Malibu_Two:
This is for a TI rudder, but I'm sure other Hobie owners can chime in...the rudder on the TI has become super hard to turn with both front and rear tillers. Sometimes it works well and other times they just seize up, so that my brother and I have to push the tiller simultaneously in order to steer. Also, the up/down cords have become very difficult to pull, especially the up cord, and the spring action is gone (usually when you let go of them they zip back into the hull unless you lock them).
This seems to be a rigging problem. I took the rudder pin out, and it was sheared in half at one of the joints, so I replaced thinking this would solve it, but no such luck.
Is there an online tutorial for tightening/maintaining the rigging? Or should I take it in for a tune-up? I bought it at Wind Toys in Santa Rosa, FYI.
Any help appreciated. Thanks! Andrew
NowhereMan:
If you loosen the lines (at the nuts on the rudder) a little, it will turn much easier. But I've noticed that in hot weather, the rudder can be much harder to turn. I assume that this is due to the boat expanding, while the cables don't...
MattSwayze:
I had this happen before on the Outback, the rudder lines inside the hull were crossed over eachother near the rear hatch, I just uncrossed them and haven't had it happen again.
NowhereMan:
Another simple thing to check is that you've got the line pulled all the way down and cleated. When lowering it, you want to pull with some force and then cleat it. There is a brief discussion on the Hobie forum here: https://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=51875
Malibu_Two:
We figured it out:
The lines inside the hull had become extremely twisted and were bunched into a big clump, so we manually untwisted them until everything separated. Now all is good, but it's a reminder to check on it every once in a while.