I just purchased a new 07 AI, which came without the new rudder, which is supposed to reduce load on the mechanism. The dealer said that the new rudder would be coming from the manufacturer in the "not too distant future".
Took my new boat out last Saturday, circumnavigated Biscayne Key, launching from Hobie Beach on Rickenbacker Causeway in Miami. Except for the Port Tack problem, it was an AWESOME day! I found that at speeds over about 3.5 Knots, holding the tiller hard to starboard, at best could only keep the boat straight, it would not turn away from the wind (due to sternway from a sternward primary moment?). After struggling with this for a while, I took the paddle and wedged the concave side of one blade on the lower mast, trailing the other end of the paddle under the Starboard side aft aka. This just magically seemed to bring the boat into trim and I found the rudder would center perfectly, just as it did on the Starboard Tack. Several times over the course of the day, my GPS unit indicated water speeds of over 7 knots, I even got on plane a couple of times! The trailing paddle seemed to keep the rudder in trim on the Port Tack. However, it created significant drag at lower speeds. I tried to screw in the set screw, but it did not seem to make much of a difference.
Will changing out for the new rudder (when it arrives) fix this?
Hey, despite this little nuisance, the AI was just AWESOME! I am really loving this boat!!!
Dorsalis