yet another newbie question

Went sailing yesterday and it was a great day. I continue to have a problem with the leeward rudder kicking up. Is there a way to increase the tension on the cam so that it doesnt' kick up when I hit a wave or when the boat starts to scream? I'm concerned because with both hulls in the water and the leeward rudder kicked up the boat is harder to hold on course. If I am flying a hull it could be near impossible.

Also, I noticed a lot of creaking coming from the bottom of the mast. 25 years ago when I used to sail a 16 we had a teflon wafer that you put between the bottom of the mast and the pivot point. Should I have one of these for my 17? If not, should I grease the ball with some sort of silicone spary or some waterproof grease, or should I just ignore the creaking and keep sailing?

There is a tension screw located below the cam assembly accessed from below the casting.
The 17 does not use the teflon wafers. I wouldn't worry too much about the squeaking, but you can try a teflon spray or sanding the contact surfaces smoother.

You can also wrap the ball in Teflon plumber's tape. Works for a while (a weekend).

Make sure the creaking is not the rivets coming loose at the crossbar.

There are no rivets on a 17 mast step. The ball is screwed directly on the top of the dolphin striker bar that extends through the front crossbar - identical to the way the Tiger's is done.

I had the same creaking problem on my 17: I used some marine grease, I do not recall the name or specification, which is amber in color and very viscous , in the socket. It completely took care of the problem.

Echoing hobieokc's post, tighten the cam screw. If it won't budge, here is a link with info on how to extract and replace stuck cam screws. May require you making a small boring tool I designed.

http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewt ... highlight=

Here's a link to the directions I gave Jeremy.
http://www.peakeresearch.com/MISC/CAMEX3.PDF


Peace,

_________________
Dan Peake
2003 H17SE
2005 FX1