Thoughts on Hobie GT Mirage drive

I made a short (well, it was supposed to be short...) video, where I take apart and reassemble one of my Hobie GT Mirage drives. My main purpose is to mention a few modifications that I've made. The biggest mod is the use of nylon roller bearings, in place of the delrin bearings that Hobie uses. Anyways, hopefully, this is useful to somebody.

LMK if you have any questions.

Good stuff Mark and thanks for sharing.

Great info!  Where do you get your nylon roller bearings?

It’ll be 5 years in April since I got my standard Hobie GT drive and I’ve never had a problem. A thorough hosing down after each trip and lots of Rem oil or Hoppes gun oil in every nook and cranny, including the little gap in the black cable covering at each end, has done nicely. I let it dry out a bit in the sun before putting it in the garage each time. If a nut seems loose, I hand tighten as good as I can without a tool so as not to over tighten.

What are you guys doing to your drives to break ‘em so much? Maybe it’s just that my frail legs lack the power to do any damage?

I do try to take it easy on the thing and avoid resisting with one leg while the other pushes forward, with a conscious effort to lift my legs on the return stroke. Hope my drive keeps the streak alive!!

It’ll be 5 years in April since I got my standard Hobie GT drive and I’ve never had a problem. A thorough hosing down after each trip and lots of Rem oil or Hoppes gun oil in every nook and cranny, including the little gap in the black cable covering at each end, has done nicely. I let it dry out a bit in the sun before putting it in the garage each time. If a nut seems loose, I hand tighten as good as I can without a tool so as not to over tighten.

What are you guys doing to your drives to break ‘em so much? Maybe it’s just that my frail legs lack the power to do any damage?

I do try to take it easy on the thing and avoid resisting with one leg while the other pushes forward, with a conscious effort to lift my legs on the return stroke. Hope my drive keeps the streak alive!!

That's impressive, especially considering how often you fish saltwater. 

thanks for the video. i also was wondering where you got the nylon from.

did you ever have any customization for fin masts?

It’ll be 5 years in April since I got my standard Hobie GT drive and I’ve never had a problem. A thorough hosing down after each trip and lots of Rem oil or Hoppes gun oil in every nook and cranny, including the little gap in the black cable covering at each end, has done nicely. I let it dry out a bit in the sun before putting it in the garage each time. If a nut seems loose, I hand tighten as good as I can without a tool so as not to over tighten.

What are you guys doing to your drives to break ‘em so much? Maybe it’s just that my frail legs lack the power to do any damage?

I do try to take it easy on the thing and avoid resisting with one leg while the other pushes forward, with a conscious effort to lift my legs on the return stroke. Hope my drive keeps the streak alive!!

turbo fins break way more stuff. if u have turbo fins and still no breakages u might be the goat

No turbo fins, just a standard drive.

No turbo fins, just a standard drive.

That makes a big difference, as turbo fins put far more stress on the everything. You might want to try turbo fins--once you use them the standard fins are like pushing on air.

In any case, I got 4' nylon rods (1/8" diameter) from Amazon, but I can't seem to find any there now. I did find some on ePlastic:

https://www.eplastics.com/NYLNATROD-125

The ePlastic rods are only about $1/foot, but shipping looks like it's $11, regardless of the length, so about $2/foot for the length that's needed.