After careful consideration, we decided that a Hobie tandem boat
equipped with the "Mirage drive" (a system whereby one propels the
boat with foot-actuated levers in a "Stair-master"-style motion) was
right for us. Having used the boat for a few months, I suggest a few
items to consider.

I will neither pan the boat nor will I suggest that the Mirage drive
is the greatest thing since sliced bread. It is my opinion that it
has definite points of advantage over the paddle... fishing, for one.

The main point is that Hobie's "pedal or paddle" line should be "XOR"
( [A or B] and not both). When a person is on the pedals, then he or
she is in a poor position to use the paddle at the same time; to
paddle, one must come off the pedals and accept the parasitic drag of
the flippers. I suppose one could pull the drive out of the well;
however, then what? It masses about 3.5 kg and is shaped awkwardly
for stowage.

Another major point is that using the pedals rotates the person's legs
up six to eight inches. The elevated mass presents a significant
stability factor! One definitely notices it; further, it's harder to
heel the boat into a wave when the operator is in that recumbent
position.

For *our* needs, the Hobie tandem works well; my "stoker" is
handicapped and will never be able to heel the boat, thus we opted for
an ama rig. I installed toe controls for the rudder and built a skeg
that drops into the rear drive well. I leave the rear drive unit at
home because my wife likes the Mirage drive and I prefer the paddle.

The boat handles acceptably well under sail; however, as with all
multi-purpose devices, it performs none of them in a particularly
superior manner. I'm not disappointed with the boat; on the other
hand, I wasn't expecting a high performance hull. Were I planning on
venturing out into the vertical water, I doubt that I'd consider a
Mirage boat for the reasons given above.

Jones