Drop skeg

[Dave]

Hey there,

Anybody had a problem with their skeg cable? My wife's boat especially has gotten almost impossible to drop the skeg in. Should we lubricate the cable? Lithium grease? I don't want to put anything on there that will be a sand magnet and make things worse. Any input welcome.

Dave

[chpaton]

Dave:

Did you flip the 'yak and check the skeg box for possible obtructions? - it's pretty easy for a bit o' grit to clog things up. Also check the cable and cable tube for kinks and bends. Did she have any cargo in the rear hatch? Sometimes stuff in the rear hatch can push up against the cable and make operation difficult.

[Dave]

Haven't used the back compartment yet. I'll give the skeg box a good look tonight, but it feels like it's the cable. I always drop the skeg and hose out the box before I put the boats away, didn't do that last night cause I couldn't drop it. The know has slipped on the cable, because it is so tight, but so far I don't see any kinks. I'll have to have a close look at the whole thing tonight. I take it lubrication is not usually the issue.

[chpaton]

Dave:

Based on what I've heard and read, no I don't think it's a lube issue (but what do I know, I don't have a drop skeg).

I'm curious about the knob slipping -- that could be the reason, if the knob isn't gripping the cable tightly enough so you can deploy the skeg!?! I know the system is designed to have some built in resistence as it is needed to allow the skeg to stay up, deployed partially, or deployed completely. It could be that a set screw on the knob has worked loose or fallen out.

If you haven't already you might want to ask other Chatham drivers on P-Net to see if they've experienced the same thing.

[Dave]

Did a little digging. Necky uses extra heavy cable, guaranteed not to crimp of bend, but very very stiff. I have to check the back hold, I read that since the cable is so stiff, if you bend it just a little it will be very tight to move. From what I've read, you shouldn't have to lube it. The screw on the knob is quite accessible, so re-adjusting that shouldn't be a problem. Guess I just have to monkey around with it a bit.

[Dave]

Well, don't I feel silly, there were pebbles in the skeg box! At my urging, when we were out Allison tried to force it, so the cable slipped on both ends. The screw through the slide was torques to @%$! tight I nearly stripped out the head loosening it, but after laying the boat in its side, hitting it with some WD-40 and leaning into it, I got it loose. The cable slipped completely out of the skeg when I finally got it down, and I couldn't get it back in place until after I had loosened the slide and let out enough cable to re-route the cable and get it back in place. I'll want to replace the screw in the slide when I get a chance, but it is fixed and re-adjusted now. The necky cable is so stiff to start with, I thought Allison was just being wimpy when she said she couldn't move the slide, should've known, she's a tough chick. Next time she says its stuck, I'll know, it's stuck.

Just got back from a trip to Rochester, heading to the Vineyard Saturday, then back to Rochester on Aug 6th. No local paddling for a few weeks.

[Dave]

I guess this will be the last word on this, but I thought I'ld pass it along. I finally heard back from the necky people. Our cables are kink proof titanium, neat! So they don't oxidize, but they said lube would help. Silicone is the stuff. I had a can of heavy duty Gunk Silicone Lube. I sprayed it on the cable at both ends, and they run smoother than they did when we got the boats. So that's the stuff, if anybody has a skeg that is too tight, grab a can of silicone, great stuff.

Cheers!

[pat]

My rudder is sticky to turn. I'm going to give that a try on those cables.