Steering and Pedal Pull Ropes

Was just re-reading this intriguing post:

http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewt ... ght=towing

It is about handles, pull ropes and towing.

My question(s);

How do you steer while pulling on the ropes and handles?

Our Tandem (love it) needs full time attention on the tiller. If I let go of the tiller for even ten seconds, it starts to go off course at a good clip. Is this normal? I can't seem to ever get the straight ahead position of the tiller so as to be able to let go of it. Is this a defect in the boat or maybe a defect in me?

All comments and advice appreciated and considered.

Thanks,

Bill

Bill, your small rudder will always require frequent correction. You need a larger rudder to get more directional stability.

You've no doubt seen Kepnutz' large rudder adaptation here:
http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewt ... highlight=

Stringy also made an adapter to use the new style sailing rudder here:
http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewt ... highlight=

Both reported good results.

The only other thing you can do is make sure there is no slack in your rudder directional lines when the rudder is deployed.

I don't know of a way to steer while pulling on the ropes. There was some discussion of rigging a head control sometime back and I think someone came up with a foot control (as when paddling).

Or, you can just pull on one side and steer with the other!

Hey Obbm Hey Roadie
I had the same experience you mentioned in our Tandem with the standard rudder. I too thought something was wrong or defective with our Yak but learned to just work with it. The kayak was very goosey at the tiller and required constant adjustment. If I let go for a few seconds it would wander off course. After I made a larger sailing rudder and a palm sized winglet this changed dramatically. With a larger rudder and winglet our Tandem tracks much better than ever and without any noticeable drag. I would strongly suggest you add some size to yours and a winglet too, it really made a big diference
Kepnutz

Hi, Guys,

Thanks for your quick replies and help. We are back from a winter spent in a motorhome traveling the Texas coast, where we got a lot of use from the Tandem, yakking among the dolphins and gators. Great fun.

I took along the materials for a plastic rudder shoe per Kepnutz' post (copied his super design exactly) but never got around to building it. The rudder lines are OK for tension. Probably will get around to making the rudder shoe this summer. I am thinking of making it so it can slip on or off. to keep the yak original.

The Tandem has proven itself as an absolutely superb boat, in every respect. We are so happy with it, are thinking of getting a couple of Sports.

Thanks again,
Bill

Hey obbm,
I have heard of this problem, but never experienced in either our Sport or OB. What I think is involved is in the adjustment of the Spectra lines at the rudder itself. I had to replace the rudder assembly on the Sport after our GAFFE I excursion from Jax to the Everglades back in 2005.

http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewt ... ight=gaffe

My Sport became the filling in a Tarpon sandwich after some travel over a seriously potholed dirt road near JAX on the return trip. Fortunately. the bending of my rudder post did not occur on the way down the Florida East Coast, otherwise the boat would have been generally unusable for most of the trip. I tried putting the rudder post in my heavy duty vice and pounding (with a 5 lb. sledge) or bending with some large Vise Grips to try to straighten out the rudder assembly. But those Hobie rudder posts are tough, so I had to finally order a new one from my Hobie dealer. The top part of the figure shows the new rudder post, while the lower part shows the damaged post on my rudder before removal and replacement. Note the sharp bend in the attachment region in the bottom part of the pic.



Here is a pic of the original rudder control line attachment to the top of the damaged rudder assembly. To avoid play in the rudder, the solution (at least for me) was simply to make certain the slack was removed from the rudder control lines, and then to tighten the securing screws on the top of the rudder itself. Both of my rudders are the original versions that came with the boats back in 2004 and 2005. Anyway, I think that many, if not most of the "wandering rudder" syndromes can be traced back to adjustment of the rudder control lines at the dealership when the boats are undergoing final assembly and checkout before delivery to the customer. Hobie does not do this at the factory, at least for the original rudders, to avoid rudder damage during transit. Nothing fancy, but just make certain that these Spectra lines are snug (as in the pic), but not necessarily real tight first before doing anything else. If they are too tight, the rudder will most likely not operate smoothly (or at all!) without the lines binding. Just my $.02 worth. Good luck.
Best,
Dick

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