6 Diagnosing problems
The following notes are intended to help those less familiar with the system diagnose problems, and work out which of the procedures described in this guide to perform.
The blade does not fully deploy: The blade should deploy to about 70˚ to the boat, such that the half the lower cord hole in the blade can be seen. If the blade does not drop this far when the slider is moved to the back of the ratchet box, check:
Can the slider be moved to the front of the ratchet box? If not, the cord is too short. it will need to be replaced and set to the correct length
Can the blade be moved into the correct position by hand? If so, the problem is either insufficient tension in the elastic or friction in the system. Try tensioning the elastics first - if this is hard, or the elastics are clearly degraded, they may need replacing. Replacing 2mm elastics with 4mm elastics may help. Moving the slider button to the rear of the ratchet box and actuating the blade up and down by hand (possibly with the elastics removed or slack) will allow you to assess the friction and judge what is causing it. Adjusting the width of the axle may help. Note that axle adjustment causes the blade to sit at a slightly different height in the skeg box - this may cause the cord length to require adjustment.
The blade does not fully retract: when the slider is moved to the front of the ratchet box, the blade does not fully retract into the boat. When the slider is moved to the back of the ratchet box, the blade drops too far.
This generally means that the cord is too long. Remove the slider from the ratchet box and adjust cord length.
Check that the tube is correctly held in position at the skeg box - failure of the retaining washer can cause the tube to slide in the box insertion resulting in unexpected performance.
The slider is hard to move. Check if the difficulty comes from the ratchet box itself, the blade actuation or the cord running in the tube. Tape the skeg in the up position and see if the slider is still hard to move - if so, the problem is likely in the ratchet box. If the slider is now easy to move, the problem is at the actuator end. Cord friction in the tube can be assessed by disassembling the controller, removing the blade from the skeg box and manually sliding the cord through the tube.
If the problem is in the ratchet box, establish if the slider box is a Mk1 (metal bar) or Mk2 (composite bar). Mk1 slider boxes should be replaced if possible. In the Mk2 slider, the problem can be a failure of one of the axles in the slider - replace the slider. Also check that the screws holding the bar in place are not loose. Check for wear (flats) on the bar. It can be useful to spray silcone lubricant all over the controller as a temporary fix for worn parts.
If the problem is at the actuator end, begin by de-tensioning the elastic. If this solves the problem, set the elastic tension a bit lower. If the problem remains, actuate the blade by hand to feel the friction and assess where it is coming from. The axle width may need adjusting.
The problem will rarely be in the cord / tube. If it is, try to establish where the problem is - check for kinks or knots in the cord. The cord and/or tube may need replacing.
The slider actuates too easily. This often occurs as the system gets worn. It becomes difficult to accurately set the blade at a defined angle (the ratchet tends to slip), it’s hard to put the blade fully up, and the blade drops fully when the slider is knocked (often happens during landings).
- Replace the composite rod in the skeg box and/or the slider button.
It is difficult to get the blade to drop the first few degrees - beyond that it drops fine.
Check if the tip of the blade is contacting the back of the skeg box. If it is, it may need filing / grinding shorter
Check for contact between the blade spokes and the axle - you’ll feel this as it catching every few degrees. If this occurs, you may need to cut the spokes back a little, or round the corners of the axle.
System replacement: If you really don’t like the P&H system and have a composite boat, it is possible to replace with a wire skeg - see instructions here.