I think I missed the window of opportunity...

[Shady]

I fished the Bay Bridge East side yesterday afternoon. The water was pretty stained and I think I missed the clear water window of opportunity by one day based on MissedShed's report from tuesday. I managed to ward off the skunk with a Bluefish at about 12", but it just didn't seem like much else going on. I had a couple other bites, but they were likely to be either white perch or other bluefish because they were pretty light.

On another note, I may have royally F***ed my Torqeedo because of somebody's loose fishing line that got rolled up inside the propellar. While I was out there all of a sudden the propellar would not spin correctly. I pulled up the motor and did not see anything wrong so I put it up to full throttle and it would only turn very slowly. I didn't try to use the motor much after this because I didn't know what was wrong, but I tried to run it on the way in hoping that whatever was slowing it would loosen up. That didn't work. I got home and took the prop off and found the line wrapped around the axel and the pin that makes the prop spin was slightly bent (like a shear pin for an outboard). I cut the line off, but it still doesn't seem right. I'm going to do some more exploratory surgery this afternoon, but I may not be in the electric yak division for the CBKA tournament anymore...

[ronaultmtd]

Mono line is bad news for prop shafts, seals and bearings- I have had to replace water pumps, lower unit seals and bearings because of mono fishing line on my lower unit- because the tightly wrapped mono around the propeller shaft cut the seals and drained the grease out of the lower unit-it also can scour the stainless steel shafts almost like abrasives- it is a mechanic's best friend and boat repair shops blessing- like hailstorms to glass shops-

[Grilled]

i got skunked yesterday. launched at 6 and fished till about 9. nothing, no bites, nibbles, nada. nice meeting you Disco! We'll nail them next time!

[mmanolis2001]

Sorry to hear about your motor. Hopefully you did not overheat and burn up the winding on the motor. Did you check with Hobie about servicing the unit before you try to crack it open? They seam to stand buy there equipment and have outstanding customer service. Those little Hobie motors are very expensive.

[Shady]

I posted a thread on the Hobie cat Forum and the site admin from Hobie immediately suggested sending it to the Torqeedo North America service center in Illinois for service before even putting it back in the water. I have also emailed Backyard boats service department to see what they can do for me. Even if it does have to go to Torqeedo if backyard boats can handle the back and forth that's one less headache for me.

I will take a look again tonight to see if I want to delve any further. If I can open it up w/out too much effort I will. I'm moderately mechanical as I do some of my own work on my motorcycle and truck...

I ordered turbo fins from ACK today, hopefully I'll atleast have those for the tournament...

[surfdog]

that sucks. brand new too. i hope they can take care of it promptly. see if BYB has a loaner for the tourney.

the more mechanical yaks get the more repairs to be made! still less than a cc

[Shady]

Not brand new, but only a year old. I tried to see if I could open up the motor but it's held closed with very small torx head screws and I dont have a small enough torx head wrench. For now I will have to come back from the dark side of electric yaks. Hopefully I can get is straightened out soon.

[kevinfry]

The pin is highly unlikely bent. It almost certainly is broken inside the shaft. Replace it (cheap) before giving up and taking to the shop. You might be surprised.

[Shady]

The pin was definately bent and not broken inside the shaft. I was able to get it out of the drive shaft and straighten it out. However, I tested it with the propellar off and the driveshaft does not spin, but it sounds like it spinning inside.

[HokieDJ]

Other than this issue, how has the evolve work for you? I'm thinking of getting it for my Revo on days I need the distance. I have looked for them used and they are slim pickings for sure.

[Shady]

I has worked well. It definately increases your range and allows you to stay on the water longer when others are tired of paddling/peddling all day. The range is pretty good if you don't gun it everywhere, but I'm already considering a spare battery so I can run full throttle everywhere...

[HokieDJ]

Do you keep the mirage drive in the front hatch?

[Shady]

The mirage drive doesnt fit in my front hatch, but I have the motor setup on the rudder. So I use the mirage drive and the torqeedo at the same time.

On another note I bought a $6 precision torx driver with small torx heads and was able to get the motor apart. There was a small hex screw inside, which basically attaches the motor to the drive shaft, that had some how worked its way out. There didnt appear to be any internal damage, so I put a small drop of locktite on the hex screw and tightened it back where it belongs. Long story short, I'm pretty sure I fixed her back up. That probably would have cost a shitload to send to Torqeedo and have them fix it. O-rings seem to be in order and I'll be testing her out tomorrow at the bay bridge. Wish me luck!

[mmanolis2001]

Great news. I'm glad you were able to fix the problem.

[ronaultmtd]

Did you put grease on the O rings when you reassembled the unit? I use a little petroleum jelly on all O rings- used to work for the US Navy as a civilian employee- inside machinist and that is SOP for O rings they use in hydraulics and periscopes- Petroleum jelly is great gear grease for fishing reels and worm gears on the level wind bait casting reels- too. Cheap, too!

Glad to hear the mono line hadn't scoured the shaft or cut the O rings- That could be a pricey situation- Hope everything tests out fine and your unit is back in working condition-