Stupid newbie question re: mirage drive

Hi guys, I'm looking for a little advice. I just purchased a 2 year old Outfitter from a guy on Craigslist. It's in really nice shape, and you can tell that it has been used only a handful of times. When it works, it works great and I love it! Only issue is installation of the mirage drives, particularly the rear one. I always install the drives after I've launched the kayak into the water. With the rear drive in particular it really seems to take some effort to get the drive seated properly. Yes, I've read the mirage drive FAQ and I'm dropping them in straight. Seems like I have to either drop them in then jiggle them around as I push down hard or I have to kind of drop them down in hard (not slamming them in, just using some force). It usually takes a few minutes before I hear the "click". Bottom line is it's not as simple as just dropping them in and pushing them down till it clicks. Now it did seem to get a little better the more I did this (tried maybe 10 times over the course of a weekend) but still harder then I envisioned.

Is this normal? Does the installation get better as the drives "break in"?

On Outfitters - sometimes the drives can fit rather tight. The drive well is hand trimmed in the factory before they package them and ship the kayaks out - but the outfitter being tight (dimensional) already, I think the guys weren't trimming enough of the flange away. Look at the vertical surface of the drive well where the mirage drive passes through (flipping the boat over is the easiest way to identify if its touching here - if it is just take a small round file or a pocket knife and slightly trim away a little flange material so that it passes through without interference.

Thanks for the reply! So maybe do this on land with the kayak on its side or suspended in air so I can see where it's sticking from underneath? If I'm reading this right it sounds like the vertical surfaces of the well are a wee bit too tight so I need to trim something a bit. Not sure what the "flange" is. Is that on the drive or on the kayak itself?

Is it normal to have to apply a good bit of force? How easy should these drives lock in?

yes - easier to see the interference while the boat is upside-down. What I talk about the flange - I am referring to the point on the hull where the two halves of the mold meet. All the way around the outside of the hull you can see a 'line' where to mold halves pull apart - The kayak is one piece, its rotomolded, but where the halves of the mold meet there is always some trimming to be done. This includes the scupper tubes and of course the Mirage Drive Well. If you look at it closely you'll see that there are some dremel tool marks - the outside mold parting line is much easier to see as its shows up quite easily - its the 'inside' markings that get trimmed by hand, and this is the part which I'm mentioning that might be causing the tight fit issue.

Hope that this helps - post your results after you make the adjustments so we can find out if you had success or not.

So, approximately where I drew the red arrows?

http://www.focusingonnature.com/Secondary-Galleries/Odds-N-Ends-1/60272_WtsVcv#1559903329_H8qKjBp-A-LB

Yes - the drive can touch right there - a little filing of the excess material in the forward part should be enough to fix it. Also if you are using the splash guard on the rear of the drive you might take those off - they can also cause it to be difficult inserting the drives.

OK, I'll give that a whirl, thanks! I won't be able to use it again till early December but I'll report back once I get a chance.