Locked Rudder Cams

The cams for my rudders are stuck in the down position. I read the FAQ on rudder cams and hope to try the tips tomorrow. However, today I tried to rotate them up with my hands and they would not budge. Is that a good sign or should I loosen the delrin screw? Also, since I am new to this, how do the cams rotate down into the locked position once they are up? Thanks for the help.

It might be very difficult to move the cam back in neutral position just by hand. There is just not much to hold on to. I have successfully used a stretch of rope to pull the cam up. I guess a big screwdriver inserted in the hock would do the same job. Releasing the screw will do the trick too (removal is not required) Count the turns so you know how far the screw has to go back in order to achieve the same amount of pressure on the spring. Or remove screw, spring and piston to clean and lubricate.
The cam is typically moved in the down (locked) position by a plate inside the upper rudder casting - while sailing it is basically a back and down push on the tiller that locks the cam. You unlock by lifting the tiller up or by hitting the rudder blade on an object/ground.

There is too much force on the cams to rotate them by hand once they are locked down.

The best way to return them to the unlocked position is to shove a flat bladed screwdriver between the cam and the plunger, then lever the cam up.

They work very much like the latches on car doors. There's a pin (pre 1983) or a plate (adjustable style, 1983 and later) in the upper casting that engages the cam when the rudder is all the way down. The cam will rotate and capture the pin/plate, holding the tiller (and the rudder) in the locked down position. They unlock by either lifting the tiller or pulling the tip of the rudder aft (like when it hits bottom).

One more thing to think about is if the boat is older and you are messing around with the cams you might want to replace them now before they fail. It's a cheap kit from Hobie and since you are already in there, why not? To me it's just good preventative maintenence.

_________________
Nick

Current Boat
In the market
Previous boats owned
'74 Pearson 30
'84 H16
'82 H18 Magnum
St. Louis, MO

hmm a tip i picked up frm som1 here,

instead of going the normal route to pull up ur cams (i.e. standing on the back hull, with ur main sheet around the bottom part of the cam, and pulling), you can use a smaller rope (probably the one u use to tie ur halyards, or ur rudders), loop it around the bottom part of the cam, and then put the cross bar down. With the cross bar down, circle it with the loose ends of the rope (make sure u circle the nut there that holds the plate in place), and then LIFT the cross bar! ur cam shud get back into normal position;) its a lot easier the the standing on top of ur hull, and looking like a fool on the beach.