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Rudder cable tubing: how to thread and flare a replacement

Flare one end of the tube, feed it in from the outside and out the rudder deployment hole, then pull it tight, clamp it, trim close to the hole, and flare that second end. The two flares are what hold the tube stretched and stop it pulling back through.

The cable guide tubing runs through the hull and carries the steering cable. It is held in place by a flare on each end, not by glue or a fitting. If a tube pulls loose, slips back into the hull, or ends up too short to feed back through, the fix is a fresh length of tubing flared at both ends.

Replacement tubing is 8 mm OD × 6 mm ID (part CJP-TV-2112-120-NA-P). Cajo cuts and supplies the strip; the flaring is done on the boat, because the second flare has to be formed with the tube already stretched.

Why both ends get flared

A flare wider than the hole is the only thing stopping the tube from sliding back through. The second flare does a second job: it is formed while the tube is held under tension, so when the clamp comes off the tube stays stretched tight instead of springing slack into the hull. Trim before you flare, not after — a tube trimmed flush after the fact has nothing left to catch on and will pull straight back in.

The procedure

  1. Take the access plates off so you can reach inside the hull and get a hand on the tube.
  2. Flare one end first. Warm the tip with a lighter until it softens, then press a nail

into it to open the end out. A countersunk screw works well too. Flare it wider than the hole so it cannot pull back through. No clamp is needed for this end.

  1. Slide that flared end in from the outside, run the tube through the hull, and bring

it out the rudder deployment hole at the other end.

  1. Pull the tube tight and stretch it as far as it will go, then clamp it there to hold

the stretch.

  1. Trim the tag end close to the hole, leaving just enough tube sticking out to flare.
  2. Flare that second end the same way, again wider than the hole.
  3. Release the clamp. The second flare catches on the hull and the tube stays stretched

tight.

Reinforced flare — optional

This two-minute video shows the same flare reinforced with a small metal insert set into the tube end: Cable Steering Tubing Flair for Kayak. The insert is not something Cajo supplies — it is a hardware-store part the customer buys separately. Offer it as an alternative, never as a requirement: the plain lighter-and-nail flares hold on their own.

When this is a warranty case

A tube that worked loose in normal use is a warranty replacement — Cajo cuts a strip from stock and ships it. A tube cut, melted, or lost during a customer modification is not, and the strip is sold as a part instead.