Hobie Cat Forums

Nice work Slaughter!

Mickey,
Like you I didn't want the lines blocking the rear hatch.
I've just done my TI by undoing the knots - no cutting lines. It was easy using the original lines for left, right and up but I had trouble with the original down line. It was too short. I even tried the new line threaded through the original tube but it was just a bit too short as well and any extra knots I added would foul.
I ended up using a new AI line/tube I had left over from the AI rudder line upgrade kit I fitted to my old Oasis. It was the same tube length as the TI's original but with a longer line for easy knot tying. It worked well and left me wondering why Hobie hadn't included this already available part in the upgrade kits.
BTW- I checked the gudgeon bolts and was surprised to find they had loosened a bit despite having had Loctite on them. They weren't bent though.
Something to keep an eye on.

Stringy - thanks for the info on your TI. Very useful to me when factoring in any benefits in redoing mine. Like you, I did not cut any of the original lines. Your solution using a spare left-over AI line/tube from your Oasis upgrade sounds excellent - but not an option for me as I don't have one. So...........
Sounds like those gudgeon bolts are something to watch and check too

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Mickey
2011 AI Golden Papaya
2011 TI Golden Papaya

Mickey,
If I hadn't had that spare line/tube I was thinking of a couple of other options.
1)- get some longer spectra line and thread it through the original tube. It's not hard once you remove the tube end caps and O-ring. I found it easy to slip the end cap over the line then thread the line through the tube, then add the O-ring (at the end opposite the rudder), then add the other end cap.
2)- Try and undo the original line at the bungee end and reposition it further down the bungee line. I decided against this as my original downline was a bit frayed and the downline is under the most stress.
3)- Go with Slaughters solution.

Last weekend was the first chance I had to fit the new rudders, which went without any concerns, hopefully testing them out this weekend. I have two TIs, one Red and the other yellow and when pulling the steering lines manually to check the steering direction, one TI has a fair bit more resistance and doesn’t seem to turn as much as the other. I could leave it as I sail the good one but it might get the better half off side. Is anyone able to give me a hint on where to start looking rather than me just pulling things apart.
Thanks for any help you able to give.
Tony.

On my TI, the steering lines were wrapped around each other causing harder steering. Try following each line to see if it's straight, or wrapped around another.

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http://KayakingBob.com - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 2007, 2009 & 2010 Hobie AIs and a 2010 TI

Stringy, Mickey - Looks like we are all happy and ready to tackle 'The Ditch' then.

( BTW, which bolt is the gudgeon bolt ? )

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

Should be the two bolts holding the gudgeon to the transom.

The gudgeon is the fitting that the rudder now attaches to, via the rudder pin.

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"You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality."
- Ayn Rand

Thanks NOHUHU. I knew that

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Don't take life too seriously................it ain't permanent.

After using a tiller since time immemorial I asked for the lines to be fitted the other way around, I gave up using it that way and have gone back to point and go. Having not fitted the replacement, I found the birds nest of string confusing, more so when seen through a mirror and upside down, ddoohhhhhhhh!

Everything back to normal now, one of the lines got flipped over another twice and then pulled tight, oh dear... I ended up letting go of the lines and rerouting them from the cockpit hatch using an old fiberglass batten.

Be real careful out there with what you wish for.

To Stringy, Mickeymouse, Slaughter and anyone else wanting to replace the rudder using the existing lines - I have just done so on my 2011 Island and in the process discovered a surprising solution to the short up/down line problem. When I looked inside the hull, I found about 20cm of spare Spectra hanging down from its junction with the black heavier cord that runs to the handles. The join is made using the same slipknot-over-knot technique as shown in the instruction video on page 1 of this thread. It was fiddly as hell to loosen the the slip knots inside the hull - I could only just get two skinny arms inside the rear hatch and then had to do it by feel - but once done it was a snack to re-tie a loop further down and slip it over the knot on the black cord. This liberated more than enough cord to connect the up and down lines, and also allowed me to discard the last few centimetres that had frayed under the clamping screw. So now I have perfectly good line all the way, and I still have about 10 cm left inside the boat so I can let some more out using the same technique if the rudder ends get frayed again. I don't know whether all TIs have this little built-in bonus, but it was very welcome in my case.

If your boat doesn't, you could still do what I had intended, which prompted me to look inside the hull in the first place. It should be possible to splice in a short length of cord (could use the new cord supplied with the rudder kit) at the junction point inside the hull, using the slipknot/knot technique, and free up enough to connect to the rudder without the messy business of splicing in cord at the rudder end, which looked to me like it would require knots that might foul the up/down mechanism.

One other tip. I found that clamping the up/down lines with vicegrips at the exit point from the hull kept tension on the lines inside and held them up under the top of the hull where I couldn't see or handle them easily. It would have been virtually impossible to loosen the slipknot this way. The solution (sort-of) is to undo the drain plug at the stern and run a cord in through the hole. Tie this to the end of the black cord inside the hull (a half hitch around the cord where it joins the bungy worked OK), take up the bungie tension, and tie off (I used the bungy anchors in the rear gear well). You can then relase the vicegrip on the line you have tied to. You still need to clamp the other line as it is still under bungy tension, and will disappear if you let it go, but you now have slack in the line you are working on, and it is lower in the boat and easier to see and grasp. When one side is finished, swap to the other line and repeat.
Haven't had a chance to try the new rudder yet. Just finished and a storm blew in. Good one Hughie....

Some good tips there abonnin. Thanks!
You're going to love the upgraded rudder. It is a great improvement.

Yes Stringy, indeed I do love the new rudder - genuine fingertip control, much more immediate, and easier up/down mechanism. Thankyou Hobie.
However, I am a little anxious about the effect of grounding it with the down line cleated off, as I see others are also. Anyone put it to the test yet?
And has anyone checked inside their boat to see whether there is some spare line with which to use the method I described to install the new rudder without cluttering up the rear hatch? If Hobie are monitoring these posts, I wonder whether they should consider an alternative instruction video, or at least a reference for this method, which seems to address the concerns expressed by many about impaired rear-hatch access. Although a bit fiddly, it is not beyond the skills of the average duffer, as I have proven, and it would certainly be possible for dealers to do if they are installing the rudder.

Am I being stupid to suggest that all you need to do is uncleat the down line when there is a possibility of grounding?

No - but i guess there is always the possibility of grounding when you least expect it. Or (probably more likely) when you forget to uncleat!

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Mickey
2011 AI Golden Papaya
2011 TI Golden Papaya

Am I correct in assuming that uncleating the downhaul results in the rudder blade automatically pivoting up whenever the Island is underway?..Pirate

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Master of the galleon 'Pirates Lot'