Mirage for an arm amputee?

Hi,
I've been an occasional lurker for a while as I try to get information about the different kayaks available but I think the info I need can only be obtained with a few direct questions.

I am a beginner sit inside sea kayaker. I've been taking lessons and feel this could be a fulfilling hobby for me. If I continue to love it like I have, I'd eventually like to take day trips around the SoCal area, perhaps do some kayak camping locally or on lakes and go on some trips/small expeditions, ie. Catalina, Channel Islands, San Juan Islands, Baja.

However, I'd like to get my wife involved so she could go with me. She's willing but I'm trying to figure out how best to get her able. She had her left arm amputated several years ago. She has been able to learn to do anything she wants to do so far and I don't want to set her up for failure here. She's small and while she is in good shape with a strong arm, I worry about a few things. Will she be able to flip a Hobie back over and climb in herself? If so, which models are best for us to try? Are these models up for the type of trips I've mentioned? Would she be able to learn to launch and land in surf without a paddle? How would we get her some safety instruction since I've gotten blank stares from the instructors I've asked so far?

The boats I've thought about so far are: Revo 11 or 13 or Mirage i12S. The i12S is very appealing because we could take it with us on trips to places where we would have trouble finding an appropriate kayak for her. However, from pictures it seems that it might be harder to climb back into and I haven't found much information about it in bigger water. I haven't looked into the Revo 11 much but the 13 seems like it might be right, especially with a self-rescue ladder but I don't know if it will still be too heavy/unwieldy for her if it capsizes and clearly travel would take more "arranging."

2 more questions: it looks to me like the rudder lever is always on the left on the Hobies. Does anyone have thoughts on moving it to the right or making the lever longer so it can be reached with the right hand? Will a smaller paddle or a SUP paddle work for her to maneuver backwards one armed?

I hope the number of initial question isn't overwhelming. Also, realize that we aren't planning on jumping into this, we'll be going slow and getting as much safety instruction and practice as we can find.

I'll hang up and listen now.

Thanks for your advice.

I don't know which model would work best. However, as far as the rudder lever goes you could always attach a sort of hiking stick that would allow her to steer with her right. As for reversing you can always flip the drive around to go backwards.

_________________
2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

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

The people at Hobie and members of Heroes on the Water chapters around the country have probably figured out how to answer all of your questions when working with wounded veterans and other people with injuries or disabilities. I hope they chime in with reliable and tested answers to your questions.

I remember seeing a thread on some forum where a person who was missing their left arm asked about whether the steering lever on a Mirage Drive kayak could be moved to the right side of the kayak. Do some searching and see if you can locate it. However, it probably isn't necessary to move the steering lever to the right side of your wife's kayak. It may be as easy as using the threaded hole in the tip of the steering lever to attach a rod about a foot long to the steering lever via a loose linkage, so your wife can control the steering lever with her right arm, with her hand comfortably in front of her stomach. A wooden dowel with an eye-bolt screwed into its end, and a bolt which goes into the steering arm, may be all that is needed.

Some people use a webbing or rope stirrup attached to the gunwale of their sit-on-top kayak to climb back into the kayak. The stirrup allows them to use their leg muscles rather than their arm muscles to climb back onto the kayak. The stirrup is bungied to the kayak. If the kayaker ends up in the water, he or she reaches into the kayak, pulls out the stirrup, puts their foot in the stirrup, and pushes themself up into the kayak. A little Googling should uncover some instructional videos and advertisements for stirrup systems. It would be easy to make a stirrup system out of rope and a short piece of PVC pipe.

I suspect that your wife won't have any trouble righting an overturned Mirage Drive kayak. She should be able to reach up and grab a fin, get a knee on the side of the kayak, and pull the kayak over on top of herself. If that doesn't work well, she can throw her stirrup system across the bottom of the kayak, swim around to the other side, and then pull on the stirrup to pull the kayak right-side-up.

You don't need organized safety instruction to learn how to use a stirrup system. Look at a couple of YouTube videos, borrow a kayak, throw it in a swimming pool, and try it out. You'll figure it out.

