Thresher 155 Rudder Styles and Failure

Brief background:  We picked up two Threshers, mine had a rudder installed from the factory, hers had one installed at the shop.  When I picked hers up a few days later, I noticed that it was a different design with sliding foot braces instead of gas pedal style like mine.

Sliding Foot Braces:   Simple, but as the foot pegs are attached to the sliding track part, the pegs are never not putting pressure on the rudder control system.  Adjustment is straightforward.  Rudder cable length is fixed.

Gas Pedals:  Slightly more complex.  Pushing the top (toe?) of the pedal forward puts tension on the line, turning the rudder.  This also pushes back on the top of the opposing pedal.  Neat design.  Fairly simple, but the biggest issue I see right off the bat being the tension system and a stress point on the pedal axis.  There are some spring loaded knobs to tighten down on the bolt holding the end of the rudder cable.  This allows for adjusting/balancing the foot pegs, but also is a slip point (and it gets worse when wet).  The foot pegs can still be adjusted once the tension is set to allow for different leg positions.

The Test:  So we take the kayaks out.  Hers works well.  Mine is constantly slipping.  I can re-tension and it works for one or two turns before working itself loose.  If I push the gas pedal foot peg forward a bit more to make up for the now slack line, I can really see some stress on the axis point on top of the whole slide lock system twisting as it is attached to the kayak in two points and the pedal is about mid-way.  Obviously that's not going to work long term without one or the other breaking. I retensioned the lines a few times, but then the rear attachment point on the rudder itself eventually works the knot out and pulls right into the kayak.  Oh, joy.  At this point I eloquently discuss the fine engineering behind the whole design (read: cus like a sailor, pissed off that my rudder is now non-functional).  Rudder gets stowed.  I then jump off, swim to the back, and attach the rudder keeper (read: fell off while trying to get a look at the back of the boat and being a genius, also flipped boat).

Repair:  Surprisingly easy.  The cables actually run through a tube through the hull.  I wasn't able to feed it out the back due to a bend at the end, but I was able to disconnect the whole thing and run it back up front from the rudder.  Reassembly took about two full minutes.  In hindsight I could have done this on the water but I didn't realize that re-running the rudder control cables would be so simple.  The problems still remain.  Weak point at the pedal axis.  Slide lock track twisting if excess toe pushing is applied.  Tension slipping.  At that point I go online to look up how the thing is designed to be used.  The only content I can find about my rudder system actually shows it being removed and replaced with her style.  What gives?  Then I stumble across a warranty alert.  Apparently I am not the only one that ran into issues with it.  That being said, I like the idea of it and am inclined to try and find a way to beef it up.  I am, however, a bit disappointed that I bought a new boat (in 2017, apparently this is a 2015 model, didn't know that) that came with a rudder system that had been identified two years earlier as having a warranty issue.

https://www.wildernesssystems.com/us/experience/news/article/warranty-alert

Good news:  I caught it all on my GoPro including the impromptu open water reboarding practice and swearing contest in which I was the only participant.

If you thought you were purchasing a 2017 model in 2017 and ended up with a 2015, I would advise taking it back and get the 2017 you thought you paid for.  Problem solved.

Otherwise, if you want I can take a look at it and see if I can come up with a way to make it work correctly.

I am in Forest Grove and available till this later afternoon, and all day tomorrow (Saturday 5/13).

-Craig

That's a good point.  I checked the tags I bought it with and it does say its a 2015, so that's on me.  I am a bit surprised it would still be on the shelf with a known warranty issue but at least now I have the option to use the old style foot pegs if I can figure out a way to beef it up.

Shoot me a PM if you want to meet up and let me see if I can make sense of the design flaw.

Maybe we can make it "more gooder" than it is now.   

If you bought it "new" from a dealer - not as a used boat - it shouldn't matter that it's a 2015.  Did you check with Confluence Outdoor to see if you can get the kit?  Or have the dealer get it for you?