Kayak Fishing Dana Point, Beach Butts & Guts!! | Lost Rudder Controls
 

This past Saturday I started out at the long jetty in search of Halibut. Last week prior I had one latch on but it wouldn’t stick so I decided to try again. I hung around there for a while waiting for my kayak buds to show up only to find out that they were already on the beach, so I went in to meet them.

We found all the usual surf species but I had to cut the trip short because I lost my rudder control.

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Kayak Fishing Dana Point, Beach Butts & Guts!! | Lost Rudder Control
https://youtu.be/XT24tFXihzA

Great Video
 

Good Day of fishing for sure. That extra large bait tank is really nice. Did the dealer ever tell you what the failure was from or the root cause? What year is your PA? Thanks for sharing your experience.

Hi TJ you’re welcome!

It’s a 2018 12’. The rudder control line frayed last season and I’m sure that’s what happens again. I’ll be back there Saturday so I’ll ask to be sure. The guys from Fush Village will be having sort of a meet and greet. Hope the fishing will be good🙂

Subscribed, It Looks like you had some fun action with the short Halibuts. I had a PA14 rudder line snap on me a few years back. I had to use the paddle to steer in with. My rudder line chaffed through at the penetration point under the rudder cover plate.

Yeah same area only it happened 2x already lol
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Control Lines
 

I remember somebody posting up about about having an experience where the rudder control lines were not properly crimped from the factory. This is probably a different scenario. I would imagine if they were not crimped properly that a failure would occur rather rapidly. Thanks for replying.

That's irregular. In 5 years of offshore with 3 different PA's, it's only happened once for me. I would be suspicious of a sharp edge somewhere in the system causing the failures. Repairing the broken line could be just half the problem. It might be worth your time to inspect the system, especially the grommets that the line passes through going to the steering. For it to have happened twice already, I would suspect a wear groove on one of the black grommets. If you are still using the original rudder, I would highly recommend switching to a sail rudder. It sticks out farther, and requires a PVC protection fitting to avoid contact when loading the kayak into the truck, but drastically reduces the time my hand is on the rudder while steering offshore.

Hi John yeah even one time is too many. Tim at Pure Watersports repaired it the 1st time as well as this time. He left the steering line for me that had the loop end. I think it connects up front. Last time I saw the fray at the rear were the white grommets are. I’m pretty sure he gave it a good look. I’ve pretty much been using the kayak every weekend since I bought it in May of 2018.

I have a sail rudder as well and used pool noodle to elevate the hull off the truck bed. Presently my kayak is stored at Pure Watersports in Dana. I sold my truck a few months ago. It started to be a real pain in the ass. Eventually I’ll replace the truck and possibly pick up a new Outback.