Kayak Maintenance

For my Trident 13 I hose it off ... try to get all the fish blood off. I'm not always success full. Fish blood has natural fish smell in it and works great to cover the smell of beer in the kayak.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

Nice.  I hear a bit of whiskey is good for getting those blood stains out...that's why I carry some anyway.  Now I just need to get it bloody. 

Put it on video please.

+1!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Is there anything to do with the rudder and rudder control?  Check for line abrasions?

Is there anything to do with the rudder and rudder control?  Check for line abrasions?

And tension. Don't want it too loose or too tight. I had a recent issue with my rudder that cut a great day of fishing very short.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

First off there is no fish oil  in WD40 http://wd40.com/about-us/myths-legends-fun-facts/

I wipe down my kayaks with 303 http://www.303products.com/303r-aerospace-protectant.html 2-3 times a year.
 
I also disassemble my mirage drive once a year and grease all the shafts/pivot points etc with blue marine grease (like you would use on boat trailer bearings etc) http://www.hardwareandtools.com/CRC-Industries-SL3121-Sta-Lube-Marine-Grease-14-Ounce-6106215.html?utm_source=google&utm_medium=search&utm_campaign=Google%20Shopping&gclid=COm04_j9jbUCFQ_hQgodNh0AyQ 

After each use I wash the mirage drive with plenty of fresh water,  and spray with Corrosion X spray. http://www.corrosionx.com/corrosionx.html

I stand corrected. Thanks for clearing that up PP. WD-40 does not have fish oil in it. Old rumors.

I wonder how well the WD-40 Bike Chain lube for wet conditions would work on the mirage drive chains. Anybody using it?

I spray mine with Liquid Wrench every other month or so.

I spray mine with Liquid Wrench every other month or so.

I am not sure if I should take your advice.  You are the only person I know of that has broken both their chains and had to paddle home.

I spray mine with Liquid Wrench every other month or so.

I am not sure if I should take your advice.  You are the only person I know of that has broken both their chains and had to paddle home.

 

Yeah I have had one of my turbo fins slide off into the depths of Hagg lake.  No broken shafts yet but I have bent them pretty good. 

I spray mine with Liquid Wrench every other month or so.

I am not sure if I should take your advice.  You are the only person I know of that has broken both their chains and had to paddle home.

HAHAHAHAA

A little birdie told me NDog was putting together a presentation on Mirage Drive maintenance.

Unfortunately I am a procrastinator, but it will happen sometime this spring.

If you take your drive apart to clean and lube it you may also want to consider replacing the lock nuts on the cable ends.
Besides re-tensioning and adjusting the rudder cables, inspect the steering cable that passes through the rudder.  I have seen cables break right at the bend. 

I spray mine with Liquid Wrench every other month or so.

I am not sure if I should take your advice.  You are the only person I know of that has broken both their chains and had to paddle home.

On the contrary, you should take my advice because I now know the best ways to break a mirage drive and because of that, know how to avoid it. 

I wonder how well the WD-40 Bike Chain lube for wet conditions would work on the mirage drive chains. Anybody using it?

I am using it on the mirage drive and it seems to be working fine. When I hose off my yak and gear the WD 40 makes the water bead up nicely.( like a waxed car), when the water does not bead up, it's a indicator to spray it again. I deal with salt air and saltwater and have for 27 years.

I don't have a HMD, but I would think this type of lube would attract/hold less sand and dirt than marine grease.

I have been spraying the metal parts of my mirage drive with WD40.  Since its petroleum based, does anyone know if this is recommended or not by Hobie.  Will it harm the plastic?