PA17T Mirage drive issue?

Good morning everybody.
Fishing with my 13yr old son yesterday and we had a problem with a Mirage Drive 180. He was in the forward position and when he pedaled by himself the kayak was propelling to the left. I had him shift forward and reverse a couple of times, but that didn't help. We then switched drives and the drive I gave to him then propelled straight. I inspected the drive he was using, shifted fine and moved freely. I then tried using in the rear position and propelled us to the left but not as bad because the rudder helped track us straight. Any thoughts on what I can inspect?
Purchased Jan/Feb 2020, it is a 2017 PA17T that was discounted to sell, I was the first to use the kayak. I would say I have had less than 10 outings with the kayak.
Thanks in advance for any input,
Zak

That is an odd one. Nothing about a 180 should drive left vs right that I can think of. Anyone else have this happen? Even with only one fin it would propel forward or backwards.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

This can happen if the two fins are providing unequal force. Some things to check:

1. Bent or loose fin mast.
2. Damaged fin.
3. Thumbscrew adjustment not same between fins.

Peter

Ok Peter. Thanks for the input.

1. Bent or loose fin mast. - I did replace a bent mast and fin on this drive.
2. Damaged fin. - fins are fine.
3. Thumbscrew adjustment not same between fins. - hmmm, how does one check this.

I have only used the Turbo Fin version of the 180 drives. Looks like the PA17 comes with the non-turbo fin version. I am not sure if or how fin tension is adjusted on these.

Peter

Pretty sure it's a turbo fin. I think I need to pull the fin off of the mast and adjust the screw at the bottom of the mast. I'll try putting both screws all the way in at first.

One fin was completely screwed in and the other was out about 1/8 of an inch.

Can't wait to see how it works on the next outing.

Thank you Peter!