There was a lot of talk about it in the alleys of the Nautic de Paris in December 2015. Hobie invited his dealers to present them with a new product that was to mark the coming years.
Assumptions were going well. We were mainly talking about the future accessible and cheap hydrofoil catamaran. But that's not true, the curtain has just come up on... the Mirage Eclipse. A difficult machine to classify since it is a paddle but without a paddle. To propel himself, he uses the MirageDrive crankset developed by Hobie with its 2 soft fins that are also found under the brand's kayaks.
The navigator stands upright, facing the road and uses a kind of "steping" with his feet. Like he's going up stairs. For balance, it is held on a handlebar. Note the 2 handles, like the brake handles of a bicycle, which are used for steering by acting on the rear spoiler.
The first testers seem to have been won over by this new mode of maritime locomotion. As Hobie had always been a visionary on new products, there is a good chance that this one will also be a commercial success.
Mirage Eclipse
Length: 3.20 m (10' 6")
Width: 0.85 m
Max. embarked weight: 102 kg
Weight of the equipped hull: 19.6 kg
