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Topic: Maruader Rudder Madness.  (Read 6214 times)

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marvmars

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  • Date Registered: Jun 2005
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So I went on a camping trip in my Maurauder and discovered that when loaded with gear and even just a tiny bit of wind I couldnt steer worth a crap. I paddled 50 times on the same side and was still barley able to straighten the boat out.  :smt013 Has anyone else experienced this problem? I had the boat loaded pretty evenly, it was unbelievable how bad it was, I was literally going in circles. The bone heads at Cobra originally said they were going to come out with a rudder for this boat. Obviously they never did. The least they could have done was make it rudder adaptable. The way they shaped the stern makes it almost impossible. Unless of course you get pissed off enough, you are creative and stubborn. So if anyone is interested, I am installing a rudder system on my Maurauder. Its actually turning out ok. I got the Smart track rudder system- after which I discovered that the stupid thing doesnt fold back down on the top of your kayak, it only rotates 180 degrees so if its not in the water, its sticking straight up in the freaking air.  :smt013 Stupid stupid stupid. I never saw anywhere where they mention this and Ive been looking at this rudder for a long time. Anyway, its been a little tricky, actually very tricky, a lot of choice adjectives, a fair amount of blood and a host of pulled muscles and bruises from all of the ridiculous positions and contortionism trying to get to all of the bolts to install this thing. If anyone is interested I will post some pictures of the madness. Im about 85% complete. I think it will be worth it in the end. I had to take a break for obvious reasons. Patience patience patience........... :smt012
Kim


bmb

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I am interested!  please show your results.

thanks,
ben


e2g

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thinking about rudders myself, pics would be great.
Winner 2011 MBK Derby
Winner 2009 Fishermans Warehouse Santa Cruz Tournament
Winner 2008 MBK Derby


marvmars

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Well I finished my rudder. It came out ok, it was pretty tricky to install. Im thinking about sending the boneheads at Cobra a picture. Dont know if the Smart Track was the best rudder, the rudder itself was ok, but the foot controls are actually controled by your toes instead of moving your feet back in forth, which would have been ok but  I couldnt put the foot braces as low as I wanted because then my entire foot becomes trapped because the dang foot wells are so small. So I have to lift my leg up a bit to make it move. I havent test driven it yet but I think it will work out ok. Still kind of bummed about it not folding over back down on top of the kayak like every other rudder in the world, but on the flip side of that is the rudder would have to sit considerably higher to be able to do that, hence not having as much of the blade in the water, reducing the effect of the rudder. The whole problem is the way they designed it in the first place.  :smt011. The sleeve for the rudder pin is actually a brass chase nipple which is cut off flush with the curve of the bottom of the stern. Tricky part is drilling the dang hole exactly straight and putting it not to far out and not to far in. Its held in place by a brass nut that is bigger than the diameter of the hole and marine epoxy. The bottom part of the hole itself on the kayak has to be rounded out just a bit to allow for a cotter pin to go thru the pin of the rudderand have room to move back and forth. I'll be happy to answer questions or help anyone out if they decide to do this, you could buy the Smart track rudder and use a different set of foot controls. I'll let you know how it does as soon as I get a chance to test it out. Im trying to figure out how the heck you put a picture on this thing! If you are super interested, shoot me an email and I will gladly email the pics from my Yahoo mail.
Kim


Dale L

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Pics are easy, when you type up a post there is a choice "Additional Options" just below the lower left corner of the text box you're typing in.

Click it, then you will see the word Attach with a box next to it then a browse button, click the browse button and it will allow you to browse your computer until you find the pic you want, double click your pic file and it should show up in the box, then if you want more than one, click (more attachments), once your pic files are in those boxes, just hit post, if you hit preview the pics won't show in the preview, they only show in the post.

Hope this helps as I'm sure allot of Maurader owners would like to see your work.

Dale L


marvmars

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Wow, duh! Thanks for the info on posting pics! Here they are, like I said it was a pain in the neck and I'll be more than happy to respond to any questions. I think I will send a pic to the boneheads at Cobra.
Kim


marvmars

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BTW the worst part of this whole thing was trying to get to the bolts that screw in to the back of the foot rail. You will need a really small set of hands and possibly a qualude for patience. I was  standing on my head inside the hatch tryng to get to the bolts so a pillow or something soft for your noggin might be a good thing too.  I used a 1/4 bolt as opposed to the phillips screws they sent because you have probably less than two inches to screw them in to the rail so theres no way to use even a stubby screwdriver so an open end wrench is your only option.
Kim


marvmars

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BTW #2. I was able to route the cable inside some plastic tubing on the inside of the boat. Thought I would mention that since I didnt capture it in my pictures. The tubing is held in place by some one hole straps that came with the kit. I lined the inside of the first strap with some rubber so it would be a tighter squeeze and prohibit the tubing from moving back and forth with the cable. :smt001 If anyone wants a pic of that let me know.
Kim


marvmars

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I tested out the rudder today at Coyote resevoir and I was really surprised at how well it works! It was worth the time and effort afteer all..
Kim


 

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