jal wrote:
2015 Hobie Revolution 13 seat wear.
On another note, when surfing down swell the kayak tends to veer to the left side. I realize this kayak is tender and responsive and have balanced my equipment equally with no noticeable change. Is there a rudder or fin adjustment which might address this occurrence?
The surfing performance of a Mirage Drive kayak will be affected by both the rudder and the Mirage Drive fins. Next time you catch a wave and start surfing, try pushing one pedal all the way forward so the fins will be up against the bottom of the kayak, and see if your kayak still veers to the left side.
The fins on a surfboard are at the rear of the board, so they tend to aim the board down the fall line of the wave. Mirage Drives are located about a third of the way back from the nose of Hobie kayaks, so if a Mirage Drive kayak starts surfing when the drive is in, the fins will tend to make the kayak veer sharply to one side or the other. As soon as the kayak turns sideways, the fins and the rudder catch water sideways, and the wave pushes the kayak over in the direction the wave is moving. Boom! You can see this in YouTube videos of Mirage Drive kayaks getting dumped over in surf. One way to avoid this when landing in surf is to pull out the drive and paddle the kayak through the surf to the beach. Another way is to instantly push one pedal all the way forward as soon as you start getting surfed. This is counter-intuitive, as the tendency when you catch a wave and start surfing is to brace against the pedals with both feet even, but with practice you can develop this reflex.