I am the original owner of a kevlar Seaward Passat G3 double kayak, which has had no modifications. The rudder pedal has come off the rail, presumably due to a high force applied. It does not readily pop back on. See picture - do I need to undo the near bolt to lift the rail and get the pedal on? Is removal of the red wand required? If unbolting, how much torque should I use to tighten the bold afterwards? Should I use silicone to seal the bolt? Any advice appreciated!
Northyak
You’ll have to remove the bolt on one end. Remove the one end and slide it back on it it’s not damaged. You may need to loosen the other end also. You shouldn’t need silicone there should be rubber washers below a flat washer on the exterior of the hull. They could also have used an o-ring.
Never seen or heard of one popping off like that. Better check it’s not damaged or weakened leading to another failure at an very inappropriate time. Easier to get a friend to help you although I’ve installed them myself.
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Make sure cable it routed properly before you tighten everything up.
Looking at the picture again the cable is not on the pulley correctly but jammed off on the side it seems. Make sure cable is not kinked or bent that will weaken it significantly.
Thanks PaddleDog52. Yes I am amazed it came off. Seaward was unable to help as they are now closed forever, it seems. I will remove the bolt as you suggest, and be careful with the cable. Are you familiar with any torque specs when tightening a bolt through fibreglass?
Cheers, Northyak
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Small wrench and screw driver and snug it up. Use SS nyloc nuts.
Should have nyloc nuts. It’s a SEA-LECT rudder control.
Nut will hold itself when seated. Just use normal size screw driver and it will be good to go.
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Thanks PaddleDog52! Everything is back together and working. It was only necessary to undo the screw from the outside of the hull, and remove the bolt and retainer from the rails, then slide the pedal assembly back on, and re-assemble.
I think I understand, mostly, how the pedal came off. The boat was used by guests, and it looks like they adjusted the strapping for the rudder wires thinking that it was a seat adjustment. This led to the rudder only operable in one direction, and then a very strong person really stomped on the pedal to try to make it go in the other. Its amazing how the metal components had enough elasticity to pop off without damage to the pedal or the rail.
Thanks again. This is another example of why this forum is so valuable.
Northyak
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