I Wish Hobie Wouldn't Hide Critical Components Under Squishy Stickers

I guess someone needs to be comic relief for the power boaters when the fish aren't biting.  On a positive note, I interfered with no one's fishing on the hog line.  It is tough to interfere when you are being swept downstream spinning in circles. I apologize to all my fellow kayak fisherman for the embarrassment.   Oh, and by the way, for those (like me) that didn't know, there is a screw that holds your rudder control on underneath the round squishy Hobie sticker on the handle if you have a 2011 Outback.  You need a knife to get at it, though.  I'm not a fan of hiding critical things like that.   Thankfully Sinker was smart enough to have a hex wrench set.  I will from now on too.  It will give me more opportunities to post in the "Things I lost From My Kayak" thread. 

My '10 Outback has the "old style  handle".....just need the hex wrench for easy tightening on the side of the handle...understand the frustration of hidden hardware.

I swapped mine out as soon as I got it due to a small cosmetic defect in the handle's plastic. I was just hoping that the sticker would still stick after putting it back on. I'd imagine getting saltwater in there would start that setscrew down the cancer path. (regardless if it is stainless)

I had the same thing happen to my '12 Revo -- luckily in the middle of some solitary saltwater fishing, so my uncontrolled rudder didn't put my into anyone's way.  As a clueless mechanical dolt, I knew I wouldn't figure it out without help -- so I put up a call for help on the Hobie board, and had an answer in minutes. Literally. Very impressed with that.  I NEVER would have thought to look under the sticker.

Later, same day, I showed the rudder control to my husband and told him what had happened. He turned it one way, then the other, and then popped off the sticker saying, "There's the fastener." I'd been holding back on the sticker trick -- thinking I'd look like I had a clue when I offered it up -- but never had the chance.  If there's any truth to that "Men are from Mars, Women from Venus" thing, I'm just saying "Yeah Mars!"