Stealth Fisha Fixed Rudder Questions

Disclaimer: I apologize up front for asking this next question but in the spirit of curiosity alone here it comes.....

Has anyone ever removed the rudder altogether? not necessarily as a permanent thing but just as a test to see the behavior of the boat or perhaps as rare occasion where you might want to eliminate it for the day such as stoney launch sites or again large kelp beds that are tough to avoid or even targeted to fish within.
 
Again I dont mean to spur all the consequences that would be invited by doing such a thing but Im curious since the rudder design
does invite some constant attention or care.
Please go easy on me as Im just wondering since kayak fisherman tend to try just about anything to help get on the spots they like to fish and simply have little fear about trying something unconventional. Thats really half the fun of how we enjoy the sport in general.

Anyway...if anything here is worth your time to reply then thanks.
Who knows maybe I’ll be the first and last one to try the idea maybe.

  Good question !     It would solve a few of the current problems if a more conventional kayak rudder could be mounted in it's place.

Hi Baitman-
                Id be surprised if someone hasn’t had a deeper look into that but seriously I’d rather get used things as designed. The idea Im wondering about has too many issues to be worth fooling with by temporarily plugging the hull safely. But your right... to permanently seal off the hull and install a deck mount rudder could be attempted and might solve some issues but Ive got several issues anyway so I’ll let my Stealth slide on this one
Heck I dont even have it yet and plan to keep it simple and trust a design feature that has been with Stealth for years.
Anyway thanks for giving it some thought. Im sure something could be done but I’d rather let Brett and dudes like Uncle Baggy have it first

You could remove the rudder. It's easy and would take a few minutes: remove rudder cover with screwdriver, remove two nuts with a wrench and pull out rudder. You should also disconnect the cables from the pedals, probably not necessary but a good precaution. There's no need to plug the hull. The holes for the rudder cables are above the waterline. However, you'd sacrifice a good bit tracking ability. The rudder is surprisingly responsive despite its relatively small size.

Thanks Superfly- Great info re: no need to plug the hull. The assembly looks very easy to deal with overall so all makes sense. You’re spot on about the tracking of course but Its cool to consider experimenting with for certain occasions. I appreciate the feedback.

Has anyone ever removed the rudder altogether? not necessarily as a permanent thing but just as a test to see the behavior of the boat or perhaps as rare occasion where you might want to eliminate it for the day such as stoney launch sites or again large kelp beds that are tough to avoid or even targeted to fish within.
 
Again I dont mean to spur all the consequences that would be invited by doing such a thing but Im curious since the rudder design
does invite some constant attention or care.
Please go easy on me as Im just wondering since kayak fisherman tend to try just about anything to help get on the spots they like to fish and simply have little fear about trying something unconventional. Thats really half the fun of how we enjoy the sport in general.

There's no reason you couldn't do that but I've fished the massive kelp beds on the windward side of San Clemente without any real issues. The trick was to just pedal the rudder back and forth as you're paddling through the super thick stuff.

That keel should be listed as a dangerous weapon. I had mine triple nickle loaded on the Tacoma, and was doing something and walked into it head on...I lost got a nasty 2 inch laceration on my fore head from that thing.  Now before all of you hit me with your comments, keep in mind I am legally blind in one (born with Lazy Eye cause poor close depth perception), so walking into things happens pretty frequently, but few things whack me like that did, Ouch!

Paddling without the rudder, don't.  I tired it, as I am not a fan of the non retractable rudder (read that to mean Hate it!).  I went out to the local state park launched into an area where there was no tidal flow, I could not get my 555 to track straight to save my life.  Next take the Nylock nut with you to West Marine or other Marine supply place and see if they have a better quality Ny Lock, the original works, but it will work its way loose.   If your a tall, person put some reflective tape on the rudder, it will bite you if you don't.  Practice loading and unloading your stealth to see where the sweet spot is so you are not leaving your yak  in an upright position with the rudder making contact with the ground. I put some 3M reflective tape on the hull so I can see my stop marls so I know I can let it rest on the ground, with out the rudder taking weight.

