Replacing Rudder Cables and Hoses - Necky Arluk 1.9

I will give that a try and compare results.

Thank you,

It would probably be easy enough to stand on the scale yourself and hold the boat by the cockpit or balance it on you shoulder and have someone else read the scale. Then subtract your weight. Regardless of the layup, it will weigh less than 60 lbs.

The brochure has an error. The Arluk 1.9 does not have a rockered hull. The is Lookshaw is similar and does have a rockered hull. Don’t know about the 1.8. I think that boat had an ocean cockpit. Not many of those were sold.

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I will give that a try. I have carried it that way a few times.

I am a little surprised that I can’t find any old Necky catalogs or brochures on the internet.

I’ve had that issue w/ finding Necky literature as well. Seems like when Old Town bought them they just trashed everything? I have digital versions of catalogs for the other yaks but not the Necky.

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Check out the WayBack Machine internet archives for info from old websites [https://web.archive.org/]
It can be a little clunky and slow, but then again we’re talking billions of pages captured and archived. Also, it seems to work better in Chrome than in Firefox.
Here’s a Necky capture from 3/12/16.
https://web.archive.org/web/20160312074923/http://neckykayaks.com/

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2016 is just a year before Johnson Outdoors discontinued the Necky line altogether and long after the stopped making composite Necky kayaks. At that time they were only making rotomolded Necky kayaks, mostly rec and play boats. The Arluks were discontinued about 2003, 13 years before this catalogue.

1999 Necky Catalogue

They call the hull of the Arluk 1.9 rockered but it’s not really visible to me. The Lookshaw is very rockered. Strangely, my boat never had a serial number and there is none noted on the bill of sale, although they started to write one down. Just has Serial Number and then a blank.

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Wayback Machine archives go back to 2001 for necky.com though functionality is limited for some of the older captures.

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I weighed my kayak. 55 lbs which agrees with the number in the brochure. So, my Arluk 1.9 is the standard fiberglass.

Thanks for posting the brochure. Haha - I was starting to wonder if Necky was just some guy making kayaks in his garage.

Interesting that you don’t have a hull number. You can see the last few digits of my hull number next to the rudder in the photo above. If I understand correctly, the D997 stands for manufactured November 1999 and 1997 model year. The first 3 characters which you can’t see are QNK which was Necky’s manufacturing code.

This WayBack machine is interesting. I will make use of this. Thanks!


Initially I was replacing this cable because I needed to replace the hose. But, it was broken about 1/3rd through in two places where it wraps around the bolt on the rudder. This damage was not visible until I loosened the bolt to remove the cable.


I reamed out some of the old hose and inserted a new 3 inch section. It is very tight, so I haven’t used any sealant or adhesive.

Now I have the same size cable with eyelet on both sides. The eyelet on the left was grinding against the rudder so I flipped it over.

I found this nail polish at CVS that is nearly the exact same color as my gelcoat. At this point, I just need to complete the attachment to the pedal strap. I will use vice-grips to crimp the sleeve.

I appreciate the feedback. And, the info/tutorials at topkayaker.com were also very helpful.

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Needs a thimble I think.

Nice match on color. Do your nails when you go out with fingerless gloves.

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Put a flat SS fender washer under eyelet if it rubs.

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Did you decide to switch out the sliding foot pegs for the gas pedal type? With the way my boat handles with me in it, I almost never use the rudder, so it’s not really an issue for me and hasn’t been worth the time and money to switch them out.

The sliding footpegs have been pretty much been discontinued and most people that use a rudder on a regular basis really dislike them.

Just got back from a week in North Carolina. My 16 year old son and I paddled Conaby Creek near Plymouth and Hammocks Beach State Park where we had planned to camp on Bear Island, but it was very windy and rain was forecasted so we just did a day trip. We enjoyed these treks and I highly recommend either. I might post some photos.

Thanks for the help. Those eyelets have washers under them. Beneath the old cable was a rusty zinc washer. So, I replaced that one.

The cables have a piece of plastic tubing in place of a stainless thimble and I was wondering if that might be easier on the strap over time. Also, I haven’t decided if I want to replace the sliding foot pegs. I haven’t used the rudder much, so I couldn’t make a decision. I left the cable unattached.

I am leaning towards replacing the foot pegs.

On the return from Bear Island through the salt marsh, the wind from my left was forcing my boat to turn towards the left. I paddled most of the way on the left side and I had to keep moving simply to keep the boat straight . . . which was a little tiring. I assume the wind was catching the rudder and forcing the stern to the right. Maybe putting the rudder down would have been helpful.

Wind was catching more than the rudder the whole stern I’m sure.

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Those are precisely the conditions where you want to use the rudder. It will effortlessly keep the boat tracking where you want it to go without wasting energy with edging or corrective strokes, especially over a distance.

In my experience the effect of wind on a parked rudder is minimal, but once it’s deployed you have eliminated that potential issue.

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