all nuts are nylon lock nuts to avoid loosening by themselves
a mini clam cleat to fix the rudder adjustment cord
heavy-duty kitchen drawer runners for the pedals
Lost my bearings
last Monday Becs and I planned another test-session in the Coventry Canal basin. Whilst preparing the canoe, and adjusting the pedals for Becs, by shortening the ropes connecting the pedals to the rudder, the left hand kitchen drawer runner had bent such that the little ball bearings came out. Oops. Design flaw?
I knew that kitchen drawer runners were not designed to bear an un-balanced load, i.e. just a single runner with an angled bracket, so part of all the sessions I have done was to test how well they would stand up to this type of use.
The external part of the runner had bent open under the lateral forces, thus the inner runner part was able to shoot out and all the little ball-bearings fell out.
Trying to peddle without a rudder
We tried for about half an hour to peddle without a rudder, but it proofed to be too hard. The canoe went all over the place, and the slightest change in direction was had to correct for. We first tried to fix the rudder in place so it would act as a stationary kiel, but this did not improve the ability to go straight. We then unscrewed the rudder but that did not improve it either.
So for us, as relative amateurs in canoeing, trying to go straight without a rudder in this particular canoe, was too hard. So we returned to the basin.
Improvements - heavy duty runners
The same evening I stopped off at a Homebase and got a pair of heavy-duty runners.
40cm long, supports weight upto 45kg. But, of course, that is a weight supported by 2 runners on each side as the picture shows.
Improvement 2 - original foot bracket
Not only have I installed these runners, but also, instead of the single angled brackets, I have put the original footholds back in. These have 4 foot positions, so this means that, theoretically, less cable length adjustments have to be made for different height canoeists, or if I fancy putting my feet/legs in a more or less stretched position.
Improvement 3 - easier adjustable cables
Another simple adjustment. The steel cables that are attached to the rudder, and a knotted rope is attached to the foot bracket. These are connected with small karabiners, so small adjustments in bracket adjustment are now quickly made.
Improvement 4 - mini clam cleat
The rudder can be lifted out of the water by pulling an orange cord on the left-hand side by the rear-canoeist. The mini clam cleat is great at clamping the rope quickly and reliably. This means that each time the canoe has to be lifted out or into the water the risk of bending the rudder is greatly reduced.
Improvement 5 - standardising all the nuts and bolts
The final improvement I have made is ensuring that all the nuts and bolts are either M5 or M6. and all the nuts are nylon lock-nuts, so as to avoid the nuts undoing themselves under stress.
There were a couple of M4 nuts and bolts which have now been replaced by M5. Each bolt now has a washer on the outside.
Improvement 6 - fixed the front hand hold strap
The nylon strap that holds the front hand hold was nearly worn through. And for once, something I had for nearly 20 years in a little bag in the garage came to use. When my university rugsack had final worn out, but the straps were still fine. So I cut these off and put them in a bag, because one day they would be of use. And that day had come! I had the right length of 15mm wide nylon strap to replace the worn one. All I had to do is melt 2 holes through the strap where the M10 bolts would fit through. So a philips screw driver and the gas hob were the right tool to melt two holes to take the bolts.
Time is running out to ensure all these improvements will survive the 200km tour......Saturday and Monday are the final tests....watch this space...
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