JackL gave me a heads-up about an adjustment on the SeaLine Rudder rails for toe peddal placement. I finally got around to playing with it today. I wound up having to remove the rails from the boat in order to free up the adjusters. I adjusted the static placement of the peddals out toward me about an inch as I have always had some trouble articulating the rudder in anything other than bare feet. I will be interested trying it now.
-When you put the rails back in the boat do you add any sealant or lock-tight or anything. I saw no indication that anything was used from the factory so I did not use anything. I am now wondering about leaks or the bolts comming loose.
-How tight do you make the screws? Wanted them tight so they would not back out but did not want to dimple the gel-coat.
-I wound up taking the aluminum rails apart. There was tons of gunk inside, looked like an accumulation of sand, salt, and junk. I cleaned out the tubes but I imagine that they will look the same soon. Any comments?
-One rail had a small rubber bushing/washer between the rail and the boat. The other side did not have them so I added two similar rubber washers I had around.
Happy Paddling,
Mark
Rail fouling
One reason I launch from piers is I keep my feet clean and dry. Keeps the silt and debris from inside the boat. Most think that I don’t like wet feet, but the real aim is a clean boat and dry, non-stinking sneakers.
a different method
It’s kind of funny the complexity folks go through to make an adjustable footbrace that doesn’t need readjusting when it’s moved.
I made a very low tech rudder control using regular yakima foot braces but used a 1/8" hollow vectran line configured into a constrictor eyesplice to take care of the adjustment beteen the rudder wire and a hinged toepiece.
You put the footbraces where you need them then adjust the line at the splice. It can’t really be adjusted on the water but I don’t find that’s necessary. All these back band and foot brace adjustments that you can adjust on the water are clever but it almost seems like being able to tie your shoe laces while running,is it really necessary?
The Yakima footbraces are rock solid and light/stiff line that makes the constrictor splice so easy to adjust costs all of 40cents/ft.
Sounds like you did good
I watched when Frank Wohl (FBO) replaced the one that Nanci broke two years ago, and he didn’t use anything special to seal them.
Just made them taught.
cheers,
JackL
Thought I’d Post An Evaluation
This is an older post in which I was looking for advice about the rail re-install. Now, I have used the adjusted toe peddals a half dozen times. I wanted to post that this has made a great improvement in my ability to articulate the rudder toe peddals. I was not able to work the rudder with anything on my feet other than a very thin boot or sock. Now, after moving the toe peddals back toward me, I will be able to use sandles or some cold weather boots next winter.
Thanks Jack,
Mark
Adjustments?
Curious what adjustments were made and how they were enacted. As far as I can tell, simply cranking the knurled adjuster nuts in or out seems to have very little effect alone on the toe pedal position, unless there’s a trick I’m missing. I’d like to bring mine further back towards me also, as in races with lots of corrections, it’s almost like working out on a calf machine at the gym. When I replaced the cable on one side that I snapped the rail on, I adjusted it with the eccentric cam back by the rudder, but since then, I’ve been using a brace to span the two pegs that builds out the pedal itself about a half inch back toward the cockpit, so the toe controls are a further reach away.
Yes
the small knob on the end of the rail is actually about two inches in length. The end of the steel line that goes to the rudder is actually at the end of this knob. If you back out the knob you will move the toe peddals toward you, (in the direction of the stern). I had about a third of an inch of thread showing on both of my adjusters. I now have about 1.75 inches of thread showing on each adjuster. I did not measure how much that changed the toe peddles but enough to change how they feel by a large margin.
Mark
Thought you guys new this already…
think barrel adjuster on brakes.
One thing to watch for is how fragile that plastic part is .... good idea to work it in and out with a drop of some kind if lube in it befor cranking it all the way in or out.
Every person I have ever set those up for has only liked them with the toe control all the way back ..... otherwise those things are useless for active padling ..... as stated above, even then it's a separate excercise from paddling to use them.
I just don't get it with these things .... they could have been soo much better.
We offer a far superior solution that is half the weight and cost only a little more..
Patrick Is Right
I noted that the plastic adjusters are not very substancial and I figured that since mine were stuck there was a good chance that I would break them when working them loose. That is why I took my rails out of the boat, so I could free up the adjusters and put a little lube on them. I used a dab of teflon paste lube and worked the adjusters in and out before putting everything back together.
I guess several of us will be going to Patrick with our hands out when somthing breaks on the Sealines since they are out of business.
Happy Paddling,
Mark
I Suppose
I’ll keep cranking them outward then; I agree that the toe pilots are near useless unless they can be easily actuated-didn’t realize they had that much range of travel, and didn’t want to have them pop out under tension and have to unfasten the whole shebang again.
As to Patrick’s brilliant gas pedal/brace assembly, may still go that route but am debating whether or not the Q-Ship will remain due to issues with leg numbness caused by the frog-legged sea kayak position. I’ve pretty much figured out that the problem lies in that the thigh braces are too low for me to keep my knees up, and the keyhole of the cockpit too narrow for me to pop them out for any length of time out of the coaming.