fusioneng wrote:
I don't know about anyone else, but whenever I get into anything close to these conditions I start popping rudder pins on my TI, has anyone else noticed with the new larger rudders on the TI, an increase in rudder pin breakage. I have broken 3 in the last 7 months.
I just had that experience, breaking 3 TI rudder pins in 2 outings. I removed the transom to find all 3 bolts loose, but plenty of Lock-tite around them. So either they were loosened/tightened after drying or conditions caused them to move and break their seal.
The first pin may have been cracked when the wind grabbed the bow while launching, possibly backing the rudder lightly into the sandy bottom. I failed about 30 minutes later while sailing. The second pin broke seconds after replacing the first! The third pin broke on the next sail outing while surfing small waves back in after a couple hours sail, but nothing with too much stress.
I removed the newest pin after two full sails without a break and it looks brand new - no marks on it at all. So re-tightening the transom seems to have fixed it. Before disassembling, the transom did not seem loose at all, even though it's bolts were only then hand tight.
Before last week, I had not broken a single rudder pin of the new, longer style in over 2 1/2 years. I even broke the original twist-n-stow rudder without breaking a pin. So, maybe something to check if you are breaking pins.
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Hobie Island Sailing since 2006