P and H Scorpio Skeg problems.^

[Mike Marshall]

I find that a squirt of WD40 to the underside of the slide, allows the skeg to work perfectly and smoothly, but is required before every trip.
It seems to me that the stiffness is due to friction of the Thumbgrip/slider against the lower part of the mount.

I do admit though that the thumbclicker can be a bas***d with cold hands, maybe a larger thumb lever could be the answer.

However I think the design is simplisticly superb IMO, and could be easily repaired anywhere on the planet.

MikeM

[MikeB]

Yes - seems P&H recognise that as one of the issues - according to Douglas' blog entry, they have revised the slider but it's not a retrofit option. I wonder would some silicon type furniture polish, or even a little beeswax be a longer lasting solution? Just a thought.

Mike

[wideblueyonder]

However I think the design is simplisticly superb IMO, and could be easily repaired anywhere on the planet.

Unfortunately, I felt the same until mine broke!

The actual 'pinch grip' on the slider stuck, and in trying to free it up snapped at the bottom, where it catches and holds against the ratchets.

Once broken it was impossible to keep the skeg up. You cannot replace the pinch grip on it's own as the slider control is a sealed unit. You have to cut the control out of the boat and reglass a new one in, not my idea of field maintenance!

If there was a way the bar could be unscrewed from the control unit to allow the pinch grip to be slid off and a replacement slid on it then it would be fully field maintainable, assuming you had the spare pinch grip.

[Mike Marshall]

However I think the design is simplisticly superb IMO, and could be easily repaired anywhere on the planet.

Unfortunately, I felt the same until mine broke!

The actual 'pinch grip' on the slider stuck, and in trying to free it up snapped at the bottom, where it catches and holds against the ratchets.

Once broken it was impossible to keep the skeg up. You cannot replace the pinch grip on it's own as the slider control is a sealed unit. You have to cut the control out of the boat and reglass a new one in, not my idea of field maintenance!

If there was a way the bar could be unscrewed from the control unit to allow the pinch grip to be slid off and a replacement slid on it then it would be fully field maintainable, assuming you had the spare pinch grip.

Hmmm,
I can feel a hydro skeg coming on here...LOL

MikeM

[wideblueyonder]

Yep - that's the justification I used :-)

[MikeB]

Hmm - conspiracy theory here me thinks.

[barryd]

Pete, many thanks for sending that replacement kit. It arrived first thing this morning...

I'll get it fitted tomorrow, and look forward to get back into the water...

Cheers,

Barry.

[MikeD]

Well it seam as though my paddling plans have been put-back another 6 - 8 weeks due to problems arising from an operation for a slipped disc, that puts me back into the boat at the point that frosty nights mean icy waters...... maybe I will look at a retro-fit hydro-skeg (Anti-freeze filled) for my full size Cetus..... as mentioned earlier, my feather like weight pushes my Cetus LV deep enough that the skeg has never been deployed....

As for field repair, I carry a spare slider-box & slider bar on long trips to remote areas, it is just part of my extended repair kit. I also have a spare skeg, the big difference is I no longer need to carry wire cutters & a skeg fitted to a wire

enjoy your paddling

Mike

[Chris W]

Given potential 'field maintenance' issues I''m glad the Cetus isn't too reliant on the skeg. Douglas, I finally got to take the Cetus LV out in some decent wind on Saturday. The Inshore forecast was for F5-7 although what Andy Levick and I actually got was F4, 5 then 4 with the odd F6 gust (well done, windfinder.com, bang on the money yet again). Paddling eastwards with a SW wind (a following, quartering wind?). Anyway, leaving the skeg up for a few miles, intermittent edging sufficed, edging whenever I happened to be putting in a stroke on the windward side on the crest of a wave. With the skeg fully down, more effort was required to keep on track. Half way down was perfect. So...I think given the choice I'd rather be stuck with the skeg up (due to sand etc) than stuck down (due to the thing snapping). Maybe a bit of repair tape might be worth having to hand.

The coast between Budleigh Salterton and Seaton was a bit of a revelation really- a beatiful sight in the showers, squals and odd glimpse of sunshine. Just under 14 miles in 3 hours, as we flew past Ladram Bay and Beer Head (Andy was keen to get on with it, because he gets sea sick, apparently).

Chris.

[AllanC]

I've been waiting on the sidelines to comment until the situation with my Cetus were resolved:

I’ve had non stop problems with my boat since I bought it in March, so much so that it was back at the factory when it was six weeks old to repair a leaking hatch, rusting fittings and a useless skeg. I’ve had other problems and brought this to the attention of the rep at the Perth show, and I got a phone call today from P&H saying they are going to replace my boat with a brand new one. I just want to add a thanks to P&H and Kari-tek as they've both been brilliant all year when dealing with my hassles

Allan Cadenhead

[tommy lad]

I've got a Scorpio LV which I bought from new 2 1/2 years ago. I too had no end of problems with the skeg (my boat has the Mk I version skeg, with thicker cord). As far as I could work out, the cause of the problem was excess friction between the plastic tube and the cord. My solution was to get some 1/4" bore copper gas pipe, and push the plastic tube through the gas pipe. The gas pipe holds the plastic tube straight, thus massively reducing the friction. The gas pipe runs right from the rear of the slider box to the point at which the plastic tube bends to enter the top of the skeg box. The result was surprisingly effective! I was so chuffed I emailed P & H showing them my 'fix'!
Another problem I spotted was that the skeg box was too narrow for the skeg, and was pinching against the forward end of the skeg, therefore inhibiting rotation. I have solved this by unscrewing the red skeg pivot so that it holds the skeg box slightly open.
So long as I keep the slider lubed with silicon, and don't get too much sand up the skeg box, it works very nicely now.

[Nickp]

Am I the only guy whose (original design) Cetus skeg works fine?

I'd have said no until a couple of weeks back. I have an early Cetus (CET29) and the skeg has always worked well for me. However, I lent the boat to a friend who managed to jam the skeg down. He'd pushed the slider back so that it was at the very end of the ratchet and it wouldn't release. It was nothing that 5 minutes on the beach with a multi-tool couldn't fix but not a repair that could be done on the water! For once I was glad that it had the P&H string and shock-cord arrangement rather than a cable that would surely have kinked as he landed.

Nick