Steering lever turns left while pedaling

I just bought a new Revo 13 and on my first trip out I'm having an issue.

Once I get the drive in and the rudder down, it starts out tracking straight, but the second I start building up a little bit of speed, it starts pulling to the left. Additionally, the steering control starts pulling to the left. I can physically prevent the steering knob from going left, but it requires a bit of force from my hand that I can't imagine would be comfortable for more than a few minutes... nor for quick adjustments while fishing. If I take my hand off the steering knob and keep pedaling, the knob eventually goes all the way to the left and I'm kayaking in circles.

Its a 2021 model, so I don't think there is a cleat for the "down" pull, rather it locks into place with the teeth on the grommet (clearly, I'm probably using the wrong terms here) and then pulls loose by pulling at a more upward angle. Unfortunately, I had to order online and have it delivered from a distance, so I can't bring it back to the store for a quick look.

Any ideas? Thanks in advance.

Never heard of a rudder forcing the steering handle to turn if properly locked down. Are you sure the rudder is all the way down and cleated? If not it can pop up and start to twist (Twist and Stow rudder system). That twist could change the rudder angle and possible cause that.

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

Cleat the rudder - it's lifting and going left because it's not locked. Watch quickstart video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uLvP_XparU&t=543s&ab_channel=Hobie see section regarding rudder locking at 8:00 minute mark

_________________
Jacques Bernier
http://www.hobie.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HobieCatCompany

Its a 2021 which doesn't have a separate cleat, but the grommet (black plastic thing? term probably wrong) that the cord comes out on locks it when you pull it all the way back. Regardless, its fully "cleated" for those purposes.

when pedaling you will need to keep course - you can't just pedal without having a hand on the rudder it will wonder... I'm guessing that you're saying that you don't give steering input - at which point it will veer off-course from the torque produce by the drive.

_________________
Jacques Bernier
http://www.hobie.com/
http://www.facebook.com/HobieCatCompany

The "teeth" you are referring to is the cleat...

With the kayak on land, make sure when you pull the rudder down and cleat it, that the rudder is held down with the small notch on the rudder assembly.

I can't find a good picture online. I have received a brand new kayak before that had a broken notch, so the rudder would not stay down. If that is the case, file a warranty claim.

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There is no notch that holds the rudders down. That was added years ago to help hold the rudder down under sailing loads, but was abandoned for that purpose. You may see it, but that is not how the rudders stay down now. Just the line pulled all the way tight and cleated.

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

It's very easy to not properly cleat the rudder down (or up) lines - I've had to show this multiple times to people I loaned my kayaks to. Hobie should use small wedges under these cleats to angle them so that it's easier to keep the line in the cleat.

Unfortunately we can't add such wedges to existing kayaks because this would change the angle of the bolts that attach the cleat to the kayak. Positioning these cleats at a proper angle is a very small mod that Hobie could do at almost no cost and would prevent such issues as TurtleTurtle describes.

Hi turtleturtle,

Wondering if you ever solved this problem. I recently purchased a 2009 Revolution 16 and am having the same problem, but my steering lever drifts to the right. On close inspection, it appears that the rudder is slightly warped, which could produce the observed behavior. Looking down the trailing edge of the rudder from the top, the blade is slightly concave on the starboard side. My guess is that a previous owner stowed the rudder in the up position, 'bungeed' it down tightly, and left it in the sun to bake long enough for it to warp.

I'll try taking the rudder off, warming it up, and pressing it flat. Will let you know if I have any luck.

I don’t own a Revo but experienced similar anomaly with my 2021 Outback. If I took my hand off the rudder control knob, the rudder typically would swing to the right. Frankly, in my opinion, this can be dangerous if moving with any speed. The fix was tightening the rudder cable tension as they were slack. You can check this my moving the rudder knob to check for freeplay. With the Outback, I would adjust cable tension in my shop. Let’s say it was 80 F at the time. Put the kayak in 60 F water, the boat shrinks some and the cable tension loosens up. For the Outback, I made a mod using a BOA tensioner to adjust cable tension while on the water if needed.

So my suggestion is to check for freeplay at the control and ensure cable tension is correct. With that, the tension will change with temperature of the kayak.

Cheers

So the bent rudder hypothesis seemed to work out for me. I took the rudder off, clamped it in a vice, draped a dry towel over it and worked an iron, set to the highest setting, back and forth along the warped region. It took time to evenly heat the rudder blade enough and quite a bit of pressure but it managed to flatten out without overheating the plastic and causing any noticeable damage. I finally got out with it today and it tracks straight now.