I have an older Hurricane OC1. One of my steering cords separated from the rudder cam and is now somewhere inside my hull. Anyone have any advice on how to recover this cord? I have a new steering cord/cam kit but cannot use the old cord to pull the new line through the hull. There is no inspection hatch or any openings into the hull.
Thank you in advance!
Submitted by sbeuler on Sun, 05/18/2014 - 10:22am
Have you tried using a shop-vac and sucking it out of the hole? Make sure you tape the gaps so that you'll have more of a chance to retrieve the broken cord.
#1 Sun, 05/18/2014 - 10:33am
Of all the canoes I've ever seen the cables run through a tube. All I've ever needed to do was to take the old cable out and push the new one through. That has been for both the stainless steel and the spectra line.
#2 Sun, 05/18/2014 - 2:02pm
Ti,
Have YOU ever done that ?
What is exact procedure ?
pog
#3 Sun, 05/18/2014 - 6:59pm
Had a club member with a Hurricane with Spectra cable and their cord broke at the rudder cam. Had a small spool of 25lb test fishing line (25yrd spool) and pushed the fishing line through from the front to rear and made a loop to attach the spectra pedal end to pull it through to the front.
If you say you pushed spectra line through the steering cable tube, it wasn't spectra cable and more than likely braided dacron or bowstring line. The spectra cable they use in Hurricanes are thin loops and are like waxed dental floss and can't be pushed through easily since it isn't stiff enough.
#4 Sun, 05/18/2014 - 9:47pm
onno,
First of all, it really depends if the existing cable is braided steel or the spectra. If it's the steel line, the odds of being able to use the shop-vac to retrieve it are pretty slim.
If it is the lighter gauge material and it's broken so that you can't retrieve it from either end, I would try taping the nozzle of the shop vac to one end of the steering cable, use some fishing line like E7M said, tie a tiny piece of plastic to the fishing line and try to suck the line through the steering cable tube. With any luck, it'll pull the broken cord along with it.
Given that we don't know the condition of the canoe and what exactly happened is relatively unclear, this is kind of a shot in the dark solution.
#5 Mon, 05/19/2014 - 5:38am
no matter if it is spectra or ss cable, the tube that guides the line thru the hull appears broken. Only way to fix the problem is to go into the hull and replace the tube. Are you in HAwaii as there are a number of reapir guys familiar with the problem and know how to fix it?
#6 Mon, 05/19/2014 - 11:16am
Form the original post it doesn't sound like the tube that the spectra (or steel cable as on other canoes) rides in is damaged. Sounds like the spectra on the rudder end broke from the plastic "cam" that connects to the rudder and is sitting inside the tube. The instructions from Outrigger Zone calls for cutting the cord from the plastic tiller (cam as referred by the original post) followed by attaching the new spectra cord to the end that was just cut, then pulling the new one through to the front. Since the end they suppose to tie to is sitting in the tube, they cannot do it.
As I mentioned in my earlier post I was able to use fishing line to pull the new spectra cable through to the front. Had to do it for both sides since the spectra connected to the plastic tiller broke and was inside the tube. Pulled both old spectra cords out and pushed the fishing line through from the front to the rear tied it to the new spectra cord end and followed the rest of the instructions to complete the job.
Below is the instructions for the Hurricane cable re-cabling. Only discrepancy is they actually shows the cable going through the bungy cord hole and not the steering cable hole which is below the bungy cord hole.
http://outriggerzone.com/wp-content/uploads/hurricanecabling1.pdf
#7 Mon, 05/19/2014 - 12:48pm
Thank you for all of your informative posts! Here's how the problem was solved:
The broken black dental-floss-like cord was pulled out of the hull from the foot pedal end. Turns out the floss like cord had separated from the plastic tube leader sheath that connected to the steering tiller (thanks E7M, I wasn't sure what this piece was called).
I turned the OC1 upside down on it's cradles after multiple attempts of trying the following with the canoe upright.
I inserted soldering wire (stiff but still plyable) into the hole near the foot pedal. I just kept slowly feeding it through until (unbelievably) it came out through the hole next to the tiller! I'm not familiar with how the inside of the OC1 is constructed, but somehow, this worked!
The plastic tube leader was still sewn onto the replacement cord, so i slipped the plastic tube leader over the end of the wire and used some 5 minute epoxy to "glue" the 2 pieces together. I tried to use electrician's tape the first time, but the plastic tube slipped off of the wire when I pulled it through the hole. While standing at the foot pedal end, I gently pulled the glued plastic sheath/solder wire/replacement cord through the hole at the rudder end. It slid through no problem and came through at the foot pedals with ease. Whew!
I hope this helps anyone faced with this dilemma in the future. Paddles up!
#8 Tue, 05/20/2014 - 2:31am
Glad to hear you got it fixed.
That's why I mentioned fishing line as 25lb test line is stiff enough to push through, but also thin enough to tie the end to the new replacement cord and pull through the tube without much resistance or getting stuck.
Just read on the OutriggerZone site that they now use dyneema instead of spectra. They also mention having to sew the old cord to the end of the new cord to pull through since it is thicker and can't be tied or else the knot would prevent it from fitting in the tube.
#9 Tue, 05/20/2014 - 3:16am
Good job on getting your repair. A quick note, to connect the old cable to the new, I sometimes use heat shrink tubing. Just need to make sure it's small enough, and use a long piece to make sure it won't slip off. It does hold well though.
#10 Wed, 05/21/2014 - 11:59am
I never knew there was anything like heat shrink tubing - good to know. 25# test line is another great idea, although finding that is New Mexico might pose a challenge :-) Thanks for your informative tips and encouragement! It's good to know that you guys are here to lend a hand with such great advice and creative solutions.
#11 Wed, 05/21/2014 - 5:06pm