Lost Hobie Mirage Pedal System La Jolla Shores
 

Lost today off La Jolla coming in. Reward if anyone has come across it. Thanks! Gary 619-977-2409

Some advice from years of landing Hobies.

The odds of losing the Mirage Drive go up exponentially when you remove it from the drive well before attempting to land through the surf.

I use the Mirage Drive to return through the surf and bungee the drive peddles apart when I see shallow water.

There is a technique that several of us have used for years, and it works.

Morgan or Jared might have some video of the process I will have to ask them.
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I hope someone find your drive and you get it back.

I just got a hobie and was wondering about that. I was searching, but didnt find much as to if people pull em or not. I was planning on just keeping em in cause I didnt wanna lose em, and just make sure theyre all the way up, like the rudder. They dont really seem to extend down far enough.

There is a guy on Craig's list trying to sell a Mirage drive for $400. It is not yours as the ad has been up for a few days but it might be another one that was lost in the surf recently.

Personally, I never remove my drive when landing. I follow the Billy V technique. One of these days I will probably wait too long to secure the drive and damage it when I hit the sand but as long as I pay attention I should be fine.

Maybe we should all carve our names and phone numbers into the metal. At least that way we will be able to prove that the thing once was ours if it shows up on Craig's list.

Bob

isn't there a way to secure them with a rod leash-esque type device? I'm stuck with paddling for now and thus am speaking in complete ignorance, but it seems like there should be a way to secure these things to the boat on a bungee so that they could be pulled/lifted and even if the boat flipped they'd still be there.

Yes there is an inexpensive tether system that would save this heartache....deepdvr, care to chime in on this one?

If my drive isn't clicked into place, it's in my hand. When I land, after I hop out, I pull it, and it stays in my hand as I pull the yak onto the beach.

For those that have a process that leaves the drive unattended, and not locked in- I would definately be leashing it.

I personally wont ever leave the drive in while I bring the yak on the sand. I can't stand how it sounds/ performs after all that sand gets packed into the chains/ rollers/ hubs..:eek: Only did that once.. never again.

Hope the OP's drive shows up. I didn't see anything this afternoon. Will keep an eye out tomorrow.

There are so many techniques to landing the yac I think I've tried most of them but the one that works well for me is I've set my lawrance to sound when It gets between 3 to 5 ft so even if I can't see the sand it will. first I release the rudder tension cord so the rudder is free then with the rudder control in the left hand and the bungie in the right I time the waves peddle like a mad man and as soon as the lawrance sounds I push the left foot forward tether the peddle on the right and get out I then turn off the electonics release the bait tank attach the wheels pull the rudder and the boat to shore the mirage drive never touches the sand.

Pedals Found! Thank you, James!
 

Great news! James was looking for a friend's pedals and he found mine. He even delivered them to my house! What a great guy! -Gary

I'd like to watch you do this:notworthy:

Yeah...its called the $16.95 hobie drive tether system. Just about any strap/tether system will work. Look at it as an insurance policy that is only 3% of the replacement cost.

Don't take your drive out unless you have a good reason(stuck on kelp, etc.), even then you are playing with fire if it isn't leashed to your boat. Launching and landing should be done with the drive in place. The first thing I attach to my revo is the drive. I turn the yak on its side and in goes the drive. The right pedal goes all the way back and the boat is lowered back down. Then the bungee strap goes on that same right pedal arm. Now I can worry about the rest of the rigging. The opposite happens on the way back in.

This is really an easy DIY project. Go to West Marine and pick up a "stamped D Shackle" by Ronstan for $3.25. http://content.westmarine.com/images...umb/505175.jpg
Drill a hole the diameter of the pin into the front of the drive unit and attach the shackle. Be sure to leave enough clearance so that the tether can connect to it. Either clip your tether to it or put the looped end of the tether onto the shackle before installing it.
http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...s/IMGP0042.jpg

http://i219.photobucket.com/albums/c...s/IMGP0040.jpg

I had a coiled wire one laying around, so that is what I used. Secure the clip to a padeye in the front of the cockpit. In the Adventure, you can remove the screw-in cleat and replace it with a screw-in padeye.

I have a very similar landing technique, and also hold the unlocked rudder cord in hand. (So you can steer)
I pull the kayak ashore from the front handle and do not let the drive touch the sand.
Then I open the front hatch and lift the kayak from there - high enough to remove the mirage drive.
The drive doesn't touch the sand.
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