Valley Kayak Skeg Brass Compression Fitting

Valley Kayak Skeg Brass Compression Fitting

Valley Kayak Skeg Brass Compression Fitting

$ 20.00 USD

This is the Valley Kayak metric Brass Compression Fitting for the aft end of the Poly-Tube that the steel skeg cable slides in. Don't buy this part unless you absolutely need to replace the whole poly tube or something went horribly wrong at the aft end of the skeg system. Generally the only people who need this part are ones who bought a used kayak that someone tried to fix and really messed things up.

If your problem is that the brass ring at the front end of the poly tube fell off or is slipping, you need to order the "Splice Kit" instead of this.

If replacing the whole poly tube, crimp the compression brass ring onto the front end (the controller end) of the poly tube then remove the brass fitting all but the compression ring. Connect all the pieces of the front end before cutting the poly tube to length at the aft end. Allow for the poly tube to have as big a radius as possible where it bends to go into the top of the skeg box. Cut the tube an inch or so long and test fit putting everything together before making the final cut. The poly-tube should extend out past the brass ring about 1/4" (look close at the photo for the "Splice Kit" which shows the brass ring in place on the poly-tube). 

If you are replacing this compression fitting at the back end of the boat (where the poly-tube connects to the skeg box) you will need two 13mm open end wrenches to tighten this compression fitting (one wrench to hold the part of the brass fitting that is screwed into the skeg box and the second wrench to tighten the nut part of the fitting that is on the poly-tube). When tightened, the brass ring is permanently compressed onto the poly-tube (so these rings can't be re-used).

At the aft end you may just need to replace the brass compression ring if the threads and flats for the wrenches are good in the other old parts.

After putting the skeg system together, leak test it by turning the kayak upside down and filling the skeg box with water. Water will flow out the front end of the control system - that is normal. So quickly check inside the hatch for leaks around the top of the skeg box and the poly-tube. Refill the water level as needed. It is normal to have some small leakage (a few drips) even with the compression fitting tightened, but a big leak mean's something didn't get put together right or the compression fitting needs more torque. To finish the job, dry everything and apply liberal amount of Marine Goop all over the compression fitting, the end of the poly-tube and the top of the skeg box where the brass compression fitting screws into the boat.