The rudder fin broke on my tsunami 145. The only thing that broke is the fin itself, the rest of the rudder system is working just fine.
So now I’m wondering if there is a way to replace just the fin itself, instead of having to buy an entire rudder kit.
Does anyone know where I can find one?
You could try topkayaker.com. They have the best stash of oddball spare parts I know of. Use the “Ask Tom” button if you don’t see something on the website.
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Do you use the rudder much?
Can’t you get a new one from Wilderness Systems?
If all else fails, you could cut one out a of a piece of aluminum.
I had to do that on a Pax 20 I built, the original blade was too skinny and too long for what i needed.
I do, especially when there are strong winds and currents.
Apparently they only sell them as part of kit. I only want to replace the blade.
Try a machine shop they could copy it. If it is aluminum you could tig weld it if you have both pieces.
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They are crazy expensive too. 1/5 the cost of a new kayak.
Yeah nuts.
Where are you Jojojoto?
In the past I have refused to play the game some companies like, trying to force you to buy the whole item when I only needed a part. Never with a kayak, but with a LOT of other things. I am pretty good at making things from raw materials and I have done it many many many times. I have fabricated things form gutter mounts, tractor axels, old door hinges, door handles, engine mounts pieces of furniture that have been broken in moves, Key-board sliders and quite a few other things too. Wood, metal plastic …I have made parts form all of them. Been doing it since I was a teenager and I am now in my mid 60s.
Maybe I can help.
PM me.
If you can take a picture of your broken part I may be able to make one for you, or even tell you how to do it yourself.
I just had a problem with another Wilderness double we have where the rudder pin broke and Topkayaker has not only the whole rudder but various individual pieces, maybe not the exact single piece but “sets” of pieces. So the whole rudder is $350, but the rudder fin and related parts to attach to the rest of the getup about $180. The pin and bolts I needed were only $20 though so I just bought that. Yes pricey for the most part but my feeling is to use factory original parts because if you utilize other nonstandard materials you never know rubbing against one another if you will cause other things to fail that weren’t designed to be together, galvanic corrosion that wasn’t supposed to happen or other premature wear that will come back to haunt you at the wrong moment. Not to say this doesn’t happen with original parts either but at least there’s a certain quality control to have created that setup in the first place to try to prevent such an outcome as much as possible.
This is why though despite various hobbies where people “build their own” I never do because in the end although in some cases it may appear that you’re saving money by buying components one off you are getting a far higher price without guarantee of quality control or a warranty. I have friends who like to “build your own”, how can I count the ways… bikes, guns, kayaks, whatever. It’s always more work, and the truth is that even if they save a few bucks anyone with nominally more than minimum wage income could have “saved money” by just working extra hours to buy same said item because the income they make per hour is more than what they save building it. This doesn’t account for the inevitable learning curve, extra tools or troubleshooting.
You really have to enjoy the DIY, if anything the only real “reward” or “pro” given the logistics against you is that it needs to be fun for the prospective user given the outsized time investment it will require. Otherwise just click “BUY NOW” and input your CC info and wait 2-5 days the shipping time.
Making things myself is not always about the enjoyment of making them. In MANY cases it’s about making them a lot better than what you can buy, and the older I get the more I see those issues. MOST things made in China are made to an exceeding low level of quality. So using them as patterns and making them out of better materials and/or to better levels of fit, you get a far better product in many cases.
In the case of the skeg if I were to make one, I’d probably make it from lexan or something similar.
That’s what’s called bullet-proof-glass. Or maybe PDCPD. VERY tough and long lasting.
It may be worth a look at the broken one to see how easy it would be to simply make one yourself out of a super high strength plastic and never have to fix it again.