Mirage drive reliability, Pro angler paddling?

[flydigital]

Hey all,

I just wanted to get some opinions from other Hobie owners who use the heck out of their Mirage drive like me...

I've had my Revo almost 2 years now, and the pedals have failed 2 times on me now. Due to broken cables. About $75 in replaced parts (drive warrantied for 1 year, all my trouble happened after it expired).

Anyway, fortunately each time I had a failure I wasn't too far from home and the paddle was easy, but this is in a Revo. In a pro angler (which I am considering) I would be really screwed to have to single-hand-paddle 5 miles back in 20 knot winds... I don't even think it is possible.

What do you guys suggest for safety factor here in the Pro Angler? Carry another complete drive in the hatch just in case? Is there a way to use a normal paddle with the Pro Angler or is it just too wide? Any other ideas?

I am thinking that for me having a set of new cable assemblies stowed away, and the wrench to install them would be a good compromise, but is there anything else that tends to break? It's about $125 for all the cables/chain assemblies I think. Not a bad insurance policy I guess. Thoughts?