Steering cable setup

I have a Knysna Racing mcgregor rhythm. I am not sure how the steering cables work. The pedals are angled too far forward, so no steering. If I move the pedal angle back, they simply slip back with any pressure as there is slack line behind (fore) the pedals. It used to work fine. Are the lines supposed to be tight from pedals forward to bulkhead? Maybe the lines stretched that much as there seems to be constant tautness when sitting. Maybe this is a self correcting setup since the boat always seems to go straight unless I push a pedal? I am used to Fenn, where you find the angle and tighten the stopper (on ss cable). I just do not know how this system is so poised to work. Any thoughts? Thank you.

On that setup the pedal angle is determined by the length of the entire cable that runs from the rudder yoke, through the pedals, and finally up to where they are tied off at the front of the cockpit. To get a steeper pedal angle simply retie the knots at the front of the cockpit to shorten the overall length of each line. I would wedge something between rudder and hull when you do that to keep the rudder perfectly centered as you shorten the lines until each pedal is at your desired position.

That looks like gen 1 Epic hardware.
The cables run like this.



www.epickayaks.com/product-page/rudder-line-adjuster

You can get a turnbuckle from an Epic dealer, or online. They work great.

You probably have an extra (small) hole in the angled end of the rail.

That's where the cable goes thru.

If your rails are like the Ep;ic rails, yours are installed backwards. That angle cut goes to the front. (It probably has the hole for the cable in it).
The square cut goes to the back. A plastic part covers that sharp aluminum corner, it's held in with the mouting screw.

The cable runs from the bottom hole in your pedal, thru that hole, makes a 90 degree turn and goes in the turnbuckle.
Shorten the turnbuckle by tightening up the threads and the cable system shortens. That adjusts both pedals at the same time.

Kai Wa'a Vega Arc skis are rigged similar to yours. But, like Epic, they connect the strings in front of the footplate. Kai uses one knot rather than a turnbuckle. Works fine, but adjusting the angle needs a new knot. You can see how that works over on my Vega thread.
That center hole in the bulkhead is to help tie the knot, adjust the strings and add friction.

When your new cables strech a bit, just tighten up the turnbuckle a few turns and both pedal angles move. Think of it as one string starting and finishing at the rudder.

If you replace your cables - use braided dyneema speargun line. Your local fishing shop has it. I'ts like wire and you can push it thru without vacuums or tricky fishing line leaders. It's absolutely bomb proof. Ranga uses 1.5mm, my store had 1.7 and it works great. Cheap too.

Zach's idea will work fine. The tricky part for me would be tying those knots. I'm fussy about crooked pedals. I'll eliminate knots with mechanical devices whenever possible. Those zip ties you have should work ok,

But be advised - Epic and Kai both have friction spots for their strings in front of the footplate. I think they do that for a reason. You want those strings to be bomb proof.

I did a lot of panic stomping on the pedals when I was learning to downwind. I'd overcorrect so hard the pedals would go out of alignment during a run. That's from stomping both feet. Doing that might pop those zip ties, so be careful

www.unkolearnuhow.com/product-page/unko-...-braid-stiff-dyneema

Thank you Zach and LPB, very helpful. I did not realize the length of the overall line, from rudder yoke to bulkhead, determined the pedal angle. I do have 2 turn buckles on each line, next to my shins, so I may try cutting off some line from inside the turn buckles and see if I can adjust with just the buckles, instead of re-tying at the bulkhead, which seems was done with great precision (beyond my capabilities).