Hobie Tandem Mirage User Manual

Congratulations on purchasing the Hobie

Sail Kit. Follow these simple instructions

and you'll be out and sailing in minutes. If

you are using this kit for your Tandem

Mirage, ignore steps 5 and 6 shown here

and consult your conversion kit manual.

Step 1: Connect

TIP:
A little tape around the
mast connection helps

hold mast together when

removing from sail.

mast poles
together.

Step 4: Tie in the batten (Note: Be sure that
when tying, the batten is pulled snug into the sail).

Feed the line through the
hole in batten head.

Next, feed the line
through ring on the
opposite side of sail and
pull back snug into the

Sail Kit

Step 2: Slide the
mast into sail.

Step 3: Insert
batten into the
narrow sleeve at
the top of the sail.

Step 5: Insert
mast into kayak
and attach
stretch cord to
hook at the base
of the mast.

Step 6:
Run the
mainsheet
from the sail
side, through
the rear pad-eye,
and up through the
right clip on your seat.
This configuration allows you
to steer with your left hand
and control the sail with your
right.

TIP:

T

ie the end of

the main sheet

in a knot after

sliding through

the seat clip.

This helps

keep the end of

the line from

falling into the

water if you

should happen

to lose your

grip.

Mainsheet

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Sailing Tips

Sailing with Hobie's patented
MirageDrive Mechanism adds a
whole new dimension to sailing.
For the best performance, continue
pedaling while sailing. You will

notice that with very little effort

pedaling, the kayak will respond with

a surprising amount of performance.

If you sail without pedaling, the

pedals should be together. This will

align the fins in the straight down

position so they will act as a

daggerboard to reduce side slip.

Optimum Wind

The sail will work even in very light wind

because of the benefit of pedaling to
create apparent wind. Optimum wind
strength is between 4 to 10 MPH. As the

wind speeds exceed optimal range, the
kayak will become more difficult to

control. When there is too much wind,

take the sail down, roll it up, and stow it

on the right side of the cockpit. The

bungee hook in the cockpit can be

stretched over the rolled up sail and

hooked to the paddle retainer bungee

on the side of the kayak.

Trim the Sail

Pull in the "mainsheet" until the sail stops
"luffing" (the sail will fill with wind and the
wrinkles will disappear). This ammount of
trim will work, but for optimum performance
you should try to get the "telltales" (the black
ribbons attached to the sail) flowing back on
both sides of the sail.

WIND

Dancing

Over trimmed Under trimmed Correct Trim

Sheet out (let the
sail out) or head
up (turn into the
wind or turn right).

Sheet in (pull the
sail in) or head
down (turn away
from the wind or
turn left).

Sail is trimmed
with both telltales
flying straight
back.

Points of Sail

"Close hauled": The kayak will heel or lean most when
sailing close hauled. Shift your weight to the side of
your seat to counter the lean of the kayak. Be ready to
let the sail out to reduce the amount of heel in stronger
wind.

Starboard

Tack

"Running":
Sailing
downwind does
not take
advantage of the
aerodynamic
shape of the sail.

Close Hauled

Reach

WIND

Can't Sail

In This

Area

Running

Close Hauled

Reach

"Reaching":
This is the
fastest point
of sail.

Port

Tack

WIND

Tacking

Tacking a sailboat is the act
of changing the direction of
the boat from sailing close
hauled with the wind on one side,
coasting through the eye of the wind,
and then sailing with the wind coming
from the other side. This maneuver can
be difficult for beginning sailors but with
the Hobie MirageDrive you simply pedal
through the tack and resume sailing
on the new heading. Since you
can not sail directly into the
wind, you must sail in a
zig zag course to make
it directly upwind. Of
course, with the
Hobie MirageD rive,
you can cheat and
just point the kayak
where you want and
pedal!

Enjoy

Sailing your kayak will open up new
experiences and broaden your
opportunities to go further and
faster with less physical effort. Be
sure to learn the right-of-way rules
and when in doubt, give way to
others. Have fun and stay safe.

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