Field repair tip
Of the wire skeg boats I have borrowed or owned, they all had set screws on the skeg, and an allen key on the adjustment control.
Those tools are easy to pack along on a trip, for field repair use.
The difficulty has been with the cable. On the older NDK, valley, and P&H boats I am familiar with, the replacement cable should be cut to the exact length as the original. Otherwise, you may wind up with limited deployability. Since cutting these cables to length is very difficulty in the field, I pre-cut a replacement, and duct tape it along with the tools, to the rear bulkhead. I pick up my boat, the repair kit is coming along for the ride.
One other tip. Feeding a cable through the housing can be frustrating if it starts to fray. Electric tape around the ends works with a few,but usually makes the diameter too large. I dip the ends in epoxy glue, and massage in into the end to lightly fuse it. It feeds much easier into the housing.
real world fix
thanks I will try this. So so glad folks have worked this stuff out.
To Bad it won’t fit
NDK boats:( I tried a retro-fit but the Necky wire was to short for my Explorer and they only have it in pre cut size according to my dealer.
Cable lubricant - WD-40 or ???
sometimes the cable kinks because gunk in the housing tube keeps it from sliding freely. WD-40 squirted in one end & gravity-assisted through helps cure this.
Just wondering if there’s anything better than WD-40? Not sure what effect it has on the plastic tubing.
World war 2 product
WD40 is a navy WWII product. WD means water dislacement. It was meant to keep maintenance down not to lubricate!!!
So there are better things. Some very advanced lubricants for
Racing bicycles chains and brake cables have the quality of
Bonding with the metal. Not affecting the housing and being dry. That is they won’t attract gunk!!
Bike Chain Oil
I think the stuff I use is called “White Lightning.” Does not pick up dirt and grit like WD40 can.
Sailtrack lube
Was recently discussing cleaning/lubing skeg or rudder cables with a couple of acquaintances. They endorsed Sailtrack lube from West Marine. Dry teflon lube that is supposed to work excellent and is long lasting. Doesn’t gather goo like petroleum products. A bit pricey, but a can ought to last you for ages.
Sent you wrong wire I bet
CH 18 wire should fit.
For me the wire!
Zero failures, and super simple and easy to service. Can’t get much simpler. Tough as hell, won’t kink…just had zero problems. Next I’d probably choodse a rope skeg like I had on a Nordkapp. P&H system seems cool but have not used it.
Cable to rope field repair.
In baja last fall on a 30 day trip the skeg on a rented tempest 170 pulled free from the cable. I could not find the allen wrench I had packed. Befour we left I had the outfitter drill a small hole in the bottom of the skeg so it would be easy to free with a small cord loop. When the cable came free I made a loop of line going from the hole in the bottom of the skeg over the deck of the boat so when taught the skeg was fully deployed. I then tied a line to the top of the loop and ran it back through the rear grab handle anchor then up to the skeg control and back to the loop on the deck. this allowed me to deploy the skeg using the cable and retract it pulling on the line on my deck. It worked very well and a second tempest on the trip had the same failure a week later. Launching through the surf jammed the skegs with small rocks almost every time I launched. In this case I needed the skeg more than usual. I had 5 weeks worth of food and sometimes 10 days of water. The rental boat was bent to the right both bow and stern and the wind mostly quartered from the left on my stern. Peace Joel
Boeshield T-9
I use it on our skegs. It’s a spray-on wax based lubricant (Like White Lightning, but less gunky when it dries). I spray it into the wire tubing, coat the slider tube with it, and also the pivot on the Onno skeg in my Caribou. Works fine, no issues.
hole for string
How does the string route to the slider? Is it in a conduit the whole way? Conventional skeg ropes go through the deck, so the rear compartment remains sealed off, but I imagine that P&H skeg rope is routed under the deck to the slider?
Yes,
through a tube the whole way, penetrating both rear bulkheads through rubber-grommetted holes near the hull seam. The “Diolen” cord has a fairly stiff core allowing one to push a new cord through the tube if they needed to, presumably. Hard to imagine a situation that would require replacing it, however.
Mike