Wintersun: Well said, that's the most profound and well thought out analysis I have heard to date. I have always contended that the mirage drive on Hobies kayaks is their most valuable asset. Even with my giant TI with all of it's sails the main propulsion on the boat is still the mirage pedal system. I contend anyone using electric propulsion should only be using that for suplimental power. By pedaling 100 percent of the time at a leisure pace anyone of average ability can pedal for many hours, to add a little more speed suplimental electric power can be added as needed (never primary propulsion). I also feel the same about the sail kit when we had our Hobie revo's we would always have the sail kit strapped to the side, if winds were favorable for sailing we would raise the sails to assist in propulsion. If not we just left them furled and use the pedal drives and paddles. By using all the 4 modes of propulsion at the same time and alternately (paddle/peddle) the range on these boats is beyond anything else on the market. Putting the evolve into the mirage drive well I feel was Hobies greatest blunder to date, and mounting the motor on the T/S rudder was just as foolish. I think the whole works would make much more sense with a simple swing up ball mount (like the 403 has). If you don't need the motor at the moment, you simply swing it up out of the water and there is no drag from the unit, if you happen to hit something the motor kicks up harmlessly, and best yet, you can use all the propulsion methods simultainously to get you where your going. I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but battery/electric propulsion is still 20-30 yrs away from being able to provide the power and range that people really want at an affordable price. Until that day arrives the best solution out there is the torqeedo 403 system in my opinion, but only as supplemental propulsion, you still have to pedal and sail (when wind is favorable), stretching as much out of the batteries as possible, of course solar panels will help as well. If going offshore on the bigger boats like the TI and trying to cover 15-50 mile areas, the only solution I know of is gas hybrid propulsion. By utilizing all the available power sources (ie... Peddle,paddle,sail, and gas propulsion) all at the same time (which is what I do) with the latest generation of extremely quiet fuel efficient engines you can easily achieve 100 to 150 mpg with a 200 mile range and be able to cruise at 8-10 mph. This is definitely not the same thing as buying a honda outboard and hanging it on your boat and sitting back letting the engine do all the work (like powerboats), I'm totally against this, and even with a stock honda 2.3 you are only going to go 6mph max at wide open throttle (WOT) and get about 18-20 mpg. Plus gas engines at WOT are very loud (even the honda). I much prefer using all the available power sources at the same time with a hybrid setup. Someday I'm hoping to replace the gas engines with electric but I'm afraid the technology is still a ways off, if nobody else figures it out, I will but it will take me a few more years. Of course all I discribe is for open water offshore use, anybody using their kayaks in lakes and protected areas, everything is available now, and it all works really well. Bob
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