Mirage drive repair

After a few hours on the water today trolling for lake trout I was loading up my Outback when I noticed a cable had worn through and snapped on my Mirage drive. It snapped along the plastic coated cable that runs across the top wheel on the drive. (See attached).  Has anyone ever seen this before? What would cause wear right at his spot? According to the GPS on my fish finder I am just at 500 miles on this boat/drive so I am not really upset but can't see how it wore at this point. Any ideas on how to get it repaired? Where can I find this part?  Should a guy keep a bag of spare parts for his drive & rudder?  I have had good luck so far so have no repair experience with my Hobie. Dave

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I noticed on my new to me old mirage drive that the idler pulley is very worn and has odd grooves. I decided after having it all tore apart to replace the spine I would order a new pulley because of this. It is so worn the cable could easily come off. Depending on how it wears,I could see how it could do damage to the cable. Luckily all the parts are relatively cheap and the drive is very easy to work on.

Broken Idler pulley cable.

http://www.austinkayak.com/products/1422/Hobie-Mirage-Idler-Cable-V2.html

When you replace it, be careful not to over tighten, it will make the pedals stiff

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With all of the mirage drive failures it seems that one or two spare parts ain't going to cover you in case of a break.
I think I'm going to be in the market for a spare drive and start taking my drive well plug.

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Fungunnin - I was thing the same thing. Someone snapped their fin shaft while we were at GS7 and now Lee and Daveo.

Fungunnin - I was thing the same thing. Someone snapped their fin shaft while we were at GS7 and now Lee and Daveo.

And Rory sheared his pedal arm this weekend ... And I had a mast pull out two weeks ago.

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On trips longer than 1 day I bring my extra drive for backup.  I did have a fin mast come loose on the water.  I've also had to replace a couple cables.

Thanks for this help guys. The Hobie is an amazing product that provides so much utility but there are lot more moving parts than your basic kayak. I think extra parts or a backup drive could be a very important thing. I am gong to be thinking about how to repair this problem and then have some extra supplies so as not to have my days on the water cut short.


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The thread below is entitled: Hobie mobile repair kit
It discusses tools and spare parts. I keep my spare parts and tools in the truck on day trips figuring I can always paddle back to the truck for repairs.

http://www.northwestkayakanglers.com/index.php?topic=7889.msg84962#msg84962

I guess I need to add some cables to my repair kit.

Also, periodic lubrication is a very good idea, and give it a dose about every other trip. I use WD-40 Water-Resistant Silcone Lubricant from the aquatic sports section of Home Depot.  WD-40 is often frowned upon in some applications as over time it can turn to varnish, but even if that is the case the resident time on a mirage drive is short.

Here is a link to a 3 part missive on lubricating your mirage drive. 
http://www.hobiecat.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=60&t=12577

And finally here's a link to the Hobie mirage drive support page.
http://www.hobiecat.com/support/mirage-revolution-13/

It seems just about every part is prone to breakage. The best solution looks like a complete spare drive and repair breakage when back home.

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BTW a sheared pedal arm can be repaired at Home Depot with a piece if 7/16 threaded bar, a piece of 1/2" angle iron, 1 U clamp, 3 hose clamps and some electrical tape.

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BTW a sheared pedal arm can be repaired at Home Depot with a piece if 7/16 threaded bar, a piece of 1/2" angle iron, 1 U clamp, 3 hose clamps and some electrical tape.

PHOTOS!  We want photos!

I was just about to post this in a new thread entitled "FG's Fine Fix" but saw this thread already open!

I got out to Hobuck friday evening and had a couple hours of daylight left.  There was no wind, the swell was low and it was the start of a memorial day fishing weekend at one of my favorite places on earth.  I was mega excited to say the least.  I waded in deep enough to put the drive in and lower the rudder...let a breaker pass...then hopped in and started cranking to push out of the surf zone.  It must have been the 3rd or 4th crank and...SNAP! The pedal arm broke at the base.  Right at the weak point where the pin goes through.

I was absolutely deflated.  Couldn't have happened at a worse time.  I felt like the weekend was ruined (I do tend to overdramatize a bit).  Yes, I have a paddle, but the outback is a kayak pretty much dependent on the mirage drive.  It's not really designed to be paddled, literally won't go straight.  I could fish, but it was going to be very difficult given the best fishing grounds are at least 2mi off hobuck.  And FG and Zee were coming out, both with hobies.  I had no chance of keeping up.  Depression!



I texted the boys, both on their way out.  I was in a black mood and pretty pessimistic.  But they both texted back and raised my spirits.  Zee was already in touch with the hobie dealer in PA, and FG said that anything can be fixed.  What excellent friends!  I was actually ready to plunk down the $500 or whatever to get a new drive from the dealer.  I wanted to fish hard, and I figured a spare drive is never a bad thing.  But the shop didn't have a spare drive and didn't want to sell a drive out of a boat.  So that left the other option, patching.  In my dark mood I thought a fix was unlikely.  Or that any fix we could make would would be insufficient.  I underestimated the handy brilliance of FG.

He stopped by the Home Depot in Sequim and brought his drive in to fit parts to it.  He came out with a threaded bolt, electrical tape, an angle brace, a U-bolt, 3 hose clamps and a hacksaw.  It was a recipe for success.  He showed up at hobuck and went to work.  I was in awe of the magician.  10 minutes later...





The threaded bolt is inside the arm, wrapped with the tape for a snug fit.  My initial concern was that the bolt wouldn't be strong enough to handle the pressure...but FG was way ahead of me.  The angle brace was clamped snug to the base of the arm (against the plate the pin went through), so that if the bolt bent, the brace would do just that, brace and support the entire patch. 

Harder, better, faster, stronger!  I couldn't believe it!  It was something to behold.  But the true test would be hitting the water the next day.  My experience with fixes is they take iteration...

Amazingly, this one didn't.  Rock frickin' solid, the first time!  We fished hard the next 2 days, and I completely forgot the drive was even broken.  Saved the weekend!  For real.  THANKS BILL!!!

That is awesome!  I may have to replicate that fix and make a kit for my Outback.  I have all the stuff laying around in the garage anyways.  Put the parts in a vacuum bag, vacuum pack it so I don't need another dry bag, and break seal in case of emergency. Thanks for the tip.