Rigging mistakes

[ronaultmtd]

Installing a 8 inch YakAttack gear trac in the right tray of my Outback...can't see up in there and the new Hobies have blocks of flotation foam you have to move to get to areas- so I layout the trac and drill the first hole- insert the screw to hold position and drill insert screw and drill the rest of the five screws putting in the screws as I go to insure correct alignment-and I am using the strongback threaded backing plate instead of individual nuts- to align the plate I take two long pieces of electrical wire and insert each into the first and last holes drilled- I reach into the inside hull and find the wire, insert each through the appropriate threaded hole in the strongback and tie an overhand knot in the electrical wires- then I pull the electrical wire from the outside of the hull aligning all five holes I drilled with the strongback and start three screws- once I have the three screws started and the strongback is perfectly positioned- I push the electrical wire back through the holes, reaching inside the hull to remove the wire- I then start the remaining two screws in the backing plate completing the installation of the 8 inch geartrac...
OK- looks great- clean install- a few days later time to go fishing...line up some of my fishing buddies- look up the tides, decide on launch and time- drive 45 miles to the launch, unload kayak, park truck, get the boat in the water, install the mirage drive, deploy the stow and go rudder...wait- the rudder is jammed...damn- one of the rudder cables got under the gear trac backing plate...yep- last night...this morning I am taking the backing plate off and freeing the rudder cable- moral of the story- check everything after you install anything at home before you go fishing...dumb, dumb, dumb...

[J.A. Veil]

Ron -

Sometimes even the best-laid plans have unintended consequences. Hopefully you can repair/relocate the wiring without any damage.

[ronaultmtd]

Yeah, John it is a simple fix- I loosened the five 8-32 screws on the gear trac and the rudder worked fine- I just have to get the cable out from under the backing plate and then re-install it- it is a real PIA as there is interference and it is in a limited access area- and, of course my buddy Big Mike caught fish...

[Rhino]

Ugh. Super frustrating to figure that out at the launch. I can remember having to watch out not to screw into the rudder cable. It can definitely be tough getting the screws in depending on the location you want. Good call using the backing plate -- I did as well. However, I spent several hours being frustrated by the holes not aligning only to figure out that YakAttack had one hole slightly off on the backing bar. I exchanged it and then the install took 5 min.

[ronaultmtd]

I got into it this morning- took my IPhone and took pictures inside (you can't see in there) the hull so I would know exactly what was what...and it was exactly like I thought it was- the last two screws had the starboard cable pinched under the strong arm backing block- I took them out and reached through the center hatch- (had the kayak laying on its side and I lay down beside it so I could reach the cable) once the cable was released (and I verified this by taking pictures with my cell phone and working the rudder- I reinstalled the geartrac and tightened up the screws- all in all a 15 minute job, but impossible to do at the launch with no tools...Lady Luck is ready to fish...

[Mark]

Ron,

Hobie's rudder cables inhibited me from installing a fish finder on my Revo for two years. Some may not realize it but the cables actually run forward under each gunnel in the Revo to a pulley before they run back to the rudder. I was very afraid I would cut or nick the cables during drilling or that the bolts penetrating the deck would rub the cables and abrade them over time. The Revo has narrow gunnels with no room for error. None of those issues I was concerned about occurred I am thankful to say. I'm glad you diagnosed and fixed your problem so quickly.