Help Please. Can this be fixed?

https://www.flickr.com/photos/132413294@N02/

Can this be fixed?

Not sure what those little circular levers are called that lock the drive in place, but they have been removed.
I'd like to put some back, but I don't know if there will be any problems.

I'm just worried about water seeping in.

If it is fixable, where would I buy those things?

Lastly, what are they called!!?

Thanks!

Is that a crack in the well running to the insert?

_________________
Mark
Tandem Island- 2013
2 - Sports - 2014

Just take that pic into any Hobie dealer and and they can help you get the right parts ordered, There may be some risk here though, as you have no idea what is going on, here, how and why the mirage drive clamps were removed, or if they were torn out somehow. The boat is very likely a 2008 or older boat (thats pretty old for a kayak), since Hobie switched to a new mirage clamp system around 2009 or so (the date of manufacture is engrave on the right rear corner of the boat (called the HID number).

Also there has to be some reason for all that silicone in there, it maybe the hull is cracked and useless, and they were just trying to repair it so they could still use the boat. BTW before going thru all this work, you do have a mirage pedal drive right?..... If you don't already have a mirage drive, it might not be worth trying to fix.... they cost around $700 dollars new, and if your lucky enough to maybe find a used one, mirage drives seldom go below $400 bucks (even old worn out ones). If it works as a good kayak with paddles, and doesn't sink, you might be better off just using it as a good paddle kayak if you don't already have a mirage drive. If the dealer can get the parts, I recommend paying them to evaluate and install the replacements parts, they may also have used Mirage drives in stock they can sell you. But they will need to inspect and evaluate the boat first, and of course they charge you for all this (that's how they make a living). Check the prices on new Mirage kayaks (they are not cheap), but they are extremely well made reliable, and really superior to anything else out there. If you only paid a few bucks for the kayak, spending a few hundred more to bring it up to a real Mirage kayak with the pedal drives will save you many hundreds of dollars. The dealer upon inspection will tell you if it is worth doing. Hopefully the rudder is still on the boat and working , if not it may be too expensive to bother with (too far gone), just use it as a paddle kayak.
Hope this helps
Bob

......almost looks like to me someone used the Hobie well plug and a week's worth of silicone in an attempt to plug the drive well. Maybe they didn't have a drive and wanted it to be just a reg sit on top.

Honestly, I'm not exactly sure what happened to the kayak.

This is what I do know.

- there was a patch job done to block the well.
- It was being used as a sit on top all summer (2014) because the person did not have the pedals.

I do already have a mirage drive and this is the only reason I'm considering it. If I can get it for dirt cheap, it may be worth it.

Lastly, I live in a pretty remote town, on a remote island hahah.
The closest Kayak shop would be at least 4 hours away and there is no way they are a hobie dealership.

Will most kayak shops be able to tell if there is a leak? or more importantly, WHERE there is a leak?

If it is a 2008 or older look inside the front hatch at the columns extending from the drivewell area. Are they broken or cracked. There could be a small crack in the drive well area and if you apply any pressure it would show. The fact that someone removed the holders for the mirage drive or cassette insert tells me that there is a non fixable crack in the drive well area.

_________________
Mark
Tandem Island- 2013
2 - Sports - 2014

The best way to determine if there is a leak is to fill the hull to above the level of the suspect area and place the hull over a surface that will show any water that may leak out.

In the photo the cams and cam bolts have been removed and if the cam columns (the plastic columns inside the boat inside which the cam bolts are located) are cracked then water will pour out of the two screw holes. This may not be the only leak - it looks to me as though someone has had a major 'go' at fixing cracks lower down in the drivewell with silicone and then given up and removed the drive (my guess). From everything I have read on these forums and my own experience cracks in the drivewell area and cam columns are fatal as far as the hull goes.

There is another major BUT that you need to consider and that is this - even a tiny hairline crack in the area of the drivewell is likely to allow water ingress when the drive is being used - this is because the pedalling action apparently flexes the hull slightly which has the effect of opening any cracks up enough to let water in. I have seen this hapen on one of my hulls in the past - I couldn't understand where the water was coming from until an inch-by-inch examination of the drivewell area revealed a tiny hairline crack about an inch long coming out of one of the cambolt screw holes; this was enough to pump large amounts of water into the hull under pedal power.

SO... even if you do a 'water in the hull' test on dry land and find no evidence of water leaking out, this is no guarantee that water ingress will not occur when you are out on the water under pedal power.

If you can get this hull for a dollar it might be worth it for the experimentation value - you may be the person who finally manages to successfully fix a drivewell leak - but my considered opinion is that you will be buying a 'pig in a poke' and will end up having to pay to dispose of the hull as scrap.

Thanks for the advice, everyone.

I think I will pass on it. Not worth the risk.