2001 Mirage River Racer

[Bob A]

I am the proud owner of a brand new Mirage River Racer that we just finished over at Baker Marine. The boat is powered by a 2.5 EFI on a 6" offsetter jackplate. It also has Baker (Nydahl) cable steering, Nordskog custom gauges, powdercoated controls and bezels that we splatter painted to match inside of boats floor. this boat is setup for Super Stock drag class with 24V trim and trick 24V start. I am hoping to have my cut 15" mid section on boat next week. Boat is going to Sticker Dude designs the last week this month for custom graphics. The coolest part though is the boat was laid up in a color called "Tiger Lilly" (Orange). WOW!!! We should have pics up on Scaryfast board within next few weeks. I am looking forward to running it at Jasper in Oct. Stop and say Hi. I doubt you will miss the boat!!!

By the way, thanks to Mike at Mirage for building a very nice boat. I am very impressed with this boat and it is very fun to drive.

[MirageMark]

Hey Bob,

How flat, or for that matter, how not flat is your Mirage running in the quarter mile? How much does your boat weigh? Basically, what is your overall setup? Is your motor 1" above the bottom of the pad? How much positive trim do you have under it to fly in the quarter?

Thanks for your advice. I have a similar rig and am trying to fine tune my driving and setup.

Mark Screen

(Man I wish I could make it to Tenn!!!!!)

[Bob A]

My boat is currently rigged with a 20" mid temporarily until next week when my cut mid section is finished. I am running a Bob's cone on a stock case also but will have a modified case when mid section is done. We rigged the boat quickly so I would not miss a few races we recently attended. We will be rerigging boat next week and are throwing around some different ideas for Jasper. Currently my boat runs a little higher than I would like to run it but it runs very well considering the time we had to put it together. I am running 1" above pad and boat hooks up very well out of the hole with no notable prop slippage. My hull was laid up lighter than standard layup. Mike at Mirage said the boat weighed 535 when he weighed boat at factory before Sam's dad picked it up. I weighed in at 1404 in LaCrosse race with me, race gear, and 5 Gallons of fuel. I am very curious to see how boat runs when finished with custom mid section and trick race trim ram that Jeff Baker is in the process of putting together. I am pretty confident the boat is going to be a strong runner. Can't wait!!!

[MirageMark]

Hey Bob,

Thanks for the reply, be sure and let me know how the boat runs with the tricked out setup! My email is Mas12480@aol.com. Good Luck!!

Mark

[FastDragS3000]

Be careful with Bakers Steering NOT a good deal when the keyway holding the drum to the shaft sheers off and your left holding a steering wheel(drum) that spins free on the shaft @ 100. Pin the drum to the shaft like Seebold's steering setup does or when you rerig your boat put the seebold setup in it. It(your life) is worth the extra money!!

* Hope you new Mirage runs better than the new one Mullins had the SuperSport race we went to this weekend. That boat left with a nickname the 'Pace Boat'.

[BarryStrawn]

Is the current Baker setup different than the old Nydahl? Just curious since I am in the middle of rigging my old stuff.

My Nydahl has a keyway in the tapered bushing which assembles into the steering drum. This indexes a "T" pin installed into a hole in the steering shaft. When the tapered bushing is pulled into the drum, the bushing grips the shaft like a collet. No way it should slip when tightened correctly. Always looked to me like the pin was just there for safety. Are you saying you have seen the pin or the keyway in the steel bushing shear off? And the bushing/drum assembly loose enough to slip? I don't understand how unless all three machine screws in the bushing were installed incorrectly. Or is the current Baker design different than what Ray Nydahl used to sell?

I checked the Seebold parts drawing and it looks like they use a 1/4" bolt instead of a pin. Otherwise, looks identical to my Nydahl. The bolt might be a good upgrade if the rigger tightens bolts correctly.

[Bob A]

Sorry to here of the problem you had with your steering. Mine has a bolt and nylock nut through the steering tube so I don't think there should be any problems. This boat is not the easiest to put cable/pulley steering in but I definitely like how responsive it is. It seems to be a very high quality system.

[FastDragS3000]

My buddy.. see I pulled my buddy home the day his broke in his Mirage with Bakers steering. He showed/explained to me what broke. Lucky enough it happening as he was turning around to go test a prop. I promise you it was not a good situation!!!! he face was red and Butt puckered! He pulled Bakers out and installed Seebolds and is much happer and relaxed!