Share Your Innovations

[fongman]

When a Hobie is cruising above 4 mph, the power produced by the turbo fins forces an excessive amount of water up through the Mirage drive opening. To minimize this, I cut a piece of 1/4" rubber to fit snugly at the end of the drive opening. 2 screws holds it securely to the drive unit. The last picture shows the amount of water in the kayak with the dam in place and peddling about 4.5 mph.

[jorluivil]

Originally Posted by fongman

When a Hobie is cruising above 4 mph, the power produced by the turbo fins forces an excessive amount of water up through the Mirage drive opening. To minimize this, I cut a piece of 1/4" rubber to fit snugly at the end of the drive opening. 2 screws holds it securely to the drive unit. The last picture shows the amount of water in the kayak with the dam in place and peddling about 4.5 mph.

I'll have to assume you're not aware of this but hobie already makes that part for the drives

[fongman]

Originally Posted by jorluivil

I'll have to assume you're not aware of this but hobie already makes that part for the drives

You're right, I didn't know it. I haven't been in a Hobie store in quite a while and when I made it, I don't think there was one available. So..........never mind!

[StinkyMatt]

Check out Mad Frog Liberaror. basically what you have there.

[fongman]

Originally Posted by StinkyMatt

Check out Mad Frog Liberaror. basically what you have there.

I like the smaller tubes they used, but I wasn't about to spend $40.00 for one! Mine cost under $10.00. One of the reason for posting is to show some of the newbies alternatives to buying pre-made products. I remember a while back there were some discussions on how to make something like this.

[dsafety]

It was another dark and stormy night, not unlike the one about three years ago when I submitted my first contribution to the "Share Your Innovations" thread. After reading the most recent posts in this tread, I noticed that the number of views had just clicked over 100,000. Wow, that seems like a lot to me.

Just for fun, I started at the beginning and reviewed all the posts in this thread. There is a lot of good stuff in there. I counted at least a dozen great ideas that I have borrowed and personally used.

Thanks to all who have contributed over the years and also to BWE for making this milestone possible.

Bob

[Chuck D]

We'll after a series of events I decided to try adding a bait tank modification to my Hobie Bait tank. I purchased a scupper hole mount for my new fish finder so I could get some accurate reads. Then my Hobie bait tank was missing its drain hole. The water would almost fill up the back of my Outback making it a heavier and sloppy ride. So heres what I did. I figured that if I want to switch back I can always cap the hole.

[fongman]

When I picked up a Lowrance FF, the shape of the transducer convinced me to try an externally mounted, articulating transducer arm. I used plastic bimini top parts for the pivot points (end caps) and the base (deck hinge). It took a few adjustments to get the correct arm lengths and the proper angle entering the water. The first trials were unsuccessful because at higher speeds, air bubbles would form and cause vertical lines in the display (dropouts).

I'm still not sold on this method because it is more maintenance than a below deck mount. However, it may help give someone ideas for making a portable transducer arm.