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 Post subject: Do You Leash Your Drive?
PostPosted: Sat Jul 16, 2011 8:17 am 
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How about it? How many of you are leashing your 500.00 Mirage drives? Do you leash everything on your yak? It can add up quickly if you use store bought leashes.............


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 16, 2011 9:53 am 
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I fish 99% offshore in waters from 12-50' deep and I lash my drive and my eVolve and depending on weather my rods and other gear. Everything I have that I can lose, like pliers, knifes, bogas, gaffs, cameras and etc all have floats on them.

Even being careful, I have lost way too much stuff not to be careful.


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 16, 2011 10:25 am 
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The first thing I did was to make a simple leash using 3/16 diameter x 18" long nylon line, a stainless steel snap shackle and one 3/8" nylon pad + 2 SS #8 machine screws with nylock nuts.
I mounted the pad eye 3" to the left of the nylon button the sail down haul would connect to.....the button is located just below the mast hole on the vertical bulkhead.
The total out of pocket cost was about $5.00 and a low cost solution to keep the $500.00 Mirage drive secured to the hull....:)

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Hood River, OR


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PostPosted: Sat Jul 16, 2011 5:16 pm 
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Location: Southeast Texas
No, I dont see a need for it for what I do I only take my drive out when launching and putting up.

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PostPosted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 3:39 am 
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I do alot of fishing in saltwater ranging from 2 -50 feet deep and I always leash my drive, I have heard of stories where guys will drop there mirage drives in 2 feet of water and not be able to find the drives, even if you buy the leash for the drive $17.00, cheap insurance.


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PostPosted: Mon Jul 18, 2011 8:09 am 
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I always leash my drive. Very little time and money to protect a pretty expensive investment. I installed a pad eye right below the sail mast plug and just clip it there before I even get into the water.


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 4:27 pm 
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Joined: Sat May 01, 2010 5:03 pm
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Location: Charlevoix, MI
I just bought a leash for my mirage drive this season. I have only used it 4-5 times, but yesterday discovered a problem with the leash - it is too long! This is the "Official" Hobie Mirage Drive leash. I clipped it to one of the bungees from the front hatch because I did not want to drill out a padeye screw hole. Yesterday I was out and felt a grinding motion in my drive. I checked it out and found that the excess leash cord had waqshed into the drive, and was twisted among the chain and cables. I had a heck of a time releasing it while blowing around in the surf. Although the leash has the retracable bungee stuff inside to keep it short, when the drive unit is in place there is still lots of leash cord on the deck in front of all those moving parts, and this is an invitation for trouble. It is probably longer than it needs to be. Just my $0.02 anyway.


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PostPosted: Wed Jul 20, 2011 9:02 pm 
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Location: Virginia - Pro Angler 14 owner since Feb 2010
I definitely leash my Mirage Drive. Murphy's Law -- if it can happen, it eventually will. The price is cheap insurance. I, too, have found the leash to be a little long and prone to finding its way into the wrong place if I am not careful. If I make sure it is clear when I install the drive, it has never been a major issue, but I have inadvertantly snagged it when I've inserted the drive a few times, so I always look for that now to make sure it is clear.

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PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 10:10 am 
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I agree the Hobie leash is longer than it needs to be....that is why I made my own simple leash....the 18" long nylon line becomes ~ 12" long once one end is secured to the Mirage Drive and the other end to the snap shackle with bowline knots.

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Hood River, OR


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 11:52 am 
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Joined: Wed Aug 05, 2009 2:47 pm
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Location: Rogers, AR
Boy, I don't leash mine, as I don't often take it out of the yak while I am in the water. But...having said that, there have been a time or two that I needed to pee and took it out to use the hole...if you know what I mean, and each time I do it, I think to my self, be careful...I should really consider a leash...thanks for reminding me.


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PostPosted: Thu Jul 21, 2011 8:49 pm 
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Location: Virginia - Pro Angler 14 owner since Feb 2010
Ron Papworth wrote:
Boy, I don't leash mine, as I don't often take it out of the yak while I am in the water. But...having said that, there have been a time or two that I needed to pee and took it out to use the hole...if you know what I mean, and each time I do it, I think to my self, be careful...I should really consider a leash...thanks for reminding me.


Yep, the drive is a piece of equipment you don't want to send to the bottom. It's worth a few bucks for insurance.

Funny to hear that others have discovered the drivewell can double as a self-flushing commode. Done it.

TDK

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