# Native propel/hobie mirage demo



## hooked4life (Jan 25, 2012)

Looking to demo a native slayer propel or a hobie with mirage drive yak this weekend. Wanting a good fishing yak that keeps my hands free to cast on the move. New to kayaking. I want a cheap way to get out on the water to catch fish. Any suggestions where to demo one would be appreciated!


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## hurricanes1 (Nov 11, 2009)

Pensacola kayak and sail


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## hooked4life (Jan 25, 2012)

hurricanes1 said:


> Pensacola kayak and sail


Thanks a lot! Going to demo one Saturday.


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## panhandleslim (Jan 11, 2013)

Key Sailing, on the beach, for the Hobie. They have three demo boats with Mirage Drive including a PA14. See Mike. Not sure if Pensacola Sailing and Kayak has anything other than the Slayer, you are interested in.


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## hooked4life (Jan 25, 2012)

Thanks Slim, I'll be sure to ask for Mike when I call to set up a demo. I asked Pensacola Sailing about the Hobies, but they don't have them. Just curious if anyone has tried both?


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## Katartizo (Dec 10, 2013)

hooked4life said:


> Looking to demo a native slayer propel or a hobie with mirage drive yak this weekend. Wanting a good fishing yak that keeps my hands free to cast on the move. New to kayaking. I want a cheap way to get out on the water to catch fish. Any suggestions where to demo one would be appreciated!


I have a Native Mariner. I love it. The only time I use the paddle is to push off the bank to get deep enough to drop the peddles. I am in Pace and would be glad to let you take it to the river which is about 5 miles away. I can also haul you and kayak there if needed. I am not working and other than therapy and doctors I am pretty much always available any day.


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## speckhunter944 (Jun 13, 2008)

I tried both boats out when I up graded from a heritage redfish. I ended up with the mariner 12.5, I do most my fishing inshore around docks. The thing that I liked was being able to reverse my direction by pedaling backwards. If I fished offshore more I would have gone with a PA 12. The new slayer propel is out now it seem to have plenty of fishing room. Test them out and see wihich one will fit your fishing style the best and budget. Good luck


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## Katartizo (Dec 10, 2013)

speckhunter944 said:


> I tried both boats out when I up graded from a heritage redfish. I ended up with the mariner 12.5, I do most my fishing inshore around docks. The thing that I liked was being able to reverse my direction by pedaling backwards. If I fished offshore more I would have gone with a PA 12. The new slayer propel is out now it seem to have plenty of fishing room. Test them out and see wihich one will fit your fishing style the best and budget. Good luck


I have the Mariner and saw the Slayer at the Pensacola Kayak and Sail shop downtown a few weeks ago. I really liked it. I am believing that once I am healed up enough to get my wife down to the river and get her in the Mariner, she will want to have her own. Then I can go get the Slayer! Of course, the Slayer will technically be hers. 37 years married means you either learn some strategies, or you don't! The best thing of all is she knows exactly what I am doing. She is a good wife!


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## vickroid (Jun 2, 2012)

I have a native mariner, wife has one as well. They are fishing machines for sure and the reverse is nice for holding spots inshore. Offshore reverse is not really needed. The slayer looks legit. Problem with propel is that there really is no way to replace minor parts. Mirage sells parts to fix breaks and problems. So with both preventative maintenance is key to long life. I am trying to add a hobie adventure to my fleet as a trolling boat now. Go try out both and see what you like best. Both companies make great pedal yaks! You will not be disappointed


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## Bo Keifus (May 9, 2012)

I just recently got a Native Slayer Propel from Pensacola Kayak and Sail. I had a Hobie Revolution 13 before the slayer. They are both excellent yaks but the more I take the slayer out the more it grows on me. Benefits of the Propel drive over the mirage drive are that it is nearly maintenance free and there's practically no parts on it to break. A little grease once or twice a year and you're good to go. It would be SUPER hard to mess up a propel drive unless you take it apart yourself without knowing what to do or you put the wrong grease in. And although having reverse was not a big factor in my decision to buy the slayer, I absolutely love having it. Especially because I spend a ton of time fishing around dock lights at night, reverse is great for keeping far enough away to not spook fish but close enough to make accurate casts

As far as anything else goes it's hard to compare the revo and the slayer because the hulls are very different. I'd say the slayer is most similar to the outback. The First Class seat on the Native kayaks is also really comfortable. And There's slide tracks all over the slayer which make adding any modifications you want a really easy task. 