When landing my Revolution, I find that I rarely need to paddle more than about 20 feet after pulling up my Mirage Drive. I have seen advertisements for one-hand paddles which brace on the forearm of the paddler. They are used by kayakers, canoers, and float tubers to move their boat with one hand while fishing with the other. Your wife can paddle first on one side and then on the other side of her kayak with one of these paddles to get the last few feet into shore.

Don't feel that you and your wife need to be able to launch a kayak through surf in order to enjoy pedal kayaking. Many long-time and active Hobie owners have never launched through surf.

If you want to be able to rent a Hobie when you're traveling, it would be easy for your wife to bring her stirrup system and one-handed paddle with her in her luggage. If you show up at a rental operation with this equipment, that should help you persuade the business owner that your wife is able to safely handle a Mirage Drive kayak. That, and descriptions of all the fun trips you have taken together.

I know Matt Miller just debuted a new rescue step for the mirage line. It attaches to one of the side handles and is contained in a nice little pouch until deployed. I agree with everything pmmpete had said as well.

_________________
2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

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

Our dealer in San Diego has been involved in Wounded Warrior kayaking events for years and would likely be the best source of information on that subject that I know.

Maybe give them a call? Fast Lane Sailing and Kayaking (619) 222-0766

Also possibly San Diego:

Wounded Warrior Project
8880 Rio San Diego Drive, Suite 900
San Diego, CA 92108

Telephone: 619.981.9642

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

Ronin:
There are different types of kayaks for different purposes. First off there is the recreational kayak market, where the kayaks are made for protected and inland waters, If I had to guess 90% of the market is recreational kayaks. Then you step up to the sea kayaks and surfski's most of which are 16 to 24 ft long typically very narrow and very fast. A good quality sea kayak could take a very experienced kayaker to the channel islands that you mention. I've been kayaking a very long time and I'm pretty sure I would never attempt to take any recreational kayak in open ocean especially some place like catalina or the barrier islands (I used to live in So CA). All the kayaks you mentioned are recreational kayaks. We live in south florida and the keys which are huge. When we first started out we rented paddle kayaks and pretty much stayed in inland waters always within a few hundred feet of shore. When we got the Oasis and Revo 13's with the pedal drives and sail kits we found we could go much further, about 4x times further without getting all worn out. One thing we discovered quickly is my wifes and my kayak ability are pretty different, it's not good for the marriage if you leave them exhausted 5 miles from launch. We started using the tandem Oasis much more and found taking turns pedaling helped a lot, giving our legs a break once in a while. Our favorite thing is snorkeling and scuba diving in the keys. Even with lots of experience and the kayak sails we never felt comfortable going far enough offshore to go snorkeling. We ended buying a Tandem Island back in 2010 and have been very happy ever since. As a kayak only (without sails and ama's) the ti is a great kayak for inland waters (way faster and better than oasis was). Also the boat is strong and safe enough to take into open ocean (within reason of course).
Hope this helps
Bob

Thank you all for the feedback and advice. I will get in touch with Fast Lane Sailing and Kayaking and look into the rescue step. A solution built for the particular kayak might be better than the generic strap that I was looking at. I wasn't sure about the length of the kayaks. I know that some people are using 14' kayaks for touring and thought that a 13' SOT with mirage drive might be close enough but I guess not. I did run into someone that has taught some adaptive kayaking that may be able to help. He hasn't dealt with this issue but I'd feel safer knowing an experienced instructor with an interest in solving the problems was on board. I'll let you all know how it goes when it goes so that maybe someone else can benefit from what we learn.

Ronin, please do. I'm interested in how things go. My father-in-law had his left leg and hip amputated about 5 years ago due to bone cancer. I plan on convincing (more like guilt tripping) him to try my new TI next week when they visit. I'm curious to see how he handles the new seat and mirage drives. This is for a few reasons.
1) I just want to see.
2) We plan on visiting my in-laws in June and would like to get them out on the water.
3) I'm interested in working with the local Wounded Warrior Project and I need to figure out what retrofits I might need to make. I am a vet myself and although not disabled I would like to give back.

_________________
2015 Hobie Tandem Island Hibiscus
"Third Normal Form"

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