Yakgrips tip, paddling Boerne City Lake + Mirage drive failure

Post Reply
User avatar
Ron Mc
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5675
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Contact:

Yakgrips tip, paddling Boerne City Lake + Mirage drive failure

Post by Ron Mc »

Had a great paddle on Boerne City lake yesterday with my buddy and our girls, smoke testing my new Werner Coreyvecken paddle.
With its large blade, 720 cm2, I was able to keep pace in my T160 with my buddy's 16' Mirage Revo, though this photo doesn't show that.
Image
I did learn, though, the straight shaft paddle irritates and may blister over my thumb knuckle - something that doesn't happen with my bent-shaft Camano, and is going to need either paddling gloves (have them but don't like them) or Yakgrips (neither needed on the bent shaft).

Here's still the one to beat, my daughter the nationally ranked wrestler, and her bent-shaft Shuna.
Image
Her skeg also still works. While my buddy's daughter got windcock every time she stopped paddling, instantly turning her bow off course and eventually back to the wind, my daughter's 10' Redfish with skeg continued to track perfectly straight downwind even when she wasn't paddling, and even for long drifts.
skeg details - http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... &p=2247676
Image
With the breeze this high-altitude no-motors reservoir creates, it's unseasonably cool, beyond bearable, and like a vacation to another state.
It's kinda like a 190-acre swamp cooler.
Image
btw, there was a guy tearing up fish right where the cooler water meets the warm water of the creek arm.

I've had a pair of Yakgrips around from one of her older paddles, but couldn't get them to stretch enough to start over the shaft ferrule of my new Corey.
So I had put them in the freezer overnight, hoping the cold would relax the rubber enough to get them started (same process in polymers that makes multi-viscosity oil work).
It worked last evening, easy to get started, plus the condensation in the humid air lubed the effort, and they slid right on.
Dry and warm today, they don't budge.
Image

My buddy's Mirage drive blew up at the end of yesterday's paddle. We were joking to him it sounded like a pelican. When we got in, a polymer needle bearing totally fell apart, dropping a flipper into the bed of his truck. Luckily still under warranty, and this was only the 3rd trip the boat has made after last fall's extensive coast paddling. He had complained about the squeak to ACK, and turned out to be a major after all.
And better here than far out on the flats next month...
Image

and y'all can borrow this sign if you want - it was at the BBQ stand in Boerne (Mague's next door was closed)
the pulled pork was just right, and their sauce is good
Image
Last edited by Ron Mc on Thu Aug 09, 2018 5:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
kickingback
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5178
Joined: Thu Feb 18, 2016 3:24 pm
Location: Houston, Texas

Re: Yakgrips tip, paddling Boerne City Lake + Mirage drive failure

Post by kickingback »

Very cool write up! Enjoyed reading and seeing the pictures in detail! Thanks for sharing!
User avatar
Ron Mc
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5675
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Contact:

Re: Yakgrips tip, paddling Boerne City Lake + Mirage drive failure

Post by Ron Mc »

you're welcome - my daughter's heading off to A&M in 2 weeks, and she grew up camping and paddling with Steve's girls (Steve and I grew up together) - we're trying to get it in before she goes.
Tombo
Moderator
Posts: 16909
Joined: Thu Jun 12, 2003 3:32 pm
Location: Rockport, TX

Re: Yakgrips tip, paddling Boerne City Lake + Mirage drive failure

Post by Tombo »

Did I miss the Mirage Drive failure somewhere?
User avatar
Ron Mc
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5675
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Contact:

Re: Yakgrips tip, paddling Boerne City Lake + Mirage drive failure

Post by Ron Mc »

Tombo wrote:Did I miss the Mirage Drive failure somewhere?
Ron Mc wrote:...
My buddy's Mirage drive blew up at the end of yesterday's paddle. We were joking to him it sounded like a pelican. When we got in, a polymer needle bearing totally fell apart, dropping a flipper into the bed of his truck. Luckily still under warranty, and this was only the 3rd trip the boat has made after last fall's extensive coast paddling. He had complained about the squeak to ACK, and turned out to be a major after all.
And better here than far out on the flats next month...
Image
...]
literally, when he was loading up the truck, the flipper fell off, and little plastic needles rolled everywhere.
Apparently nothing retains the flipper but the polymer needle bearing, and the needle bearing came apart.
I didn't look at the details, just the quick result.
It had a squeak that became progressively worse, and could hear it halfway across the lake yesterday.
He told ACK about it last fall, and they said nothing to worry about, also the system doesn't use or need any kind of lubrication.
Again, it's still under warranty, and better to break here than out on the flats next month.
User avatar
Ron Mc
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5675
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Contact:

Re: Yakgrips tip, paddling Boerne City Lake + Mirage drive failure

Post by Ron Mc »

