tiller universal joint

Hi all! Had a great week sailing off Kelleys Island state park beach last week. High winds in the low 20s plenty of hull flying and near pitch-poles.

On the second day there though sliding off the beach in maybe 5 kts of breeze the starboard universal on my tiller snapped disconnecting it from the rudder. The part that broke is the rubber like part that allows the tiler arm to move in many directions. Has anyone had this problem before? Seems like the last part to actually break.

No dealers near by so I repaired with some downhaul from my windsurfer rig. I removed the crews from each end and threaded the line through,(it just fit with some coaxing) then figure 8 knotted one end and pulled as hard as a could then wrapped and tied off. I of course wrapped it all in a nice layer of duct tape and sailed for four days in some very high winds with no problems.

Waiting for my new part to fully repair the tiller.

Happy sailing!!

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There's no motor?

they use to break here all the time in the rental fleets
this is what your broke


This is what you need to order, much more durable! I know its hard to see in the picture what it is, basically a fiber reinforced flexible pipe with end caps you can attach the screws too

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Brad Stephens
[email protected]
(866) 786-5266 <--- Advice HOTline
http://www.sunjammers.com
www.facebook.com/sunjammers

Brad can I order that from you?
I will email you out of the forum.

Thanks Mark

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There's no motor?

One of the black tendons snapped on mine, almost right away. My dealer (Wawasee Boat Company) replaced them with the white ones immediately, no charge, no questions.

Is Hobie still using these on new boats? I liked the old club-style metal elbows better. The tendons seem like they're always stressed, when the boat is on the beach and the wind pushes the rudders to the side. And that rubber piece is impossible to get out of the tiller arm, with or without the lock-pin inserted.

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What - Me Worry?


2006 Hobie Wave 7358
"Ish Kabibble"

There is no universal joint on the new rudders (I have a 2008). Plus, there is no left or right rudder anymore, either. Overall, a good design.

It's kind of a challenge to get the tension right on the rudder bolts/nuts so that the rudder is firm, yet kicks up when need be and easy to push back down without having to jump or climb to the far side - not a safe course of action in a heavy blow. I am not sure what could be done, if anything.

We have multitudes of kelp, here, and I sail through it constantly which translates to lots of up and down rudder action for me.