Large rudder - sticking? Too heavy?

Bought a new outback a few months ago. I live in a cold climate so had only used it twice. both times in fresh water. During those two outings I felt the rudder was two sensitive. i read that others had the same issue and suggested the upgrade to the larger (twist & stow) rudder which i did. But I find the weight of the large rudder makes me feel like i am forcing the up/down handle as the rudder lifts off the deck. This weekend I used it in salt water for the first time. On day one the rudder worked as decribed above. On return home i didn't wash it donw as I was heading out early the next day. The next day I was in salt again and went ashore after a few hours to stretch. When reentered the water the rudder wouldn't come off the deck, even with a little help from my paddle. after much struggling I went back to shore and manually placed the rudder in the water. Inspection shows everything seems to be working fine. when i got home i washed everything down and it now seems to work better, still VERY tight but working. I suspect some salt water dried in an already tight situation. Can I take the assembly apart and put some sort of lubricant to help it work better? If yes what kind is recommended?

Check the rudder tuning instructions on the kayak FAQ page - it may be just an easy adjustment of the pivot bolt~

link: http://www.hobiecat.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=6943

Pivot bolt was too tight, just as you mentioned. I also added dry lube - can't hurt! Thanks for the details, if I still have an issue I'll try those.

I had the same issue with the pivot bolt, someone who is assembling these is way overtightening them making it murder to get the rudder up/down. Now its a simple swing of the level

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2007 Hobie Revolution

If anyone from the factory is reading this I would also like to mention that when I upgraded to the larger rudder I noticed the head of one bolt was rusty. Further examination showed that the head of a screwdriver/screwdriver bit was broken off in the head and now permenantly attached which made a simple rudder replaced a real dog and required me to go to the local (10 miles away) marine store and obtain a SS replacement. Otherwise the yak is everything I had expected.

Rudder adjustments have been carefully reviewed during assembly for some time now. They are well aware of the adjustment issues since many reviews last year. I also would expect dealers to make these adjustments upon delivery of the kayak. I would assume old serial numbers on ones that are not adjusted properly. Now, that said, I would be interested to bring this up again here at the factory if a current boat arrives mis-adjusted.

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Matt Miller
Former - Director of Parts and Accessory Sales
Warranty and Technical Support
Hobie Cat USA
(Retired 11/7/2022)