Thoughts on the 2015 mirage drive from those that have used

Thoughts on the 2015 mirage drive from those that have used it ?

Smoother? As durable?

Last week I purchased a 2015 miragedrive GT with ST fins as a replacement for my 2011 Outback mirage drive with comfort fins. When I got it home I noticed that even though my Outback had the center guide slots to aid in proper installation, that the new drive rocked excessively forward and back and also rocked side to side despite being firmly locked it. This was very disappointing to say the least however after measuring the overall spine length I notice that the new drive is 1/8th inch shorter and front and rear spine ears are also not as tall as those on the older drive, thus allowing for the movement that if allowed to continue would eventually damage the mirage well on the hull. My solution was to heat up with a heat gun a piece of 3/4 inch diameter black plastic tubing commonly found in lawn sprinkler system as a riser. This heated piece of round tubing was placed in vise to shape into an oval and while still warm was pushed over the rear spine ear and cut to length. The drive now fits perfectly and after about ten miles of use has not come lose and there is no drive slap from rocking in the well. In direct answer to your question I find the new drive to be a major improvement and am pleased with how smooth it is and feel that it was a good upgrade. Just be aware that when putting it in older kayaks some modification maybe necessary but since the spine shape was modified in 2013 no modification maybe needed for kayaks 2013 and newer.

Great solution. Sorry about that.

The spine was unchanged since last year, so likely the issue is the changes to the Outback mold.

There are typically some adjustments that are done to molds during the first round of production. Different colors shrink differently and so on. This has likely been addressed and corrected at the production line now.

As far as slop... that does not cause damage to the well. Once you are pedaling the drive rocks forward and stays there. Only time that rock is noticed is when putting a drive in the well... not under load.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

about 100 hours into a 2015 PA14 so far. 10% efficiency increase is just about dead on. on my Lowrance GPS, my normal cruising speed on the 2014 PA14 was almost exactly 3.5kts. with the new boat, new drive its 3.8kts. i'm the same guy, same size, same exertion, carrying the same load on the same water so i think that's a pretty good comparison.
and after that 100 hours, no issues with anything so far. knock on wood.

cheers
drew

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Cathedra Mea, Regulae Meae.

Anyone else having issues with the masts bending? I've had two outings with the new 2015 Mirage drive in a PA14 and have bent at least one mast during both outings. I ran into submerged underwater stumps I couldn't see which caused the bending but with the V1 drive without the turbo fins I never had an issue. Is the fin/mast length the contributing factor? I'm thinking of having a machine shop make me some harder grade steel masts.

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2015 Hobie Pro Angler 14

LAkayakbass....yes, the turbo fin mast is longer than the standard fin mast......be thankful you are "only bending the mast" and not breaking the plastic assembly.
It's easier to straighten the mast and much less costly than replacing the assembly.

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Dr.SteelheadCatcher
Warrenton, OR