The Mirage 583 Freeride sea kayak
It’s been some time since I’ve paddled sea kayaks as I’ve been paddling surfskis for the past few years, but today I got to experience a very different type of sea kayak, one that redefines the entire category. The kayak in question is the very new Mirage 583 “Freeride”, which has literally just come off the development line and is set for commercial production in the coming weeks.
The Mirage 583 Freeride – a whole new category of sea kayak
The folks at Mirage have been working on the concept for a couple of years, with the idea to create a sea kayak that could be used in many different ways across multiple waterway types, be that fitness paddling, surf kayaking, rock gardening, swell riding or even boat wake chasing. The “Freeride” concept is just that – kayaks that give their paddlers the freedom to use them in any way they like – and is targeted more at the day paddler looking to have fun rather than expedition paddlers loading up for long trips.
The Mirage 583 has exactly the same hull as a Mirage 582 sea kayak, but with a new open deck format
The design concept is quite straight forward. They’ve taken the sea kayak hull from the Mirage 582, with plenty of rocker, a flattened centre section and an integrated Mirage rudder, and then married it with an open deck that will look familiar to surfski paddlers with it’s adjustable footplate and venturi drain. The 583 however is nothing like a surfski, in that its traditional sea kayak shape still handles exactly like a sea kayak when it comes to edging and technical strokes.
The cockpit utilises the same three-point footplate set-up as Stellar surfskis, plus a centre mount handle
I took the Mirage 583 Freeride out for a test paddle to see what it was like, keeping in mind I was still very weary after last weekends 111km Hawkesbury Canoe Classic. I’d also paddled the Mirage 582 briefly a few weeks earlier so I had that as a reference point to the handling of this new type of kayak.
Firstly, the moulded seat sits higher than the hull-attached seat of the 582, which to a paddler of my size (i.e. 120kg+) made the 583 feel less stable. The feeling wasn’t dramatic but it did feel a fraction twitchier sitting up higher. That said, the higher seat position and open deck combined to offer a far better paddling position, as I could sit up and over my feet for greater power as well as letting me paddle with my knees together for better rotation and drive. This solves one of my biggest criticisms of sea kayaks today – the need to paddle with splayed knees (required to fit my legs under the hull of a sit-in kayak hull).
The hull shape gives plenty of secondary stability in chop and despite plenty of large cruisers sending wake side-on into me, I didn’t ever feel like I was going to come out of the Freeride. Plus with just the smallest of bumps behind the 583, it would quickly accelerate and was easy to keep fast enough to stay on waves. Later in the session I chased boat wake and found the 583 very easy to keep on the bubbling bumps and found the ride stable and enjoyable, if not fairly wet!
Lastly, I wanted to see how hard it would be to remount the boat once off (not that I ever felt like I was going to tip out!). I jumped off the kayak and, using my extensive experience mounting surfskis (haha!), found the 583 very easy to slide onto and into in just seconds.
The Mirage 583 Freeride Sea Kayak – a new kayak for a new category of paddling
This is a fascinating boat with lots of options on how it can be used. Because it is so easy to remount it will undoubtedly become a favourite for rock-gardening and surfing, but the rumours from Mirage is that there’s likely to be a kayak-fishing lay-up as well in the not too distant future.
With such a new category of paddling, I’m not sure we can guess how the 583 will be mainly used by its target market, but one thing is for sure, it’s going to have plenty of demand with Mirage already taking orders and the wait-list now 4-5 weeks long. It’ll certainly be a sea kayak to watch out for this Summer. Cheers, FP
For more information on the Mirage 583 Freeride, visit the Mirage website or drop into Sydney Harbour Kayaks at The Spit, Mosman and ask for a test paddle.
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I was thinking Mirage was getting pretty staid but this looks really interesting. Do you think there’s a bit of Jim Kakuk in there somewhere?
Not directly, but certainly I’ve had conversations with Mirage about some of the design aspects that I think important for rock gardening that Kuk has built into his boats, and I saw a few of these in the final design. The Tsunami X15 is clearly a VERY different boat… but the key design principle, the wash-deck, is shared, and I think that’s so key in environments where rolling isn’t always an option.
Certainly plenty of rocker on display in that side-on photo mate, are you sure you aren’t bending it? đŸ˜‰
Looks like a great idea though, would love to take one for a test paddle…
Took the exact same Mirage 583 Freeride as Sean reviewed for a 30 minute test paddle at Sydney Harbour Kayaks this morning/
Fully concur with Sean’s review. Couple of additional observations…used my Werner carbon fibre two piece kayak paddle. The blade of this paddle has a large surface area and pulls a shitload of water. Set it up with 45 degree right hand offset and after several strokes I got up to a reasonable cadence. What was the biggest surprise was the Freeride’s turn of speed into and with a NE surface chop.
Bearing in mind that this boat was the very first (prototype) of the production run it is a few Kgs heavier than what you will get with a new one. Expect it to be a little bit faster again.
The other observation was its ability to edge. This combined with an integrated rudder makes this a formidable boat for surfing and rock gardening.
Stability? Sean hit the nail on the head, little bit twitchy at first, but the ability to rotate and leg drive paddling a sea kayak hull is awesome. Was fortunate to have several large motor cruisers go past while testing it. Rode the wash no problems at all. With one very large boat I stopped and sat side on to the wash. Used my hips to keep stable and never once needed to brace with the paddle.
As you do I practiced remounting with and without my PFD. Side saddle remount was an absolute breeze. No need to use the installed grab handle.
So…. Will I buy one?
Yep… Order placed for a new fiberglass model ( 21-22kgs) with an extra strip of glass down the keel for additional reinforcement when I play in the suds. Looking forward to doing some rock gardening again… Been a long time.
Many thanks to Karl and the crew at SHK this morning, a bunch of great people.