I have tried going bow first, and stern first on the Wheel Eez, here is what I can tell you: I have my yak mounted on the Wheel Eez with the frame just forward of the rudder. I pull it bow first to where I am going.  When I get to the water, I will back it in to a point, take the straps off, back it a little further  so the rudder clears the ground/yak floats.  Then I lift the stern, and remove the wheels.  Normally at this depth, I can leave the bow on land without worrying about the rudder. Put the wheels away and then pull the yak into deeper water before I get in.  estimate at least 15-20 inches of water depth before you get in. I am 6'2" and weigh 193 lbs (Covid at home has been good to my waste line, I've lost 30 pounds due to no snack machines). Landing, be aware you draw more than you think, the rudder will start letting you know you are in shallow water.  You may need to jump out to tow it to shore.  Puget Sound has some really shallow areas, and with a Negative tide it can be a nightmare. I found out the hard way in the Nisqually Delta, I had to drag my triple nickel almost a half mile, not fun at all.  Keep in mind launch ramps are not your friend, Fiberglass and or Carbon Fiber do not drag well on concrete. Practice entering and exiting from a dock. I say this as some times the boat ramps, tides, and congestion do not work in your favor, if you can do it, it will save you some headaches.  Rescue rope: if you have one measure it, if it was for your 13 foot Kayak and now you have a stealth, make a new rope, add on to the old one, it will most likely be to short to be useful to you. 

 Seat: Disclaimer: I have a bad knee and bad disc, so sitting in the 555, is not that comfortable without a seat in it, that's me and not a knock on Stealth.  Foot boards, never have I ever had so much of problem adjusting foot boards...they are stiff to get out, so they are stiff to get back in.  You will never ever have to worry of those foot boards coming loose or falling out (Hobie Techs are you reading this). 

When you get your kayak, go over it with a fine tooth comb. See if all the decals are on, open the hatch and check to see if all the rod holders are there (I was missing one, and I didn't catch till much later, so I didn't bother to say anything, the onus was on me.  Most of you will go to see Ruben or Fishkraft to pick up your yak, some of you may need to have it shipped.  I asked and Ruben was great about wrapping mine with extra bubble wrap left over from someone else's yak.  It made a difference when it got loaded in the trailer to come up north. Thanks again Ruben on that one.

 Oh one other thing, when you get your yak home, open up all the hatches and let it air out for a couple of days. The epoxy they use it some powerful smelling stuff. It is over 6 months and I still get whiff's of it. If you can don't store your yak in the sun, it will fade on you. 

FF Transducer install, I am not sure if all Stealth's have this now or not, open the main hatch, there is a small black  bung, you can take that out as well as the fiber board that is loosely glued in place, through this hole you can go in and set up your transducer. Make sure before you glue it, you have run the cable through the bung and fiberboard, you will need to glue and screw the fiber board back in place. Now the you can do what ever you want to seal the hole  with a wire in it, but this is what I did.

 I took an old Prosecco Wine Cork (Prosecco is Italian Sparkling wine, or what I refer to as Poor Mans Champagne), but any wine cork may work.  I stood it on end , and drilled a whole through the top of it through the bottom that was about the diameter of the transducer wire.

Next I took razor, and cut a v notch the length of the cork parallel to the hole I drilled, and removed the excess cork material. It should now look like a channel to the center of the cork.

Now this next step may or may not be needed, my cork was too wide to insert in the bung, so I whittled the edges down till it fit.

I now inserted the glued transducer's cable into the cork. I reinstalled the fiber board with a light bead of marine goop, two little black plastic fiber board holders, and the four screws.  Before I put the cork in the bung, I applied a small amount of Marine Goop to the cork, spread it around and inserted into the bung. Let it set over night, and your done with that.  Link to FB, scroll down to my July 17th post  https://www.facebook.com/groups/721455454596515/

FF install, now this is one of those where everyone has a different FF, so I don't know if this will work for you or not.  If you own a ram one inch base ball mount/gimbal check to see if base will fit on your lid screws.  I found that the space between the left and right black plastic pieces was exactly correct for the 1" Ram ball.  So in it went.  No new hardware needed as they were long enough. Just below my previous post on FB: https://www.facebook.com/groups/721455454596515/




  These are some of the things I have noticed/observed/done/had happen to me since getting The Big Orange Crush