Twist-n-Stow rudder broken down line help needed

2018 Revolution 13 "down" rudder line broke where spectra line exits the rudder and ties to the "up" rudder line. Very frustrated by 3 issues as I "somewhat" successfully replaced the line myself which took hours unlike the seemingly easy ways shown in the manual and several videos & forums threads I viewed.

1) How can spectra line thread thru the tiny black O-ring inside the white plastic tube, and is the O-ring even needed?
I concluded threading the line thru o-ring was impossible so finally pushed the o-ring out of the tube using electric wire. Then noticed the o-ring was broke but unsure if pushing it out broke it or if was already broke thus preventing line from going thru. In any case, the line threaded easily thru the tube without the o-ring and then I pushed the o-ring back in the tube, albeit broken.
1a) Should I get a new o-ring (and re-do the whole thing) or just leave as is and hope no water enters the hull (which I assume is the o-ring purpose)?

2) How can I untie the knot joining the broken down line and up line where they both exit the rudder, or can I just tie the new down line to the existing knot ... and any tips how to tie around a knot (as opposed to tying 2 end tags together)?
This seems like a silly question but the existing knot seems overly big and so tight I have given up un-tying it. Instead, I tied the new down line around the existing knot in some convoluted way but now the knot is twice the original size and unsure if it will slip under heavy use (works ok in my garage).

3) How do I get the black cap off (and on) the metal rudder bolt since the steering line knot seems stuck in the black cap?
3a) Is that black cap even needed (though I see no way to remove it totally)?
This requires some explanation since some rudders dont have a cap and some may have a more friendly knot.
My rudder has 3/4" black” plastic cap with small middle hole that fits over the 9/16" metal bolt with large middle hole. That black bolt cap is not shown in anything I viewed and does not exist on my 2010 Revo since they only show a metal bolt head but no black cap. I tried a wrench on the black plastic cap to loosen the bolt but that did not work. I tried removing the cap (by pulling it off the bolt head) but it would only come off part way because of a big knot on the steering line that seemingly gets stuck in the small hole of the black cap (the 2018 revo knot is much bigger than the 2010 revo knot). After significant effort, I got the metal bolt exposed so I could partly loosen it but not by much and the black cap seemed to twist the steering line so hard I feared the steering line might break.

In the end, I was able to replace the down line okay, but the so called black cap is stuck on the steering line because I cannot push it all the way back on the rudder bolt head and I fear that cap rubbing the steering line will make it break prematurely (as shown in image below where that is as far as I can push the cap back in).

The O-ring isn't necessary. Even when intact, they are less than perfect at excluding water. The early boats didn't have them. Be sure to hook your tubes on the hidden brackets on the rear hatch though. This keeps them high and is good at keeping water intrusion to a minimum. If you wanted to install an O-ring, I would try taping the end of your Spectra with a small piece of Scotch Tape so that it looks like a shoe lace tip, then rolling the O-ring over the end. You can trim off the end later if necessary.


I would just cut it off and tie a new one. To make sure it doesn't slip, you can heat treat it briefly with a small flame.

I have no experience with the cap, bus suspect it is to keep the line from fraying. If you remove all tension from the steering line, you may be able to tap or twist it back in. If not, try removing the line. Be sure and clamp the line first so it can't retract back into the tube.

The line exits the tube whether it is extended or retracted. so it shouldn't make any difference on fraying. The line doesn't slide so there isn't a big chance for wear. If you leave it out, you can just adjust your steering tension accordingly.

Thanks for those excellent answers. I left the black cap (part #81399101) on the line just dangling (it is very lightweight) and all lines work.

Actually works better than before, I think because 2 yrs ago the down line shock cord broke, I tied the shock back on the hog ring BUT it was shorter so the down line was quite tight with hardly any slack to clip in the cleat. Now the downline has more slack and works better.

For any future readers, do not make the same mistakes I made which are below which caused a lot of wasted time.

1. Do not try and thread the line thru the tube still inside the kayak. Push the tube out of the kayak first and remove the black nipple. Then the line threads easy and if it gets stuck (on the O-ring) you can see where that happens thru the opaque tube.

2. Once line is threaded and before tying knots, put the "black plastic nipple" back on the end of the tube. It is a sinking feeling to do the whole process then find the nipple lying on the floor.

2. Calculate if you want to knot the rudder end first or black line/shock cord. I tied the rudder knot first which I think is harder because then I could not see where the lines joined inside the kayak so had to pass my pre-tied spectra loop knot over the black cord knot by feel while pulling hard on both lines to take up any slack. However, it may depend on the kayak length so visualize it first before tying knots.

In any case, I feel like what took me 3 hours would take 20 minutes next time. Heck, I may just replace other lines now that I got it down pat.