Testing the new Drive Well Seal

I picked up a couple of Drive Well Seals recently and am pretty pleased at the the difference. They effectively eliminate the serge that pulses into the drivewell area and redirect some of that misspent energy for a small speed gain.

Here's what it looks like in the well:


It attaches to your Drive with a couple of zip ties (included):


Tightened nice and tight and trimmed, it looks like this:


Here's the Seal in action in the Adventure:


And here is is in the Oasis:


As you can see, it effectively nullifies any pulse.

For measuring speed differences, I used the Adventure with my wife's ST fins and recorded two benchmarks during each of four timed sessions at the local lake (2 without seal and 2 with seal). For my 2.4 mile component, the seal averaged .14 MPH faster in mostly calm water; for the one hour run, the sealed unit averaged .08 MPH faster (two directions to minimize any breeze or current influences). My slowest time with the sealed unit was .07 MPH faster than my fastest comparable time with the non-sealed Drive. It's not a great speed advantage, but it comes without any additional effort, so I like it! For 10 bucks, it makes a nice improvement, especially in the Adventure where serge otherwise pulses up to the hatch area.

I installed 2 of the drive well seals last week. I was expecting a thin and flappy piece of rubber. The drive seals are a thick and molded piece of rubber complete with a Hobie emblem. These are not cheap cut-outs of a piece of rubber. They look much like same material as the mirage fins.

Anyway, wife and I were impressed on how well they worked on our Islands. They fit snug but are flexable enough and perfectly sized to not impede installing your mirage drive into the well. They work great at stopping much of the "washing machine" water pulse that seemed to be the worst on Adventure hulls.

Probable one of the best "bang for the buck" item in the catalog.

Thanks Rodrunner for the pics. I considered taking pics and posting review myself - but you have it well covered.

Great reviews, thanks for the tip. I'm calling my outfitter today to place an order!

...and thanks to Hobie for continuing to improve an already great product and accessory line!

_________________
"If I'm not at work, I'm Outback"