Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge  

Go Back   Kayak Fishing Adventures on Big Water’s Edge > Kayak Fishing Forum - Message Board > General Kayak Fishing Discussion
Home Forum Online Store Information LJ Webcam Gallery Register FAQ Community Calendar Today's Posts Search

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
Old 10-18-2010, 12:29 AM   #1
fongman
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2005
Posts: 116
Question for Hobie owners

When pedalling without a hand on the steering arm, has anyone noticed their Hobie will drift off its track? I was wondering if this is an isolated or common problem. A Hobie engineer told me, "There is a friction pad built into the steering handle which should be enough to hold the handle in position. If the steering feels loose and won’t hold position, try tightening up the steering lines a bit and that should help." The lines feel tight to me, but if others don't seem to have this problem, then I will have to have them checked out.

Thanks for your input.
fongman is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2010, 01:45 AM   #2
Gigafish
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2010
Posts: 309
Yeah I know what you mean. I just figure that the kayak is more a peddle kayak than a paddle. The comparison to a paddle kayak is very poor as my kayak never stays straight.
Gigafish is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2010, 08:04 AM   #3
j mo
Member
 
j mo's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: Encinitas
Posts: 600
I had a similar issue, turned out that it just got out of alignment and needed to be "tuned up". I ended up taking the system apart and rerouting the rudder lines. I’m not sure if the spectra stretched out over time, but after rerouting I had about a 1/4 inch of slack. I retied, sprayed everything w silicon and toggled it back down. Worked better than ever. Paddles "OK" and no mechanism drift.

I assume you are pulling your drive out and using the well plug when paddling? If not that could be part of your issue as the drive can affect your boats ability to track when paddling... just my $.03

If you haven’t seen this http://2010.archive.hobiecat.com/support/pdfs/Twist-n-Stow_Repair_Manual.pdf

Not the best how-to manual but it’s what I used. But from your posts you are far more mechanically inclined than I.

Best,
Josh
j mo is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-18-2010, 01:48 PM   #4
dsafety
Olivenhain Bob
 
dsafety's Avatar
 
Join Date: May 2008
Location: Olivenhain, CA
Posts: 1,121
I have always noticed this problem, even when my boat was new. I do not think it has anything to do with an adjustment or flaw in the kayak design. These boats are very light. Your path can be easily changed by any number of things such as currents, waves or the most common influence, wind.

On a typical day, the wind is trying to turn you one direction while the current is pushing you another way and the ground swells are coming from a third direction. It is not surprising that you may need to make some steering adjustments with all this going on if you want to stay on a particular heading.

Tuning the rudder will help if your the lines have become too loose causing some play. You can also change the "center point" so you staring handle points where you want it to when in the neutral position.

I have the standard rudder. It would be interesting to know if those with the sailing rudder notice the same problem.

Bob

Last edited by dsafety; 10-18-2010 at 08:15 PM.
dsafety is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-19-2010, 12:40 PM   #5
flydigital
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2009
Posts: 192
Yeah it drifts quite a bit on my revo ever since new. Following sea swell or chop nudges the rudder quite a bit. I like to paddle every now and then and I just move my thigh onto the handle to keep it into position. This is with sailing rudder.
flydigital is offline   Reply With Quote
Old 10-19-2010, 04:47 PM   #6
805gregg
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Ojai, Ca
Posts: 43
That's why you have a rudder. Get the bigger sailing rudder, it helps.
805gregg is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply


Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -8. The time now is 05:26 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.
© 2002 Big Water's Edge. All rights reserved.