Toughness of Mirage Drive/Fins

Aboout to pull the trigger and buy a mirage revolution or the top mirage adventure. I love the idea of the paddle drive, being able to sail if i desire and even attach a motor.
The question i need answered is how durable are the fins/mirage drive.. i kayak alot in Black Creek florida , cypress trees make the water dark, submerged trees can sneak up on you. can the fins take a little hard rubbing?

thanks

The standard fins are very tough. The STs and ST Turbos are of a different material and IMO less forgiving of tough scrapes on rock, etc. (See the thread a few down from here regarding the turbos.)

Personally, I wouldn't worry about either the durability of either type. Like with a propeller driven craft, you quickly learn to stay in deeper water, and even if you do wind up hitting something, you immediately 'back pedal' (if that's the right word) instead of trying to power through.

I've done about as much damage to a set of ST Turbo fins that anyone probably has, and after a duct-tape job and a year and a half's elapsed time, those same fins are still going strong.

Keith

I agree with the above post. The standard fins are probably the toughest, but I've been running turbo's in both my boats, and you do have to be a little aware of your surroundings, but if you're careful, the odd contact with something doesn't usually cause a problem. It's like anything in life, you have to be aware of where you are, and treat them with care. If you do that, you'll probably be very happy.

Of course you'll always be able to find people who will tell you how they've destroyed them, and they were extremely careful. I think what you'll find if you talk to owners, or even cruise these forums, is that most people are satisfied with the durability, and treat them with care, and have very few problems.

They're kind of like tires on a bike. If you have a road bike, you can ride all day on smooth roads, but you'll avoid gravel and rough trails. If you have a mirage drive kayak, you can ride all day in most types of water, but you may have to pull the drive and paddle if you head through a lot of debris.

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Visuo, welcome to the fourm. As trainsktg and augaug indicated, the standard fins will take quite a bit of abuse and would probably be best if you're spending a lot of time in such areas.

That said, technique and speed play a large part in what you can do with your Drive and fins. Keeping it slow and easy, here are some of the backwater haunts I occasionally take my Turbofins in:






By using a technique called fluttering, you can oscillate the fins close to the hull for shallow water pedaling. Here's a composite view from under the hull.


As you can see below, the Drive is still engaged and Turbofins are still propelling the 16' Adventure upstream using this technique (couldn't go further though)
.

Eventually you will likely bend a mast or "hole" an ST or Turbofin doing this (especially if you add some speed) but repairs are simple and you can continue to employ the Drive in the meantime. Of course, you always have the option of pulling the Drive or securing the fins up against the hull and breaking out the paddle if you need to get over a difficult spot.

A couple of thoughts -- If you upgrade to ST fins, they are interchangeable with standard fins in less than 5 minutes for rugged conditions. Or, if you like the Turbos, keep one pair as a "beater" set for backwater areas. It's kind of like putting your hiking boots on for a walk in the woods.

Congratulations on your upcoming purchase!

PS: You 'll definitely want the large rudder for maximum slow speed maneuvering if you're dodging obstacles. It's not very expensive.

Thank you for the great answers and pictures. That seals the deal. I will be heading to the dealer this weekend.
I also located a new leftover 2009 model adventure for god savings. I didn't read about any significant design changes since then so I may go for it.

Roadrunner: what's the red-top pole on your 'yak in the pics?

This is a Hobie accessory that fits in the hole in the front of the Drive. It's called a pitot tube speedometer. I find it indispensable for assessing actual speed in the water. Used in conjunction with a GPS (logging distance and time) it can detect currents and tides down to .01 MPH. It also can alert you to any seaweed, eel grass or other objects fouling the Drive or rudder. Finally, it is a great pacing aid for distance.

The calibration units are nothing more than a relative index, but the tube gives consistent and immediate readings. I rely on it heavily.