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| TI bungee rudder lock from seat http://www.hobie.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=69&t=32924 |
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| Author: | Hammer [ Thu Nov 04, 2010 2:47 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: TI bungee rudder lock from seat |
Thanks for the progress update Stringy. Post some photos once you've made your changes. I'm keen to know how you'll improve it as I might also do it to mine. On a different note...the location shown on your map is the best sailing place in Australia.  Then again I'm biased as I grew up in Port Stephens (Nelson Bay).My parents still live there and within 5mins walk from Dutchies Beach. I'll be sailing around the bay most of the time, and up Myall lakes when I finally get my TI. Can't wait. |
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| Author: | stringy [ Sun Nov 07, 2010 3:40 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: TI bungee rudder lock from seat |
I agree with you Hammer! The Hawks Nest area is one of our favourites and perfect for the TI. Unfortunately the weather wasn't great this trip. We only had one decent day out of our 5 day holiday. The area seems to get more than its fair share of thunderstorms and heavy rain. We had hoped this time to revisit Broughton Island but the storms and big seas put an end to that plan. Did you ever get to Broughton? Highly recommended! 
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| Author: | Hammer [ Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:04 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: TI bungee rudder lock from seat |
stringy wrote: ...Did you ever get to Broughton? Highly recommended! Yes I have. But via a dive boat and not sailing - unfortunately. Once I'm comfortable sailing the TI, I'll tackle open seas to Broughton Island. Here are some photos I took during one of our diving trips with several Grey Nurse Sharks @ Broughton Island. Diving with Grey Nurse Sharks during the day is relatively safe - it's when they're most docile. Or so we hope each time. Dawn or at night time is a different story.        How long does it take to get there on average via the TI? |
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| Author: | stringy [ Mon Nov 08, 2010 1:34 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: TI bungee rudder lock from seat |
Hammer wrote: How long does it take to get there on average via the TI? We haven't managed to get the TI there yet but in the AI it took a bit over two hours to cover the 20km from Shoal Bay. I have also accessed it from Sandy Point where Broughton is only about 3km from the coast but that route involves 4WDing through deep sand, a portage over a sandhill and a beach surf launch. The sea life is amazing at Broughton. Grey Nurses are safe enough but did you know that Hawks Nest is also the Great White Shark capital of Australia? According to a doco I saw on ABC every juvenile GW visits that area .They have set up a Shark Research Centre and tagging program at Port Stephens. BTW- You don't know Slaughter on this forum do you? He has the same tagline you use. |
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| Author: | captain-max [ Mon Nov 08, 2010 2:28 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: TI bungee rudder lock from seat |
Nice pics there, Hammer! |
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| Author: | Hammer [ Mon Nov 08, 2010 9:52 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: TI bungee rudder lock from seat |
stringy wrote: ...BTW- You don't know Slaughter on this forum do you? He has the same tagline you use. No I don't. It's just coincidence. I've been using this tag line for years. I can't recall where I heard/read it from originally, but when I first heard it, it really resonated with me and kept using it ever since. Captain-Max wrote: Nice pics there, Hammer! I hope to take more when I get my TI.
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| Author: | stringy [ Thu Dec 30, 2010 3:56 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: TI bungee rudder lock from seat |
UPDATE: READ CAREFULLY IF YOU ARE THINKING OF DOING THIS MOD I got around to making the mount for the cleat more permanent. I had some 12mm GRP board which I heated, bent and shaped to fit the angled rudder housing. I thought it better to mount the cleat further back as it was easier to drill the holes through the angled rudder housing ribs.   I had been happy with the way this was performing. It was tested in all sorts of conditions up to 20knots and was working well. I was using only the bungee locked through the cam to hold the rudder down. The steering felt more responsive than when locked from the pull down line and I appreciated the simplicity of locking/unlocking whilst remaining seated. However a problem arose this week when we hit a shallow sandbank. We were negotiating a narrow channel at low tide under sail in 10knots of wind. I had furled the sail so we were moving slowly but failed to see how shallow it was. We came to a stop when the rudder dug in. It kicked up a bit and I released the bungee from the cleat but did not raise it fully. While turning the TI around with the paddle a gust of wind pushed us backwards into the sandbar. There was a cracking noise and the steering went a bit slack as the rudder again hit the sand bar but this time backwards. I tried raising the rudder fully but couldn’t as the lines were slack. I pushed off with the paddle and we proceeded under sail in about 4” of water using the paddle as a rudder. In deeper water again I was able to lower and lock the rudder and we returned OK. Inspecting the rudder later I discovered this three way crack in the housing.   It seems to me that the damage was done when we hit the sandbar going backwards with the rudder down. QUESTIONS FOR MATT AND HOBIE ENGINEERS (Not a good time I know) 1- Have you seen this type of crack before or could this crack have been caused by the cleat mod? 2- Why didn’t the rudder pin break before the housing was damaged? (Does it not work when going backwards?) 3-How is the updated rudder progressing? 
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| Author: | Gringo [ Fri Dec 31, 2010 6:24 am ] |
| Post subject: | Re: TI bungee rudder lock from seat |
Bummer. I was just looking around to see if I could get the stuff locally for this same mod. I noticed you seem to have a fairly good whack mark just above the Hobie logo molded into that rudder housing. Did you bang this on something, totally unrelated to the mod? |
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| Author: | stringy [ Sat Jan 01, 2011 11:56 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: TI bungee rudder lock from seat |
Gringo, Those are just scuff marks. I'm pretty sure the damage was done hitting the sandbar in reverse with the rudder down. I'm keen to hear from Hobie (when they get back to work) or anyone else whether this type of damage has occured before. The cleat mod may have been a contributing factor, possibly because the more permanent bracket I made added too much leverage to the rudder assembly.  I ordered a couple these which with a bit of cutting/shaping should fit in the original position directly on top of the rudder assembly.  Where I sail I need to be able to release the rudder without getting out and standing beside it so for me it's worth it try version 3!
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| Author: | stringy [ Sun Jan 09, 2011 4:05 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: TI bungee rudder lock from seat |
Bump Matt - any ideas? |
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| Author: | mmiller [ Wed Jan 12, 2011 12:54 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: TI bungee rudder lock from seat |
No idea... have seen few if any housings fail. I'd guess that the cleat could contribute, but in any case, we can replace for you. No problem. Since this style is going away, I'm not too concerned with figuring out what the cause is. |
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| Author: | stringy [ Wed Jan 12, 2011 1:23 pm ] |
| Post subject: | Re: TI bungee rudder lock from seat |
Thanks Matt. Much appreciated!
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