Davides wrote:
I have the same issue. I bought my outback mid August and after three or four outings I noticed the same loose rudder. I also thought it may be related to dropping temperatures. I did tighten the lines with no improvement. Hobie should add some sort of friction pad under the steering handle.
Recently got a 2019, and got it out twice before the ban, about 4 hrs total. Hard left turn after a few seconds. Very small bend in the rudder, and can't see that be the complete culprit, but will heat that up and straighten it. Had some slop in the cables so tightened those up. Tightened the top screw maybe 1/8th turn. The cable adjustment should help anyway.
Then I noticed looking at the rudder from the rear while it's down. The complete rudder assembly is on the right side of the keel strip. I'll take it on the water again first, to test what I've done. But looks like I'll need to remove the complete assembly to see if I can center it. Initial view, it looks like the hull is molded so the rudder assembly doesn't have a side to side adjustment, but we'll see once I get on the water, after the adjustments.
Love the kayak though, and this won't dissuade me. Others mentioned about adding a tensioner, or just hold the rudder. Whether reeling in a fish, taking pics, looking thru binoculars, or eating a sandwich, holding a rudder shouldn't have to be required. As for the tensioner, there should be one on the handle. This is an expensive kayak in Canada. I shouldn't have to buy parts to fix a problem that shouldn't exist.
I'll follow up with some results. Not sure how long the ban will last.