Hobie rudder maintenance

After one year of hard-core fishing, my rudder needs some tweeking...any advice?  It has been having trouble flipping up and down.  I also need to find a way to adjust the left-right steering cables as well.

Thanks

Bryan

Bryan,

I've had to tighten my steering lines a couple times.  Once when it was new and once since then.  Can't speak to the raising and lowering issue, I have not had to mess with that.  Just untie the lines at the rudder, center the steering lever and rudder, then snug up the lines and retie them.  When I say snug, I don't mean tighten the shit out of them, that will cause binding and you won't be able to raise and lower the rudder.  So as you retie, check the raising and lowering before you totally commit.

  I've found that on my OB after centering the rudder and looking at to verify it's actually centered, the rudder handle is not centered in its space.  So, before you actually untie the control strings, visibly check your rudders center, then, make a small mark at the tip of the rudder handle.  The throw in my rudder handle is not even if I visibly center the handle between the space it pivots in then center the rudder.  I can't recall to which side its off, but with the rudder center, the rudder handle is not.  I still get full left & right turns on the rudder though!

For mine I just once in a while spray good old WD40 in and around the joints, the circular thing that flips it up and down, etc.  Its amazing that after bumping the rudder when carrying the yak so many times that I haven't broken it (yet).  I haven't adjusted the cables, but I should since mine is not perfectly centered when in the middle position on the handle. 

I do find that unless I swing it all the way to the right before kicking it up that I have a harder time getting it to raise.  Sometimes I have felt the cables jump the track and it not flip up at all.  So now whenever I raise and lower I steer it all the way left, then all the way right, and then kick it up.

I do like the new 08/09 cable design for the flip up though!  That looks like a more simple and sturdy solution to me.  But I wouldn't mind having one just like the WS kayaks either. 

If you are having a difficult time raising and lowering your rudder sometimes loosening the through bolt just a nudge. And I mean just bearly bump it.   Your dealer should adjust the entier system for you.

I agree with the loosening of the nut (14mm ),  should take care of the problem