Broken Pedal Shaft

Last Monday at Lake Don Pedro my mirage drive broke, just after launching at twilight to go in search of some trout.  Wanted to post up some pictures for others to see. 

Mine broke in the obvious spot, where the pedal adjustment pin goes through the shaft.  I was suprised when it happened, as I hand't even pedaled more than a dozen times, and then the shaft just bent forward and snapped off.  After checking the other shaft, you can see the coating was starting to bubble and corrosion was abundant.  My dealer convinced Hobie to replace both shafts free of charge.  To my suprise, they came with the pedals already attached, so I didn't need to move over the old ones.  You do need to re-install the pedal adjustment pin and hand grip, but that is very easy.  Then just remove the side bolt and slide the old shafts out, and the new ones in.

I'm pretty suprised, since I have 3 other Mirage drives that are years older than this one for my AI.  You might want to inspect your mirage drive pedal shafts to see if there is any signs of wear.  I had never thought to look in this area, under the hand-grip for the pedal adjustment, but there was certainly a lot of grit built up and may have contributed to the wear.  You can pop off one side (the top) of the hand-grip without it detaching from the whole shaft.  But be careful not to lose the spring that is inside, which you just need to place back inside after cleaning and re-clipping the hand-grip in place again. 

Same thing happened to me at Rockfish Wars.  It would be a real pain in the ass if it happened way offshore.

Thanks for sharing Al!  I hit a submerged log last week going full speed and broke a fin.  Will be working on my mirage drive and checking it so I can hit the water ASAP. 

- J

That sux!  good thing Hobie stands behind thier stuff and took care of it. 

Al, you've got powerful leg and thigh muscles.  Snapped it like a toothpick.  One of the features I like about the Hobie is that
you have two ways of getting around.  Or if you are in your AI, three.  I lost a fin last year when I was out fishing for WSB in Monterey.  I was still able to get to the fishing grounds and back using only one fin.  The Hobie is a safe vessel in my opinion.

The heavier the craft, the more pressure is placed on those pedals. Looks like you isolated the weak point in the mirage drive crank shaft. Now if we could just get Hobie to reinforce it more. Because there isn't much we can do as current owners, except monitor that area and be aware it's breakable.

The heavier the craft, the more pressure is placed on those pedals. Looks like you isolated the weak point in the mirage drive crank shaft. Now if we could just get Hobie to reinforce it more. Because there isn't much we can do as current owners, except monitor that area and be aware it's breakable.

If you have ever watched that english dude on Youtube catching huge fish in his AI, in one of his video's he went and replaced it himself after it broke with some square tubing.  If it was more of an issue, or worry for me, I would probably do the same thing, and just lock it in place some other way.  Then there wouldn't be a hole through the shaft, and no more weak point! 

Victor that is one massive failure!  Never forget that paddle.  I am glad to hear that Hobie stood behind it.  I just had my first collision with a submerged object at Amador but it only did damage to the leading edge of the fins.  It was an easy fix with drywall tape and PVC cement, but now I will inspect those pedal shafts.

I meant Al!  Sorry man.

Thanks for posting Al. I can see where that spot will eventually corrode & break. A few drops of saltwater probably get trapped in there.

Is it Aluminum?  Steel?  Never have paid much attention.  If you had a drill press you could make you own out of steel square stock... maybe stainless if you could find the right size.  That could be damn near indestructible.

I'm not really sure, but I think Alluminum.  Looking at how the metal twisted on the break makes me think so at least.

They are aluminum.  Stainless will weigh a bit more.  Mcmaster-Carr carries a good selection of sst.  Not sure what size it is w/o having my set in front of me.  You can usually get a variety of wall thickness as well for a stronger, but heavier, set.  May tear my new ones apart to think ahead about this upgrade!  If someone wants to send me a sketch with dimensions, I can fab or at least get an idea of material costs.

See if this works...  It's a new feature of Youtube to jump to a specific time in a clip by a special link.  Should be right where you can see his custom pedal shaft's. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UUUe_MBZkobZeXGYU2bZJApQ&feature=player_detailpage&v=ZwAmrC-ER7Y#t=120s

Or just jump to the 2:00 minute mark.

LMAO... and at 2:20 you can see he hasn't managed to correct the pedal flipping over problem...