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Insert drive. How difficult is this bobbing around? And adjustments?
Hey Dan,
Back atcha again--forgot to welcome you to the Hobie Site, so welcome! Mirage drive a snap to install and remove. May take about 15 seconds to install and 10 seconds to remove. It can be tricky trying to do this in heavy swash or backwash, but as Roadrunner says, get into about 2 feet of water to install the drive, hook up your leash to the drive, unclip the seat support strap on the side you enter on (to make it easier to slide into the seat side saddle), point the bow into the break and off you go.
Some folks find it works better to just use the paddle to get past the break, then they install the drive. By pulling back on one pedal, you can hook up the Hobie-installed bungee and this folds the flippers up against the hull so that only about 3 inches of the drive extends beneath the hull. BUT, the flippers have to be oriented vertically to get them into and out of the well in the hull, so you have to do some pre- and post-launch planning in this regard. No big ting, though.
I would not like to land thru the surf with the drive installed because, as you know, the swash can carry you a fair way up on the beach and I try to avoid getting sand in the gearing and chain if at all possible. Once in a while probably won't cause any problem, but over time the less junk I have to wash or shake out of the flipper mechanism and gearing, the better I like it. But the Mirage drive is an extremely well made and sturdy piece of equipment, so it can take a fair amount of abuse. Just for refereence purposes here is a pic of my (wife's) Sport showing the Mirage drive installed and the leash at left.