Report from my buddy and ACK on the failed Mirage drive:
ACK says the problem with the Mirage drive is that it lost its idler cable. The noise was probably due to the cable loosening. The cable keeps the two pedals working opposite one another. It probably finally failed completely when I removed the drive from the boat. Other than the noise, it was working the whole time we were out. Pushing one pedal brought the other back. Both ends of the cable have a crimped on threaded tubular fitting. A stainless/nylon lock nut holds each end in place. There's no rotation of the cable when pedaling, so I don’t see how one of the nuts could come off, especially after only a half dozen trips in the water. I think it’s more likely the cable wasn’t firmly compressed inside one of the threaded ends. It may have worked it’s way apart on one end, which allowed the drive to fail. I wish I had recovered the cable, but I didn’t know to look for it. Since I don’t have the part, I can’t prove my theory. It’s up to Hobie to decide whether it’s covered by warranty, or if they consider it a user maintenance issue.

Amazon has some good pictures of the cable and where it fits in the drive here:
https://www.amazon.com/Hobie-Idler-Cabl ... B015X6H738
Image
User avatar
Chubs
Posts: 680
Joined: Wed Oct 25, 2017 10:54 am

Re: Yakgrips tip, paddling Boerne City Lake + Mirage drive failure

Post by Chubs »

Ron Mc wrote: Here's still the one to beat, my daughter the nationally ranked wrestler, and her bent-shaft Shuna.
Image
Her skeg also still works. While my buddy's daughter got windcock every time she stopped paddling, instantly turning her bow off course and eventually back to the wind, my daughter's 10' Redfish with skeg continued to track perfectly straight downwind even when she wasn't paddling, and even for long drifts.
skeg details - http://www.texaskayakfisherman.com/foru ... &p=2247676
That is an Orange redfish!

I keep meaning to update the details I did on my redfish modification for the rudder.

Here is what I ended up doing:


China rudder with a little rudder holder from ACK. I had to cut a spacer from a piece of plastic cutting board to make it extend far enough.
Add description
Add description
Foot controls, I ended up going cheap and just modifying my stock footrests. I keep wishing I'd have gotten the ones you linked though cause the stock ones do not glide and I have to apply a layer of grease each outing in order for the foot pedals to move. One day I'll do it (or replace the yak haha)
Add description
Add description
Drilled holes through the yak with plastic guide tubing and I think some 500# braided stainless steel fishing wire.
Add description
Add description
User avatar
Ron Mc
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5675
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Contact:

Re: Yakgrips tip, paddling Boerne City Lake + Mirage drive failure

Post by Ron Mc »

The wellnuts on the Redfish transom were for mounting a Native Tag-along wheel.
Image
Stevo is about to put a rudder on the his daughter's red Redfish for our October coast trip, when he loans that boat to one of our buddies.

He's going to do something similar to my skeg mount, but a little simpler -
I had to use a big delrin bar ($30) to get the flange for mounting the skeg
Image
Image

He's going to use a 1/2" thick by 1" wide delrin bar - only $8 for the delrin bar - countersink fastener heads in the bar against the transom, put his closing fasteners on the outside of the rudder gudgeon. Then he'll just bolt the bar to the well nuts on the transom, as I did above. All he'll have to do to the delrin bar is cut to length and drill 4 holes, and maybe sand the edges.
Image
I may send him here to look at your rudder cables, though he has put rudders on at least one other boat that didn't have factory cable guides - this Emotion Fisherman. Steve has so many boats, he gave this boat to our buddy Lou, who's bringing it back to the coast in October. However, this boat was easy to cable, because you can get to anywhere through big hatches (and bring a sponge, all those big hatches leak).
Image
Max1775
Posts: 2
Joined: Sat May 19, 2018 11:07 pm

Re: RE: Yakgrips tip, paddling Boerne City Lake + Mirage drive failure

Post by Max1775 »

Ron Mc wrote: and y'all can borrow this sign if you want - it was at the BBQ stand in Boerne (Mague's next door was closed)
the pulled pork was just right, and their sauce is good
Image
I have that same sign on my office wall! Been wanting to try that spot. Going to have to check it out. Thanks for the info!

Sent from my SM-G955U using Tapatalk
User avatar
Ron Mc
TKF 5000 Club
TKF 5000 Club
Posts: 5675
Joined: Fri Jan 20, 2006 6:12 pm
Location: downtown Bulverde, Texas
Contact:

Re: Yakgrips tip, paddling Boerne City Lake + Mirage drive failure

Post by Ron Mc »

Update - Hobie gave my buddy a new complete Mirage drive under warranty.

Apparently there's a 1st version of the Mirage 180 drive, which he had, and they upgraded him to the 2nd version, which is more reliable and won't drop the blade and needle bearing if the cable fails.
They also said smooth operation as opposed to jerk or hammering the drive makes the cable last.

btw, my buddy says he never uses the reverse on his Mirage drive - if he wants to back up, he uses the paddle.
Post Reply