[FAIL] $0.56 Hobie V2 Mirage drive chain repair?

I broke the cable on one of my Mirage drive chains as I was coming into the Santa Cruz harbor today. Conditions were sporty, and it could have been serious if not for there being sufficient wind to sail unassisted.

A while back, I replaced a broken idler cable with bungee cord, and that's been working remarkably well. The bungee cord pops off the idler pulley about once every 20 miles of pedaling, but you can still pedals without it, and it's trivial to put it back on in real-time.

So, I'm wondering of there is a cheap fix for a broken chain. My plan is to keep the chain part, and replace the cable with sailing (i.e., no stretch) rope. I plan to tie the rope thru the first link in the chain, and then secure it at the same place that the cable threads into. Unfortunately, the rope in the picture is just slightly too large in diameter, so I'll have to make a run to West Marine.

I'm wondering whether anybody sees any obvious flaw in this plan. One obvious drawback is that it'll be a pain to get it tied to the correct length, and then it won't be adjustable. But, that's one-time work, and I think it's do-able.

no immediate issue I see but if it fails otw the drive is basically useless and you're gonna have to find another way back. You have a sail so it could be OK but a non sail kayak is a bit SOL. though the drive does "work" with only 1 fin it's much less than comfortable.

Hope it works out though because I broke both drive cables last year, the idler this year, and now both of my masts this year. Figure at one point or another I'm bound for round 2 with the drive cables so a 1$ fix sounds a lot more appealing than a 70$ fix. your bungee cord idler fix is ~30 miles in and still working on my drive so I have faith.  Just need2 find a mast quick fix bc drilling it out is a huge pita.

broken mirage cables plagued me last year during trolling season and know all too well about this.  had a similar thought like you to fix it with non stretch rope. But never got a chance to try it out since I found a spare. love to see how this fix works out for you NWM. Only thing I was concerned about was if there was going to be too much friction on the rope near the cable causing it to break

one thing that I do more now is give the cables extra TLC by spraying it with silicon lube or wd40…and checking the tension. so far it’s helped a ton with prolong life

nice, hope it works and lasts long.

broken mirage cables plagued me last year during trolling season and know all too well about this.  had a similar thought like you to fix it with non stretch rope. But never got a chance to try it out since I found a spare. love to see how this fix works out for you NVM. Only thing I was concerned about was if there was going to be too much friction on the rope near the cable causing it to break

one thing that I do more now is give the cables extra TLC by spraying it with silicon lube or wd40…and checking the tension. so far it’s helped a ton with prolong life

DangerousCliff and NoVareMan, said in Russian accent... 

The weak point of the Hobie drive design is the connection of cable to chain. I have broke cables before also but chose to buy, from Hobie, replacement parts as the simplest way forward. If ocean fishing I carry a spare chain/cable part with wrench to replace on the water. Obviously this repair cannot take place between breaker sets or similar hazards. I just consider the replacement expense as part of owing a Hobie and replace if ANY cable fraying is spotted at the connection or coloration has changed from SS silver to oxidized brown.

I'm impressed by your replacement bungee idler cable, that seems like such a simple fix.  Going to carry some extra bungee in my drybag from now on.  On the drive chain replacement I feel like the tensioning of the cable is pretty important, and not sure how you would accomplish it with a cord, but i'm all ears and look forward to seeing what you come up with.  If you happen to need a V2 drive in the meantime, I have a one I can loan you if it helps.

Definitely just buy the hobie replacement.

broken mirage cables plagued me last year during trolling season and know all too well about this.  had a similar thought like you to fix it with non stretch rope. But never got a chance to try it out since I found a spare. love to see how this fix works out for you NVM. Only thing I was concerned about was if there was going to be too much friction on the rope near the cable causing it to break

one thing that I do more now is give the cables extra TLC by spraying it with silicon lube or wd40…and checking the tension. so far it’s helped a ton with prolong life

DangerousCliff and NoVareMan, said in Russian accent... 

  need to stop posting right before bed

I think it'll work pretty well, but only if you replace 1 of the 2 cables, but not both. With the setup in the pictures, I was able to do the fine adjustment using the nuts on the surviving Hobie cable. If I tried to replace both, getting the cable tension right would be difficult, at best.

Anyways, I'll try it out in the next week or so and report back. The only possible issue I can see is that it might be more prone to slip off the guides, but with the right tension, I don't think that'll be an issue.

Btw, that's a bowline knot of the chain, and figure 8 on the other end...

Oh nice, hadn't thought of that!  Look forward to seeing your results!

Thinking about this some more...

It seems to me that a small eye bolt at the top would make it adjustable. Since the other cable needs to be replaced before it breaks, I think I'll give it a try. If it works, I suspect the rope will prove to be a lot more bulletproof than the Hobie cable.

Of course, then it'll be a lot more that $0.56, but a lot less than the $56 that Hobie charges per chain.

This looks like it's exactly what I need, but these things are ridiculously expensive. I need to figure out a way to accomplish the same thing with a 1/4" stanlesss bolt...

https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Eyebolt-Lifting-Length-Threads/dp/B009SVY1XO/

That’s half the price for a new chain set lol... the price of hardware is ridiculous

https://www.e-rigging.com/quarter-inch-x-two-and-three-quarters-inch-stainless-jaw-eye-turnbuckle

https://www.e-rigging.com/quarter-inch-x-two-and-three-quarter-inch-stainless-eye-eye-turnbuckle

Maybe 2 of these, and you’ll get 2 sets...

https://www.e-rigging.com/quarter-inch-x-two-and-three-quarter-inch-stainless-eye-eye-turnbuckle

Bingo! Thanks.

It turns out that shipping is $11.50 for a $4.50 part. Have to look around some more, but that looks like it should work...