I recently bought a used Necky Eliza. I’m new to hard sided kayaks and rudders so I wasn’t sure what I was looking at when buying, but the rudder cord is weird and i couldn’t find a picture anywhere of the way it’s supposed to be. It looks like maybe the original cord broke and the owner patched it up with a bungee cord?
Could someone please let me know if there is a diagram out there somewhere of the way it’s supposed to be so I can fix it? I looked at the Necky manual but it really didn’t go into the details of the deck lines. I am not sure what size cord I’d need to replace this either.
The other issue i have is that one of the neoprene hatch covers is missing. I have both of the plastic covers though. I looked online for a replacement but it looks like Topkayaker is out of stock. Does anyone know if another brand’s neoprene cover might work for this?
Thanks, that’s very helpful! It looks like the previous owner just replaced the black bungee cord with the blue bungee then… I just couldn’t work out of it was supposed to be bungee or not!
The rudder control lines on Necky boats, and probably all kayaks with this type of rudder should be poly cord, not bungee. It shouldn’t stretch, there’s no reason to want it to.
In addition to bungees to hold gear, you should also have poly perimeter lines to provide a secure method of holding onto the boat when you are in the water and for use in rescues. My 1999 Arluk 1.9 did not come with perimeter lines and I added them on the fore and aft decks. I was able to use existing eyes for the bungees, toggles, and other hardware. On some boats you might have to add hardware. Some marine stores and outfitters sell reflective line for perimeter lines which shows up nicely if night paddling.
I took it out for the first time yesterday. Had a great time and liked the way it paddles compared to my old inflatable. The rudder is an issue though… I was able to deploy it ok, but couldn’t get it back up, even pulling on the poly rope. I might have to take it apart and give it a good clean. I would take it to a shop but the paddling shops seem to be closed right now as it’s supposed to be ski season (no snow for 6 weeks and it’s just like spring!)
I’ve got a perception eclipse that also has a short section of bungee in the end of the rudder up/down lines near the cockpit. I always assumed the bungee was there to keep the lines snug against the hull when you weren’t pulling on them, but allow you to get a better grip and/or pulling angle to raise or lower the rudder. Whatever the purpose, it certainly isn’t a hindrance or hazard.
I might be the way the rudder deployment line is rigged, but in my Necky the rudder is held in place by a one-way friction cleat when parked. When deployed the deployment line is left free so that the rudder can kick up if an obstacle is struck.
A section of bungee will not hurt anything, but in my opinion serves no real purpose and just adds another point of potential failure. Poly cord lasts a log time and wear is usually obvious. With bungees, not so much.
