PA17 -2017 - issue 2 - Mirage drive

Not sure if my mirage drive setup has an issue or not. On my PA14, I drop my mirage drive and immediately hears the click thus engaging the licking lever with No hesitation. On my New PA17, I have to make an effort to engage the locking lever mechanism like I have to press the mirage down a little harder and manually move the locking lever to close or lock the mirage into place. I don't mind doing all these but need to know if this is somewhat related to some of the mirage drive problem I read in other post. I just can't remember the exact issues that I need to observe to know if this mirage is the correct match to these holes or mirage drive is correctly fitted to these left and right locking lever. It's the same for all three holes using the same mirage drive. I was not able to try the second mirage drive as it was shipped with no bolts so I was not able assemble it. I tried the old mirage drive to these holes and got the same results. So very like these holes locking mechanism were not made exactly the same as the old setup. I will continue to observe and see if there's really an issue or not.

Have you looked at the area where the "alignment tabs" of the Mirage drive contacts the slots in the hull?
Its possible there is some "flash build up", that has made this area slightly thicker and effectively makes the MD fit tighter??

IMHO, having a slightly tighter fitting Mirage Drive, is not a bad thing, as the MD will not "rock" as you pedal.
I think the MD will "loosen up", over time as you use it.

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR

Thanks. That's what I thought too that it might be better to have a tight bind to avoid rocking as you mentioned. I will bring it to dealer to make sure since I'm going there anyway to report the first issue about the seat not sitting on the right place.

Great question and excellent observation!

IMO this needs to be corrected. There should be some detectable fore and aft motion in the Drive, and no side to side hesitancy to engage easily. When pedaling, the Drive is designed to bear against the forward tongue of the drivewell where it is reinforced. Each boat comes out of the mold slightly differently and shrinks as it cools depending on weather conditions. That's why critical tolerances are allowed a range of motion. I suspect yours is out of tolerance, but it should be easy to correct.

As a side note, the Drive normally rocks when locked in, but idle; BUT when in use, both legs are pushing forward, one after the other, so there is no rocking. In order to get it to rock while pedaling, you have to pull it back with your pedal stroke -- I have never met anyone that talented!

I will test it later because that's exactly what happened in my initial observation. I was able to drop in the left side first and put a little effort to completely drop in the other side. Same thing happened on the front. I will test again later and report back.

Tested this morning. I noticed I need to push it down to be able to lock it. I slowly dropped it so both left and right engage to click and go at the saMe time so I can observe if there a side to side hesitation. I did not noticed any side to side hesitation. I checked the bottom and noticed the friction I felt while dropping the mirage Drive was caused by the tight opening of the drivewell. The front and rear part of the drivewell are tight. So this is causing the mirage drive to kiss the side walls when dropping it down. There's no tolerance at all on the sidewall. There's no rocking front and back even I put some force to simulate the force I'm putting when pedaling on the water. I will show this to my dealer this weekend.

This tightness at the bottom drivewell is also affecting the way the mirage drive goes down to click and go. It does not go straight down once the mirage started touching the side walls. So in effect one side goes first and you have to help the other side. I never had this hesitations on my PA 14.

Hobie, can you please share your own obeservations in one of your PA 17. Thanks.

Have your dealer try an older Drive in (pre-skirt model) and check for fore and aft rocking. If the skirt is causing the tightness, a little file work on the skirt is all that is necessary. If you don't get any fore and aft rocking ultimately, you can shim the Click n Go units with a credit card thickness plastic or equivalent to insure there is no side to side resistance (after you solve any skirt issues).

Obviously, if Hobie tells the dealer to do it differently, that takes precedence. This has not been a common problem in the past so your dealer may not have dealt with it before.

Here's the worst part and a wake up call for me. This needs to be replaced. Dropped the mirage in the first drivewell and it does not go all the way in. I cannot drop the mirage even with a little force. I can see scratches now on the lower front sidewall of the drivewell. And since you cannot drop it all the way down, lock would not engage at all.

Sounds like you're on the right track by taking it to your dealer...Have them file a claim. Photo and video documentation always helps the warranty guys here understand what the root of the issue is.

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Howie Strech
Parts & Accessories Product Manager
Hobie Cat USA