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[kidrockfish]

Well this is a first for me. I went out Sat morning over on the eastern side to look for some action and found myself in the middle of your typical wind fighting the current scenarios.IT was rough out, but had to keep the pedals moving. I was fine until my foot slipped off my pedal, or so I thought. My pedal actually snapped & the metal broke off. I stayed out for a few more hours which resulted in a sore foot on Sunday, but I did get a skinny 20 something out of it. I made the run to Delaware Paddle Sports and for under $50 they had me repaired and made an evening run to test it out. Has anyone else ever had this happen to them?

I had another issues on my evening return back tot he dock. I spoke to the Delaware Paddle guys and it appears that I’ve either lost, or have a loose set screw that holds the fin Rod in place. Something I guess I should check every once in a while. Or maybe just fish when it is calm out? Not. I take good care of all my gear and boats, but I'm hard on stuff. Great shop and really helpful folks in Del. I highly recommend talking with them. They also have just about anything you need in that shop. Blows away some of the other places.
Thanks, Dave

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[mchottie]

I have never seen that damage before. I'm also hard on gear and all i'd developed is a small squak during fill pedal sweep. I think the mounting hardware versus the human torque puts enough stress to wear parts out. Some guys carry extra parts, especially the 180v1 drives that the cord/reverse-cords prone to breakage. I doubt anyone would have an entire foot pedal assembly spare in their parts bag.

I bet your one calf feels like 'The Terminator' while the other one is regular human size.

[Mark]

I'm into my 6th year of using a Mirage Drive and I've never had a pedal break.

I once hit a stump at Wye Mills and ripped a fin from the shaft.

Also, I hit a submerged piece of concrete at Goodhands Creek and bent both shafts severely. By the way, the concrete is still there, barely visible on a low tide. It's at the first point to your left as you leave the launch along the shoreline that leads to Kent Narrows. Do not cut that point too close especially if you are running at full speed.

My worst drive damage was self inflicted. I overtightened a set screw on my old unit and split the spline, which is the backbone/foundation of the drive. It was only a tiny crack but it would progress into a larger one if not attended to. I purchased another spline and completely dismantled the old drive and rebuilt it onto the new spline. I took photos along the way and labeled all the parts to make sure I put it back together correctly.

Now, to make the story complete, I unwisely took the unit back onto the water prior to the repair even though I knew the spline was cracked. I figured I would just take it easy and not put excessive pressure on the pedals. The reason I did that is because I had promised to meet someone on the water at Ft. Smallwood and I didn't want to disappoint them. As luck would have it, the calm morning turned into a typical Ft. Smallwood full scale blow with 2 foot waves when I was over a mile from the launch.

I got back safely without turtling but it was the most harrowing trip I have ever made in my Revo. Getting past the lines of the many shore anglers at the park was perhaps the most difficult part because I was trying to stay as close to shore as possible while avoiding their long casted lines. I did tangle with one and got an earful of profanity from someone who evidently valued his bloodworms more than my life.

I eventually resorted to my paddle in order to make the needed progress against the wind and waves.

So I can sympathize with being on the water without a fully functioning Mirage Drive.

Fortunately, they are very tough mechanisms and rarely breakdown.

[ronaultmtd]

I mirror Mark’s experience with six years of Mirage Drives...similar experience hitting a stump in a shallow lake bending the stainless steel shaft...really tough, dependable unit...Hobie has the engineers...and they did a marvelous job designing a drive that works and lasts...

[kidrockfish]

It was hard for me to believe as well that it broke. I had a flashback to being a kid when I had a homemade mini-bike fork snap that was passed to me by my GM/Broening Hwy Harley riding Uncle. No repair for that bike, I was hopeful for this one. The guys at Del Paddle got me back in the game. I added some additional pictures so you can see it. Crazy, but that has been my 2018 so far. That one is now behind me. Not sure how I could have prevented it. Thanks, Dave IMG_20180414_083737146.jpgIMG_20180414_114710050_HDR.jpg

[Redfish12]

I broke my V2 pedal shaft in KN one night. It wasn't common but it definitely happened to others and I believe there were folks that came up with aftermarket solid bars to solve the problem.