Question for mirage drive 180 owners

Just completed a short maiden voyage in my new PA14. A couple of questions.

First, is there a discernible positive indication when you have fully engaged reverse from forward or, vice versa, forward from reverse? I was never sure I was fully engaged, though I did have positive forward motion when I selected forward, reverse movement when I selected reverse. I ensured my pedals were aligned together when I attempted to change directions and not under powered movement. I would expect some sort of 'click' or noticeable feedback when I pulled on the shifting tendons. I didn't want to apply too much tension because I have read that some users breaking tendons may have been applying too much pull.

Second, I sometimes experienced a random clunking noise when I was pedaling forward. I was not fully extending the pedals when this occurred so I don't imagine this would be something like hull slapping. I was in fairly deep water so I can eliminate bottom scraping.

Are these adjustment issues?

i'm going to take it out again shortly and also plan to stop by my Hobie dealer with the drive but thought I would query users here just to make sure I'm not overlooking something first. Many thanks in advance.

Pjcamper, welcome to the forum. First you don't have to be fully stopped to reverse direction. When I want to reverse, I simultaneously pull the appropriate handle and move the fins back and forth in short strokes. You can feel the fins reversing as you do this. Once this is complete, the fins will lock in place by simply moving back and forth and you can release the handle.

There are a couple of things that can be causing your click. You will notice that your fins should have a small amount of freedom of movement at the back of the fin attaches to the "boom". As they swing back and forth in this slot ("traveler"), you can sometimes feel them hitting the stop. If the fin is adjusted too tight, it will tend to jamb in the treveler and suddenly break free and hit the limit. This may be the source of your clunk. The proper adjustment is to turn the wheel so that the fins can slide up and down along the "mast" about 1/8 inch. This prevents binding in the traveler and is the most efficient setting for the fins. After making this adjustment, the clicking sound may or may not go away but you'll get the best performance for your effort!

Here is a picture of the traveler.

Thanks RoadRunner. I'm out of town at the moment but when I return I will certainly check it out. Thanks for the pic, it will be extremely helpful!