"Any thoughts out there on the Mirage line of sea kayaks from Sydney Australia? " You've probably looked at the website: http://www.mirageseakayaks.com.au/? Mirages have a reputation for being quick boats. A couple were used on a significant trip reported in Sea Kayaker in 2000, in SW Western Australia. I should probably encourage you to buy one without hesitation, to boost Australian export earnings :-), but... "...wondering if the 580 is as good a rough water boat as advertised." I'd suggest testing the boat yourself. The paddler is the main variable. I am not enthusiastic about Mirage boats, but I have a couple of friends about to buy Mirage 580's, who have tested many boats, and like these best. They are both solidly built guys, estimated Body Mass Index >30. Maybe the 580 is a big guy's boat. My friends say the Mirage felt most the stable of the boats they have paddled, in choppy conditions. My misgivings: The integrated rudder is a problem, IMHO. The thing isn't deep enough in the water. If you are going to have a rudder, (and I don't, I prefer a boat that works without one), have a deep one that will still have some blade in the water in a following sea. And it presents problems for beach/surf launches, where maybe the blade has to drag through the sand as you launch. I suppose Mirage owners cope. The last Mirage I paddled had a coaming that was half off on the right side. It's fair to say it had been used in a hire fleet for a while, but it's not inspiring. Check the build quality carefully. If you do buy one, get VCP hatches, not the leaky options. The large oval rear hatch is neoprene-on-coaming, covered with a fibreglass lid. The lid is poorly held down with bungies, and there are reports of them coming adrift and allowing flooding of the rear compartment. If you can get the manufacturer to fit an oval VCP hatch, much better. Otherwise, fit solid straps to retain the glass cover, and be careful how you arrange your spare paddle. Carry secondary buoyancy in the rear compartment. PT, Melbourne, OZ. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
Hi, I would like to add a few comments supporting Peter Treby's email. As people on Paddlewise would have read, I am paddling from Bellingham to Juneau starting about May 23. Our website is http://www.ozwebdesign.com.au/adventure2002 ... just to give you some background info and to refresh some memories. We considered 2 boats for the trip.... Mirage 580 and a Pittarak.... both made in Australia. After about 3 months of consideration we chose the Pittarak for this trip. The reasons.... well I want to make it clear that either kayak would be suitable for the trip.. no doubts... but we couldnt each take 2 boats.....and I must add that the reason I am including the Pittarak in this topic is to give a comparism when analysing the Mirage 580. I know Paul... the bloke who owns Mirage... a good fella. The Mirage has slightly more storage space... it is 580cm long..... the Pittarak is 500cm long. The hatches on the Pittarak (especially the rear hatch) are superior to the hatches on the Mirage (although the rear hatch on the Mirage is larger). Superior .. I mean more water resistant... the Pittarak rear hatch is triple seamed (I think that this is what it is called). The rudder on the Mirage is fixed.. it is intregrated into the hull shape and cannot be removed from the water... making it tricky for rock/beach landings. The rudder on the Mirage also protrudes beneath the bottom of the kayak.... making it more susceptible to damage. The Pittarak rudder is attached to the boat by a "sock" ... making it far less likely to be damaged and can be retracted from the water while sitting in the cockpit. The rudder can be easily and quickly removed from the boat if you want a rudderless kayak. The Mirage is a faster boat. The Mirage has a large oval shaped cockpit which allows a relatively easy re-entry when the boat is upright in the water (you can simply sit in the seat AND THEN...... put your feet below deck.... the cockpit IS that big)... the problem I found was that when bracing with the knees, the knees would be pressing against the underside of the coaming (quiet painful) and when inverted (underwater) performing an eskimo roll... I would have a tendancy to "fall out of the kayak". The Pittarak cockpit is small, and bracing is relatively easy. I feel as though I am "part of the kayak" ... and it is easy to hip flick and manouver... the kayak feels more responsive (Iget more feedback), but it is not as easy to re-enter the kayak as abovementioned. The Pittarak "looks" as though it is a stronger kayak....... stronger lines, thicker keel line (Larry Gray used the Inuit kayaks as inspiraion when designing the Pittarak) ..... the Mirage is a more slender, kayak. IMVHO the Mirage is a recreational kayak (of high quality finish), whereas the Pittarak is more "hard core.... heavy duty", expedition style boat. If you are interested in buying an Aussie boat then I would be happy to show you our Pittaraks (if you happen to be en-route). We are also going to have our Pittaraks at Seaward kayaks for a couple of days but the dates have not been confirmed as yet. DISCLAIMER: I have no financial or other wise benefit in Pittarak Kayaks. The sole reason that Pittarak Kayaks appear as sponsors on our website is due to the fact that Bruce Richards (Pittarak International) has helped us out with solar power systems and heaps of expediton advice. Regards, Peter Relf. *************************************************************************** PaddleWise Paddling Mailing List - Any opinions or suggestions expressed here are solely those of the writer(s). You must assume the entire responsibility for reliance upon them. All postings copyright the author. Submissions: PaddleWise_at_PaddleWise.net Subscriptions: PaddleWise-request_at_PaddleWise.net Website: http://www.paddlewise.net/ ***************************************************************************
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