[quote="Yakaholic"]Philip.
Take care not to over tighten the rudder steering lines.
Thanks for the tip actually its not the rudder steering lines I want to tighten, its the drum, its a bit TOO easy to drop the rudder at present, I read a little resistance is no bad thing and should go at least part way to alleviating the rudder kick up problem.
Though I have not yet tried it, I'm worried the bungee idea will only exacerbate the problem by allowing the rudder to partialy lift up out of the water when the wind picks up and put a load on my steering lines that they are not designed to take. Lot of ex Hobie sailers on the forum probably experienced this when launching thru onshore winds, couldn't lock the rudders down in the shallows, had to get out thru the mush into deeper water first...remember how the tiller felt close hauled with those rudders trailing behind half cocked??? Pretty heavy!!! Thats whats going to happen when the bungee stretches. Just try snapping the rudder off its lock down pin in the shallows or on a tressle...it takes quite a force to snap it free, yet those forces are acting on that rudder in about 10 knots of wind, thats about the wind speed the rudders going to start pulling against the bungee on my boat.
I had a rudder sheer off from the T&S also and I wasn't even out in that much wind, maybe 15mph with some intracoastal chop.
Well maybe the rudders too flexible and this is always going to be a problem. Make the rudders out of a less flexible material (carbon, and slap it on the bill!) and WHY have a rudder that automatically kicks up anyway??? seems like when you want it to kick out of the water it doesnt and the rudder pin gets busted and when you need it to stay down it wont!!!!!
Windsurf fins are fixed, we do bust them but not often. Why not a gudgeon ring lower down the transom a bracket on the rudder and a second nylon rudder pin through both. you would have to remove the pin when you came in but then, if its deployed, you already have to unscrew the lock down screw. Not something we could do as theres no clearance between the rudder and the hull at this point but maybe an idea for future craft.
I now have 7 bolts holding on my rudder to the T&S and have added a small stainless steel flat metal brace using 2 of those bolts. The brace has 2 extra holes for adding bungie which I have not had to use yet.
Well the more holes you drill through the rudder and housing.........
Will get soms pics eventually.
Please, yak, some more pics and if you have time one of the bungee coming out of the steel plate.
For now I am going to try this afternoon with the most basic fix a 2" cast G clamp!!! Its bloomin' heavy and looks rather 'agricultural' but it will clamp the rudder to the housing, whether or not it will survive the rigours of the ocean for more than 2 minutes and not get washed off I have yet to see (somehow have my doubts its going top hang in there long!) Hey, if it
does maybe on the merits of its weight alone it will keep the darned rudder down and Hobie can put it in their catalogue!!!!!!!
P