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Mirage drive fin alignment
http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=10072
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Author:  Upyaboya [ Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:25 pm ]
Post subject:  Mirage drive fin alignment

Just wondering if anyone has encountered the fins out of alignment when in the vertical position?. Seems like one of my st turbo fins is not in alignment with the other one and I'm puzzled. It could be that the pin holding the fin is bent slightly. I did encounter rocks recently but straightened the pin which was slightly bent.

No prior experience but I did notice a clicking sound when pedalling and what seeled like slippage earlier tonight but it was inadvertent and when I stopped to check the drive at sea, I could see no obvious problem.

I also got to hear the AI sing tonight on the downwind leg which was a first!

Any ideas...thanks in advance.

Author:  Yakaholic [ Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:29 pm ]
Post subject: 

Sounds like one of the chains has jumped a tooth.

Inspect teeth for wear and cable tension.

If off a tooth, loosen the offending chain, realign and follow Roadrunner's sequence for proper cable tensions and which cable to tighten first.

Author:  Upyaboya [ Thu Jul 17, 2008 3:35 pm ]
Post subject: 

Thanks a lot Yakaholic, that sure does make sense. I will check tomorrow.

Author:  Yakaholic [ Thu Jul 17, 2008 4:20 pm ]
Post subject: 

Upyaboya

The only other cause would be to have the drives pedal leg adjustments at different settings - but I'm sure you checked that. :wink:

My older mirage drives lack any numbers on the drums and using the drives in different kayaks will cause me to not catch the different settings right away. Need to buy the Hobie decal upgrade. 8)

Chain slippage seems to be more prevelant on the older stainless steel sprockets - which is what I use.

Author:  Roadrunner [ Thu Jul 17, 2008 11:34 pm ]
Post subject: 

If you skipped a tooth, you would see a very noticeable split in the fins. Yak makes a couple of excellent points: First make sure your pedals are in similar adjustment positions! Second, note that it's rare to jump a sprocket tooth with the newer style plastic sprockets, which I believe you have. It tends to happen more with the older style Drives with stainless steel sprockets where the adjustment settings are more critical. Finally, it's also rare but possible to have a broken sprocket tooth (factory defect) -- take a close look at the individual cogs as you rotate the fins.

If it's a small split, you may just have a bent mast. If so, it is best to remove it before straightening it. OR, the fins could be slightly out of adjustment from the factory. In that case, you can re-center either mast by adjusting the chain/cables (loosening one side while tightening the other).

Here's a link that shows more details on adjusting the cables:
http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=6418
8)

Author:  Upyaboya [ Fri Jul 18, 2008 3:46 am ]
Post subject: 

Thank you Yakaholic and Roadrunner.

It did skip a tooth and I've now made the necessary adjustment but would have been lost without the advice on how to do it. Cannot say thank you enough.

Now for a sea trial of the fix!

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