Tom:
I kind of discovered the same thing when sailing my TI, Whether I have the Mirage drive in or out doesn't seem to make any difference on my speed, so these days I always just leave it in with the fins straight down, like a center board. It probably has something to do with the TI being rather large.
Also typically when I am out especially in lighter winds I tend to always pedal even when sailing (force of habit I guess).
Here is a question for you, On our Oasis, and Revo we always packed the Hobie sail on the boat whenever we went out (even on rivers) and would put it up whenever there was any wind to help extend our range. I just looked on the Hobie site at the PA and it looks like it has a sail mount hole (called the accessory mount) but have never heard anybody mentioning sailing their PA's. I would think with such a versatile and stable boat throwing a sail up when there is an opertunity to take advantage of the wind would help extend everyones range. After all I think that is why everyone is electrifying all their PA's, so they can greatly extend their fishing range.
Just an observation from an outsider, I don't have a PA and have never seen one up close, but it looks to me like the absolute ultimate platform for any serious fisherman, and adding a Hobie sail in my eyes would be a logical extension.
Another observation is the PA has vertical rod holders just like my Oasis, revo, and TI but I have not seen anyone talking about adding a motor mount to the rod holders (like mine) and just attaching a standard transom mount trolling motor with no modifications needed to anything. The motor mount could have hollow tubes so their function as rod holders wouldn't be comprimised. Basically my motor mount cost me about $10 bucks to build with PVC tubing, a pressure treated 2 x4, and a some steel rod, or they can be purchased pre-made from (
http://islandhopperoutboards.com/hobiekayakmounts.html ). I could go to Walmart and buy an off the shelf trolling motor for a hundred bucks and be on my way.
Or do what I did and add a small 4 cycle gas motor instead ( I got mine at
http://www.smalloutboardengines.com/20h ... flage.html) (my range is 50 miles with 1 spare gallon of gas @5mph (TI), or 7 mph (Revo)). I have the motor set to run either on propane or gas. A couple small propane bottles can easily get me 30-40 miles, or I think a 20 lb tank would get me 100+ miles (still lighter than 1 battery).
Converting my gas motor to propane cost me about $5-$10 dollars, you just add a cut off valve to the fuel line, and a T connector to one of the vacuum lines and a little rubber hose to a standard propane torch (with the flame tip removed). Basically you start the motor on gas, turn on the propane, then shut off the gas. You then just adjust the propane valve to control the RPM (with the throttle on the tiller in the locked open position). My thought would be traveling with the motor to get you the five or ten miles to your fishing area, then use the Mirage pedal drive system once you are there.
My situation might be a little different than most, 98% of the time I'm in either Tampa or Sarasota bays (both huge), or off of Key West where the closest Island is 4 or 5 miles to the west of KW. A good day for me is 30-40 miles covered. I have about 1100 miles on my TI to date but have only ran 3 gallons of gas through my gas motor since I bought it, so obviously if I can get somewhere without needing the motor I do, and do not go out in my boat without the motor (for safety reasons in the Ocean).
Just a thought from an outside observer. I'm not a fisherman, but love to snorkel and scuba dive with my spear gun year round (I pick and choose what I want to eat LOL, but honestly I have much more fun just watching).
Bob