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PostPosted: Sat Jan 08, 2011 11:05 pm 
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Joined: Wed Nov 26, 2008 4:36 am
Posts: 837
Location: Gippsland Lakes Victoria Australia
Some mate's & I have just bought the 2011 model - however I am still waiting on some missing parts so have not yet used mine. (now almost 3 weeks) :cry: :roll: :shock:

One has informed me about a problem with the rudder assembly which caused his tiller to feel sticky and sometimes put so much strain on his control lines that they quickly became very stretched and loose and he feared they might break if he exerted too much force trying to get his rudder to turn correctly. :shock:

He is new to the AI and has a lifetime's experience as a motor mechanic.
It wasn't long before he discovered what was causing the problem and came up with a fix. :) I examined mine and discovered it had exactly the same problem so have decided to alert all owners of 2011 to check theirs. :wink:

Problem: The rudder bungee that locks the rudder down feeds through two holes in the rudder blade. If you look carefully inside these two feed holes whilst turning the rudder, you will see metal fittings. They are simply fence netting clips which have been used to neatly join the two ends of the bungee in a concealed and neat manner. However on both AIs examined so far, they are at times rubbing and putting pressure on the rudder assembly when altering direction. :o This is the cause of the sticky tiller and is easy to fix. :wink:

Fix: Remove the rudder pin by pinching the split ends and pushing up, making sure to position it so as to clear the two control lines in the top of the pin.
Remove the rudder bungee completely. (I found it easiest just to cut it and replace it with a similar size piece from my spare parts bag.) If you have blunt nosed fencing wire cutters handy, you may be able cut the existing clips and use the original piece of bungy.
Now thread the bungy through the two holes with the join on the outside.
replace the pull tab and join the two ends together. I did this using two fence (wire) netting connectors in a similar manner to the original method. I then concealed this join under the pull tab and stitched it in place with some cotton.
Looks good and feels good! :D :D :D
You may be able to join the ends of the bungy cord with wire bag twist ties if you don't have wire netting fence connectors handy. :wink:

PS the variation in bungy/bungee spelling is to facilitate variations in regional spelling :wink:

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2016 AI Hibiscus
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Adventure Island Sailing since 2008


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PostPosted: Sun Jan 09, 2011 10:31 pm 
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Joined: Wed Nov 26, 2008 4:36 am
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Location: Gippsland Lakes Victoria Australia
The problem of the rudder bungee binding against the rudder housing appears to be universal and I wonder whether it might also apply to the TI :roll:

Every 2011 AI owner I know locally (4) has discovered that they have the problem and that in a very short period of time, the wire netting clips used to join the bungee have caused nasty scarring to the plastic rudder housing :o

Everyone who has fixed it reports a vast improvement :)

I am starting to wonder how many (or few) 2011 owners there are on the forums - given the nil response to this thread :roll:

MattM - this should be rectified on all future production - or will it be rectified when we get the upcoming replacement rudder?????

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Mickey
2016 AI Hibiscus
purchased NEW Nov 2021 - My 5th
Adventure Island Sailing since 2008


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:29 pm 
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Joined: Tue May 27, 2003 12:44 pm
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Location: Oceanside, California
I'll point this out to the factory. The new system will not have the bungee, so non issue in the future.

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Hobie Cat USA
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PostPosted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:39 pm 
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Joined: Thu Jul 31, 2008 11:18 am
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Location: Texas
Matt,
Will be there be a status update on the new TI rudder anytime soon?
Just curious on how things are coming along.

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PostPosted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:53 pm 
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Location: Oceanside, California
I mentioned in another thread... looks like spring.

We have the molds done, but need to get test parts molded and that is still several weeks out. We then will do LOTS of testing before releasing for production.

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


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PostPosted: Mon Jan 10, 2011 5:57 pm 
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Location: Texas
Woops I missed it. I go a looking. Thanks for the update here though.

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PostPosted: Tue Jan 25, 2011 10:13 pm 
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Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2010 11:53 pm
Posts: 9
Hi,
I have just purchased the 2011 AI, have not even received it yet. Would like to fix this issue. Any chance you can post some photos to show us what needs to be done.
Thanks
M.


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 1:38 pm 
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Joined: Wed Nov 26, 2008 4:36 am
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Location: Gippsland Lakes Victoria Australia
sirtopham wrote:
Hi,
I have just purchased the 2011 AI, have not even received it yet. Would like to fix this issue. Any chance you can post some photos to show us what needs to be done.
Thanks
M.

I did take photos but it's been quite a while since I posted any and I will need to find time to get on to it. Frankly I'm not sure they help - it's just as easy to sort it out once you are aware there is a problem and have the written explanation re how to fix. :wink:
Another alternative would be to get your dealer to do the mod before delivery. :roll: It really should be attended to prior to use or you will have friction and wear as a consequence. :o

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2016 AI Hibiscus
purchased NEW Nov 2021 - My 5th
Adventure Island Sailing since 2008


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PostPosted: Wed Jan 26, 2011 10:15 pm 
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Joined: Tue Oct 26, 2010 11:53 pm
Posts: 9
Thanks Mickey, the dealer here in the USA is unaware of the issue :shock: , and i am not familiar enough with the AI to explain what needs to be done. If you have the time, the pics would be great for me to e-mail them with the fix.
thanks
M. :)


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