis wells you definitely have to be careful!

Re the steering: I had the same problem with our Oasis. Our dealer's concept of service was to take the yak out of the bag.

Go to this post go to the Google recommendation. The procedure is simple, you do need to have someone use the rudder control while you adjust it.

Now our Oasis turns great. It even turns better when my wife puts her fins in neutral and I do the pedaling and steering from the rear seat. (something new we learned last week).

Here is the link and go to what I posted/did after I got the Google link:

Also, I spray the outside rotating units of the Rudder with WD40 after and before each use. While on the trailer after spraying, we test the rudder re lifting/dropping and steering before we put the yak in the water. Even then I try the rudder to make sure it works. After your rudder is in the water and you are out of the ramp/dock area be sure to secure it with the rudder line holder. This will keep the rudder from flopping around with the waves and steering.

Re the oars: Buy two T handles and replace half of each oar with the T Handles. With the great mirage system, we never paddle except to get in out of the launch areas. We use the T's to get in and out of the launch areas. Last week I replaced one of the T handled Hobie oars with a sturdy T handle wooden Canoe Oar. That gives me more power and control to get in and out of the dock area. The shorter Hobie Teed Paddles or the wooden oar can be adjusted not to interfer with the other crew member.

The wooden oar is very sturdy and can help to lift the yak going out and coming in on the ramp which should mean less scratches on the yak's bottom. The wooden oar helps me to get the Trax wheels out in the water and back in at the dock. I have at least 2-3 times the paddling and turning power with the wooden oar versus the T handles, and the full handled oars are basically useless getting in and out of the ramp areas.

Re the Mirages: I never had a problem with the Mirage I put in, but my wife's must have some flaw in the holders. We spray the holders/snaps with WD40 after we take the Mirages out at the end of a trip. Then on the next trip we spray the holder with a Silicon spray. Then we put the Mirages in the holders while on our trailer and work them until the snaps on both sides really snap down. You can tell when you can lift your yak with the Mirages.

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2009 Oasis
2012 Freedom Hawk Pathfinder

Hey Roadrunner and Grandpa Spey,

Thanks for the advice! I really do appreciate the time and expertise.

I picked the boat up from the dealer today and the rudder turns more one way than the other. Also, there's a lot of slack in the system (i.e., the rudder handles move about an inch before the line goes taut and the rudder moves). Their head tech said he worked on it for six hours and swore that's how all the new, double-handle systems are.

BUT on the other side of the garage from the boat is a workbench with Phillips screwdrivers, silicon spray, WD40, etc. With the heads' up from you guys I'll try to adjust the lines myself. (Reminds me of adjusting sidepull brakes on a bicycle.) I read about it in the owners' manual, but since the boat was brand new I thought I'd make them fix it!

I think I read somewhere that the rudder has a detent in it so that locking it down (by pulling the handle out and then sliding the line it into the little hook dealy by the mesh pocket) was optional. I'll be sure to lock it down every time now.

That's great advice about the paddles, too. I'm mighty impressed with the Mirage Drive and plan on using paddles only rarely. I do like to have one handy to push off things.

Grandpa Spey, I'm not sure how a canoe oar is different from a t-handled paddle. Do you mean that it's just stronger because it's wood? Or is it longer? Also, how do you use it to lift the boat?

Guys, thanks again for the excellent advice.

Here's a little supplement to the FAQ section. When you get done, you can show your dealer how to do it.

BTW, I'd steer clear of the WD 40 for the rudder parts -- it leaves a residue and you don't want to build up a sludge in the components or on the lines. Silicon spray leaves no residue.