Hobie Outback: Broken Rudder line

[Shady]

Last weekend I was out for a little paddle/peddle with my wife and broke through a couple of the notches in the mirage drive drums. Seems like this is pretty much a right of passage for Hobie fisherman... My new drums came in thursday from ACK and I got those on my drive and thought I was good to go...

Yesterday, I went out crabbing/fishing on the Severn and my rudder down line broke. Has anyone had this happen? How difficult is it to fix? My Outback is a 2012 warranty replacement hull (the drive is from my original 2010 boat) and I dont understand why the line is already broken. I called Backyard boats and the person that answered the phone thought that it would be covered under warranty, but didnt really have much more info since the manager was at the boat show. They are supposed to be calling me back at some point.

I really hope I can get this fixed quickly because Im planning on going to VB next weekend....

[Yak Fish]

Hey Ryan,
The rudder line is nothing more than string that runs from the handle to the rudder. It runs through a tube which is the size of a thick straw. You should be able to fix it in a few minutes if you get the right cord. It could have broken for a couple of reasons. It's exposed in the back as it exits the hull which could see some damage. It is also expose in the inside where it could be rubbing on something as you adjust the rudder constant during steering.

[moc]

My rudder line broke last year and was covered under warranty. I had to have both Backyard Boats and Easton Cycle help me get my boat repaired. Dennis at BYB had the replacement part, and Easton was going to do the warranty repair (they did not have the part in stock) on their premises to get me the boat back in two days for a Meet and Greet in Ocean City. Both stores came through for me. So I was happy that I could get back on the water in time. Both stores in my oppinion deserve all of our business and support since they take care of their customers.

[Shady]

After a little exploratory surgery, I found that it was actually the black line coming from the pull down handle that failed and not the grey line that actually connects to the rudder. Im thinking about trying to replace the line with some comparable rope from Home Depot. Bad idea?

[Pinch]

had is break once at the outter wall in DE and again at the second boat channel at CBBT. I now carry 3 extra rudder lines on me or in my truck just in case.

[Shady]

ran to lowes and got some 1/4" diamond braid nylon and 30 minutes later, my yak is back in operation.

[chex]

Nice! just in time for Monday morning fishing

[tufnik]

Couldn't find the quarter inch, but is this it? Quarter inch seems much thicker than the OEM.
http://www.lowes.com/pd_349225-258-0...3587888&rpp=16

[Shady]

Actually it was 1/8", sorry. This is pretty much the same thickness as what was in there.

[scorpioreno]

My rudder line broke last year and was covered under warranty. I had to have both Backyard Boats and Easton Cycle help me get my boat repaired. Dennis at BYB had the replacement part, and Easton was going to do the warranty repair (they did not have the part in stock) on their premises to get me the boat back in two days for a Meet and Greet in Ocean City. Both stores came through for me. So I was happy that I could get back on the water in time. Both stores in my oppinion deserve all of our business and support since they take care of their customers.

Ditto that. I had an issue with losing a pin out of my mirage drive flipper and talked to Dennis. When I arrived at backyard boats Dennis was at the boat show but his staff minding the shop was more than accomodating to me. they gave me two replacement pins and could not find the cost of the pins, so they let me have them for free and the young man said if he had to he would pay for them out of his pocket. So I guess my small point is please support BYB or use them as a warranty replacement source.

[Shady]

I agree BYB is good to work with as I got a brand new kayak from them as a warranty replacement last year. In this instance I thought it better to just fix myself.