thinking about a hobie but i fish lake fork - worried about stumps damaging mirage drive - thought and advice

Sure, a good worry to have, but there is nothing that I know of specific to a Hobie that isn't a shared worry with all kayaks and vessels. If you hit a stump, it isn't pleasant with or without a propulsion unit of any sort. I think Hobies generally have a solid reputation for handling stumps and vegetation very well.

In my Slayer Propel, I have to watch out for vegetation more so than a Hobie would as it can gum up, wind itself up actually, around the propeller. But, what I can do, haven't had to yet, is release the hold down clip that fixes the propeller unit into a down position so if I did run into a stump, the Propel unit would lift up and not take the full brunt of the impact. Some Propel operators never lock down the lower clip and it has little effect of its operation.

There may be a similar "work-around" for a Hobie and I'd definitely check out the Hobie Discussion Board to see what others might be doing.

I'd go a bit slower, too, if you know you are moving across a stump field. If you are on Fork, with all the boat out there most of the time, the last thing you want to do is avoid the stumps by scooting along in the boat lanes.

Brad

Bent shafts are just part of the price of peddling the Mirage Drive in stumpy water.

I've done it a couple of times including last weekend at the tournament at Fork.

It's not that hard to bend the shafts back to a functional angle and then fix them better when you get home. I'm sure after some number of bend/straighten cycles the shaft will break but so far so good.

Just to be safe, I keep a spare in my truck.

Craig

If you know you are in stumpy water and are at risk of hitting stumps, you can always bring the flippers up against the bottom of the boat by bringing one pedal all the way forward and one pedal all the way back. In this position you can flutter the fins to still move forward or use your paddle for a while. Of course, this also works in real skinny water.

yep, you can "feather" the mirage drive (ie; keep it up against the hull with a shorter stroke) and this will keep them from sticking down very far while still allowing for forward motion. You can pull them up if you go real skinny or are around a lot of stumps or obstructions. Hitting underwater obstructions is very common. The stainless rods can take a lot of abuse and if they get bent all you have to do is straighten them back out. I use a vice and a piece of pipe for this task and it's pretty easy.

You should be just fine! Hobie's Mirage Drive units have proven quite durable over more than 15 years. As mentioned above you may bend the stainless steel masts but those are easily straightened and are also easily replaceable. The drive unit is a tool you don't have to use, you can always paddle when you are in areas you are unsure about. The Outback comes with a drive well "plug" so you can even take the drive unit out and use it as a regular kayak. It is very versatile and if you haven't tried one yet we'd be happy to offer a demo!

These guys all gave spot on advice. My best advice is to go slow if you're around standing timber.

Thanks everybody. Great advice from everyone.

Take your time in any area unless you know it is clear. I bend my mast the second time out try to bend it back but it wasn't looking right so I bought a mast $22.00 not bad. And I bought an extra just in case. And the only tool you'll need is a pair of Visegrips the mast has flat area at the top for the grips and screw it out....