chrisj wrote:
Stringy broke the rudder housing on his TI while using a Hobie rudder pin. I don't know if he feels the pin should have broken first in the circumstances in which this occurred (washed backwards onto a sandbar).
I did feel that the pin should have broken first Chris but I guess hitting something going backwards is rare. The opposite forces are involved and it's probably too much to ask of a design to work both ways. I had also complicated the issue by adding the cam cleat.
When the dealer saw the damage it wasn't a first for him. He had seen similar radial cracking on an AI that had also hit something going backwards. Interestingly, he didn't think that the cleat contributed in any way either.
It was a shame this happened as I had been very happy with the way the cleat worked in holding down the rudder. As I can't be sure if it was a factor I haven't added it to the new housing though.
I tend to agree with you. The AI pin issue was due mainly to a bad batch of pins and operator error in not depowering when necessary.
The TI rudder issue is different. The larger rudder needs more holding down force. I liked the twist-n-stow rudder and would have prefered to see it improved with a better lockdown. I guess though this wasn't easily done within the original design?