pan pan Rudder cam screws are stuck.

ahrrrrrrrr, thanks for answering me distress call. Me rudder cam adjusting screws are stuck beyond stuck.

Are there any fancy tricks out there to beak them free so i can properly adjust cam tention? as long as we are on the subject, is seven to ten lbs is about right?

So we are all back on the same page I'm makeing refrence to the large plastic screw in the rudder casting that is putting force on the spring below the ball.
I've tried letting penitrateing oil soak overnight. ahrrrrrrrr no love.
I've tried just a little heat. ahrrrrrrrr no love
I've used a 3/8" flat head screwdriver. ahrrrrrrrr no love.

The screw driver just keeps slipping out. I have been careful not to dammage the head of the screw so I do have that going for me.
Is it typically possable to reuse the old parts?
The nearest Hobie parts dealer is really far away. and I'm a tightwad theese days and dont like to pay for shipping if I dont have to.

thank you in advance, Captian Muddy Toe.



Here is a thought for the folks at HOBIE. How about a parts store in Delaware?

Sounds like you've tried pretty much everything that I would try. Your next option will probably be to drill out the delrin screw and replace it with a new one.

Greg

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Greg Thomas
Hobie Factory Team

You might have tried this trick, but it's hard to tell from your write up.

Get the biggest flat blade screwdriver you can find. I'm talking about a blade that measures a 1/2 inch across and has flat sides on the shaft. Heat the blade with a propane torch (about 5-10 seconds) to get it just hot enough to melt the delrin screw when you push the blade up into the screw slot.

You push the hot screwdriver blade into the screw slot about a 1/4 inch deeper than the original slot. Now hold the screwdriver still until the blade has cooled down (about 3-5 minutes). Use a cresent wrench on the screwdriver shaft to provide more turning force. This has worked several times with various boats in the area.

Old delrin becomes brittle. Replace the delrin screw with a new one and use waterproof grease on the threads to prevent this from happening again. Additionally, I squirt a few drops of dry style lube down the plunger hole every year and have not had a delrin screw freeze up in 15 years.

kat toyz

cool guys thanks much check out my sailing one handed story. its good stuff.

I figured i'd just sail to deep water with the rudders half down this time. I'm running out of days to sail here in the north east. but i'm getting to the castings.


-may the your wind be strong and to to your back. although its kinda hard to sail close hulled that way.

One other suggestion I did to ease the working of my delrin screws. Go to your local hardward store and buy a bolt with the same thread pattern as the delrin screws.

After removing your old delrin screw, grease up the bolt and screw it in first before inserting the new delrin screw. The hard steel bolt will help smooth out your aluminum threads and make sure grease gets will into the the thread pattern.

Now grease up the new screw and put it in. I pull it out and add some more grease every year or so as part of my normal maintenance.

Fair winds!

Drej

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2001 H16E (European Boat) Sail #108348 Cabo
1991 H14T
2006 Bravo (sold)

So it took a real long time to get to but I've done it but am not so much stuck as I am stumped (thats where you guys my hobie buddies in cyberspace come in).

I did try the old heat the screw driver trick but that screw was stuck beyond stuck! so I moved on.

I've drilled and tapped the old screws out. That was easy once I installed a vice on my work bench. That is a must, hind sight is 20/20 ;-}.

So now I'm at the point where I'm reassembling. When I try locking the cam and the rudder to the tiller arm. I cannot seem to get the cam to lock and unlock smoothly. Strike that. At all.

It may be that the way in which I have every thing held down is not allowing me to operate the rudder and tiller system as if I were on the boat. I am in my shop with the tiller arm gently clamped in a pipe stand and am operateing the lower half (the rudder and casting)with my hands. The top part(the tiller) is clamped in the stand.

If I do manage to get the cam to lock to the tiller I have to disassemble the casting to get the cam out. I just bought a new cam I don't wanna put too much force on that plastic finger and break it. So I figured I'd give you guys a shout and an update.

As I read this back to myself I'm wondering if I have worded this question and description of the problem the right way. Did I manage to articulate my situation well enough so it is fully understood by all reading parties? If not tell me and I will try to be more specific.

as always T. Y. I. A.
(thank you in advance)
Chris

O.K. So apparently I'm a little slow or just impatient cause, just for shi+$ and giggles I took every thing out of the vice and put it on the boat.

Everything seemed to work properly on the boat and not on the vice imagine that. There was a little much tension on the cams via the screw but after I backed them off a whole lot it was all systems go.

Time to go for a sail. Wait the H2O is still only like 50 brrrrrr. maybe in like a weekand a half.

-- Sweeeeet


The whole process was real easy, its not quite the PIA that its cracked up to be. Just go slow and don't dammage the threads while cleaning them out with the tap.