Couple of questions after 1st sail.

Madwand,

My suggestions were in an attempt to help diagnose what you are experiencing. I am not blaming you, just trying to work out what might be happening.

Is this an ongoing problem in the forward seat or just that one time experience?

One comment from you that makes sense to me. You damaged the fin in shallow water because the rudder wouldn't work. My experience tells me that the rudder was likely pushing up due to the shallow water (dragging on the bottom). That would make the steering difficult as I tried to explain in my earlier post.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

I agree it is more dificult to TURN in shallow water because the rudder is minimally in the water. It should not be dificult to steer though, as long as you have some forward momentum.

But the problem I am having is in deep water under sail as well. To maintain steerage while underway, you really have to hang on to the knob (luckily I had one or steering literally would have been impossible) to keep the boat on point. To actually tack through the wind is extremely difficult and the boat responds very slowly because the rudder hardly turns. From the rear seat no problem in any condition. Whoever sat in the back became the steerer because it was easy. I really was afraid the whole time I was going to break something, especially on starboard turns.

Two in the boat... during the same sail... harder to steer in the front than the back... is not normal. The lines and controls are in parallel. Same geometry. Should be the same loads.

That is an odd one. I would like to know if the same difference is true when on dry land. No loads on the rudder. No weight issues.

Shallow water sailing: With the rudder anything but fully locked down, there is a greater load on the tillers as the rudder moves further up. You can steer, but with greater effort. Especially if sailing. Best to pedal out (short shallow strokes or paddle) to deeper water. Lock the rudder down, centerboard down... then un-furl the sail.

_________________
Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)

I understand about the shallow water. I'll give the handles a feel when I get home today.

Ok, both handles work fine on the trailer.

Madwand:
Yea I have the same problem in real shallow water where it can be difficult to steer with the rudder pointing straight back, but it's actually not a problem, it's an advantage. When coming into the harbor I sometimes sail over a shallow sandbar at the harbor entrance (about 5"- 6" deep). What I do is release the lock on the rudder, and the centerboard, and park my pedals against the hull, or pull the mirage drive then sail right over the shallows. With the rudder pointing straight back it is much harder to steer, as soon as I get back in deeper water I pull the rudder back down and everything is ok. I expect because the rudder has so much turning surface it is much more difficult to steer, this is not a problem, it's actually a pretty cool design feature being able to sail through 6 inches of water. As soon as the water gets deep enough I lock the rudder back down and off I go without missing a beat. You don't see any other sailers doing that, and they all look at me funny, but hey it works, it saves me having to go way around following the channel markers (about 15-20 minutes saved). Most boats can only go in 10 percent of the Florida intercoastal waterways (where the channels are), I can use 95 percent, sailing anywhere I desire, low tide, high tide, mangroves, I don't care, I like that. There are many pristine and beautiful areas that I can go where only kayakers dare, but way faster LOL.
Hope this helps
Bob

That sounds nice. I sure wish I had some nice waters to sail in. It's going to be blowing 15 to 20 this weekend in my lake, so that removes the temptation to go to Biloxi this weekend. It's even going to be blowing from the direction I need so I don't get 20 miles of chop building up. I'll be alone, so we'll see how it steers from the front seat with just 1 person.