I picked up an old 1990's fiberglass Mirage kayak today. The glass is pretty rough and it's missing the drive, rudder and seat. I couldn't find a serial number. Anybody know how many were made in fiberglass and the years in production?
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| 1990's fiberglass Hobie Mirage kayak http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=47592 |
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| Author: | dregsfan [ Tue May 14, 2013 1:57 pm ] |
| Post subject: | 1990's fiberglass Hobie Mirage kayak |
I picked up an old 1990's fiberglass Mirage kayak today. The glass is pretty rough and it's missing the drive, rudder and seat. I couldn't find a serial number. Anybody know how many were made in fiberglass and the years in production?
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| Author: | stobbo [ Tue May 14, 2013 4:28 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 1990's fiberglass Hobie Mirage kayak |
Dunno but that is pretty cool  I have seen a couple of this model in poly for sale but have never heard of any Mirage Drive kayaks being built in fibreglass. Could it have been the plug for the moulds for this model ?! Shouldn't be too hard to fix it up with a seat and a rudder assuming that the fittings are in place on the hull. Let us know how you get on! I am sure that quite a few people will be very interested to find out how well it compares with a similar poly hull on the water. |
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| Author: | Roadrunner [ Tue May 14, 2013 10:47 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 1990's fiberglass Hobie Mirage kayak |
Hobie started selling the Mirage kayak in the fall of 1997. I bought a rotomolded one built in Aug. 2000 with serial # 3xxx, so I guess they transitioned to plastic in about 1998 (?). Hobie had been rotomolding the (paddle only) Pursuit since 1996 and I suspect they started building the Mirage out of fiberglass for at least several months while waiting for an appropriate rotomold to be built and delivered. I believe fiberglass hulls were slightly smaller due to the different manufacturing process. Fiberglass hulls are fairly rare and seem to be most common in So Cal. Hobie was a small company then. The Mirage was renamed Classic in 2001 (I think) and the term "Mirage" subsequently referred only to the Drive. The Classic was produced through the 2006 model year. It was a great little boat, lively and very efficient up to "hull speed". According to my old catalog, Hobie also sold an "Aspire" model (identical hull) that was upgradable with a "Mirage kit". Evidently this model had a drivewell (with plug) but no Drive or rudder. I didn't see a rudder control or up/down lever in your picture so you may in fact have an Aspire. Seats in those days were fastened permanently with rivets and not easily replaced if eventually ripped or torn. If you had a Drive from that vintage it would have an aluminum spine, aluminum drums and possibly canvas "sails" (fins). 
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| Author: | dregsfan [ Wed May 15, 2013 5:08 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: 1990's fiberglass Hobie Mirage kayak |
Did some digging on the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine. Looks like the roto Pursuit first shows up as a paddle craft in their March 1997 snapshot. http://web.archive.org/web/19970329184428/http://hobiecat.com/pursuit/default.html The roto Mirage appears in their Feb. 1998 snapshot. http://web.archive.org/web/19980206123826/http://www.hobiecat.com/mirage/default.html I see no mention of a fiberglass Mirage. I've had two 2000 Mirages and both had serial numbers. This boat has none. Maybe the glass hulls were prototypes and not meant for production? |
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