One thing that Hobie faithfuls will point out about the slayer is that you can't just push on pedal forward and have the entire drive unit flush with the bottom of the yak. While what they say is true, I have found a really simple solution to that: Pull the drive halfway up and turn the prop sideways and it sits right in the hole without hanging below the hull. Problem solved. Definitely demo the boats when you can and I'd suggest pedaling them around for at least 15-20 mins to really get the feel. The different pedaling motion from the hobie to the slayer was a little awkward feeling the first time I went out but I've realized that the more I pedal the slayer the more comfortable it feels. Good luck with your purchase, I hope you get what you need! Let me know if you have any more questions I'd be glad to help out


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## Katartizo (Dec 10, 2013)

Bo Keifus said:


> It would be SUPER hard to mess up a propel drive unless you take it apart yourself without knowing what to do or you put the wrong grease in.
> /QUOTE]
> 
> That is why I just got home from Pensacola Kayak and Sail. I took my Mariner peddle assembly to them to service. $21.00 and I know it was serviced correctly. Mine is a used 2012 I bought a couple months ago. What a difference in how those pedals spin now that the unit was serviced. I can't wait to get out on the water!
> Nice guys at that place too.


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## Bo Keifus (May 9, 2012)

Katartizo said:


> Bo Keifus said:
> 
> 
> > It would be SUPER hard to mess up a propel drive unless you take it apart yourself without knowing what to do or you put the wrong grease in.
> ...


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## vickroid (Jun 2, 2012)

I am really glad to see more of the Native Propels taking off in this area that is dominated by Hobies. No offense to them because I really like Hobies, I almost bought a Revo and I am trying to add a Hobie to my fleet. Both are superb boats, I just like seeing a few more Propels out there getting it done!!! Just FYI, watch the bearings where the crank arms attach to the drive. Mine started to rust a little bit, even with freshwater rinsing after EVERY use. I e-mailed PK&S as well as did some chatting on Nativeownersgroupforums.com and a few others had this issue as well. I have been told that Native now uses a different bearing in that spot so this should no longer be an issue on newer drives but I don't really know for sure. in my case I caught it really early and now I make sure to dry those areas off with cloth really well after I rinse and I have yet to have any issues. I am going to take both of my drives up to PK&S for a servicing here within a week or two.


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## grgrobards (Nov 15, 2011)

I have read on some other threads that the propel drives vibrate and are noisy when in use. Can any of you give a first hand report on this. I am particularly interested in the Slayer propel. Thanks.


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## hooked4life (Jan 25, 2012)

grgrobards said:


> I have read on some other threads that the propel drives vibrate and are noisy when in use. Can any of you give a first hand report on this. I am particularly interested in the Slayer propel. Thanks.



I went to Pensacola Kayak and Sail this past Saturday and demoed the slayer propel. It wasn't noisy nor did it have bad vibration in the drive. As with anything, preventive maintenance will go a long way in making them last. Still haven't gotten a chance to take out a hobie yet, so I can't make a decision on which one I'm gonna buy. As of right now though, the slayer is gonna be hard to beat. Just a little concerned with how it will do in the breakers. The reverse is a huge plus for inshore, but I'm wanting to go out to some close reefs and do some bottom fishing this summer. If your in Pensacola, go to PKS and Bahne will be more than happy to let you take the demo boat. 


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## vickroid (Jun 2, 2012)

Preventative maintenance is indeed key to making the drive last and that is going to go for anything that has metal moving piece parts that go in the salt; Hobie or Native. You also have to know that something is eventually going to break or need a little more than just preventative maintenance. As for the noise or grinding vibrations, when I was researching pedal yaks I came across a video where a fellow had a VERY noisy propel drive, he said in the comments that his dealer took back the drive as it was defective. My drive has a very light hum from the internal gears turning but I have no vibrations, grinding, or excessive noise.


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## grgrobards (Nov 15, 2011)

hooked4life said:


> I went to Pensacola Kayak and Sail this past Saturday and demoed the slayer propel. It wasn't noisy nor did it have bad vibration in the drive. As with anything, preventive maintenance will go a long way in making them last. Still haven't gotten a chance to take out a hobie yet, so I can't make a decision on which one I'm gonna buy. As of right now though, the slayer is gonna be hard to beat. Just a little concerned with how it will do in the breakers. The reverse is a huge plus for inshore, but I'm wanting to go out to some close reefs and do some bottom fishing this summer. If your in Pensacola, go to PKS and Bahne will be more than happy to let you take the demo boat. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Thanks for info. I'm still debating between propel and mirage. Let us know your decision and review after the hobie demo.


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## hooked4life (Jan 25, 2012)

Got a chance to demo the PA today and I'm sold on it now haha. It has a ton more storage space and stock features. It was a bit choppy today and the boat handled it no problem. Very stable, good speed,even in the choppy water and a lot more useable space. IMO the slayer has one distinct advantage over the hobie and thats a hands free reverse, other than that, the hobie has everything the slayer does, plus a lot more. Now to find a way to mount my Humminbird 997si to one and go fish! Thanks to everyone for the feedback!


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## jokers10 (Jan 4, 2014)

From what I have been reading, still need to test it out myself, but you supposedly can turn the mirage drive around and go in reverse too. Of course if you are on any setting except the middle setting, you would have to adjust the pedals too.


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