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Vibe Kayak Rudder Mod Simple || Spring Tune Up Vibe Kayak...
Rudder Mod....
First off.. if you have a new Vibe Kayak with a rudder...
do not cut you nylon lines to the rudder short....
leave at least a foot extra.
I didn't cut my lines at all... still original lenght.
Rudder left and right lines... just coiled them up after adjustment.
Rudder pull line... coiled it up.. wrapped in painters "blue" tape like a cacoon..
then black duck taped them into the indentation in the rudder.
Why ?... well my original plan was to make a removable rudder assemble with
clips.. to secure the lines... on and off.
But as I came up with a very simple foam rudder protector for transport/dragging upside
down... (it's here on the website)...
But.. leave yourself a foot of extra line when you first install rudder assemble.
Cocoon the extra rudder pull line and tape it to the rudder...
Ok... moving on...
Rudder Mod Pull Line... well.. as you know... the Rudder Pull feeds from the stern hole...
into the rudder assembly... on the far starboard side.
The concept is to feed the line into the rudder assembly in parallel to "coil" the line
around the rudder... ie: no "tangles"
But... the fulcrum point... for steering, as it is setup, makes turning to port (left) very stiff in the pedal..
and results in not a full movement to the left... at least a lot of pressure on the pedal.
Simple... drill a hole to the center of the assembly... that feeds the Pull Line in...
Drill a small pilot hole first... making sure there is enough space for bigger hole..
such that you don't damage original hole.
My hole now is just slightly to "port" left side... off center.
BUT.... it certainly makes a difference in pedal pressure and the
"fulcrum" point now correctly aligned.
I could probably made it dead on center.. but it's not off center for a few millimeters.
I pulled the rudder up and down at least 30 times no problem coiling in the assemble.
Synopsis: Rudder Pull Line, reroute the line into the center of the assembly.
While the kayak is straight and true in the water... when the winds are a blowin'
the current a pushin', and the swell is two or three foot..
It's good to get all it tight.
Spiring Time Tune Up.
Since we are mucking around with this and that...
Let's give the gear a check....
Front hatch... not loose but certainly need tightening.
You will need an open end wrench 8mm or 5/16inch.
I couldn't get a socket in there because it is too tight...
you will have to angle the open end wrench to get at the nut.
Rear hatch.. you can get a socket in on those.. same size as above.
These were very loose.
Rear rod holders flush mount... very loose... socket ok.
same size as mentioned above.
I would also check the screws for the track by the pedals.
These have nuts... the others appear to have molded in mounts.
Check your handles...
Cheers and tight lines.
Rob.
Rudder Mod....
First off.. if you have a new Vibe Kayak with a rudder...
do not cut you nylon lines to the rudder short....
leave at least a foot extra.
I didn't cut my lines at all... still original lenght.
Rudder left and right lines... just coiled them up after adjustment.
Rudder pull line... coiled it up.. wrapped in painters "blue" tape like a cacoon..
then black duck taped them into the indentation in the rudder.
Why ?... well my original plan was to make a removable rudder assemble with
clips.. to secure the lines... on and off.
But as I came up with a very simple foam rudder protector for transport/dragging upside
down... (it's here on the website)...
But.. leave yourself a foot of extra line when you first install rudder assemble.
Cocoon the extra rudder pull line and tape it to the rudder...
Ok... moving on...
Rudder Mod Pull Line... well.. as you know... the Rudder Pull feeds from the stern hole...
into the rudder assembly... on the far starboard side.
The concept is to feed the line into the rudder assembly in parallel to "coil" the line
around the rudder... ie: no "tangles"
But... the fulcrum point... for steering, as it is setup, makes turning to port (left) very stiff in the pedal..
and results in not a full movement to the left... at least a lot of pressure on the pedal.
Simple... drill a hole to the center of the assembly... that feeds the Pull Line in...
Drill a small pilot hole first... making sure there is enough space for bigger hole..
such that you don't damage original hole.
My hole now is just slightly to "port" left side... off center.
BUT.... it certainly makes a difference in pedal pressure and the
"fulcrum" point now correctly aligned.
I could probably made it dead on center.. but it's not off center for a few millimeters.
I pulled the rudder up and down at least 30 times no problem coiling in the assemble.
Synopsis: Rudder Pull Line, reroute the line into the center of the assembly.
While the kayak is straight and true in the water... when the winds are a blowin'
the current a pushin', and the swell is two or three foot..
It's good to get all it tight.
Spiring Time Tune Up.
Since we are mucking around with this and that...
Let's give the gear a check....
Front hatch... not loose but certainly need tightening.
You will need an open end wrench 8mm or 5/16inch.
I couldn't get a socket in there because it is too tight...
you will have to angle the open end wrench to get at the nut.
Rear hatch.. you can get a socket in on those.. same size as above.
These were very loose.
Rear rod holders flush mount... very loose... socket ok.
same size as mentioned above.
I would also check the screws for the track by the pedals.
These have nuts... the others appear to have molded in mounts.
Check your handles...
Cheers and tight lines.
Rob.
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